This year the trials were spread over two issues.

The first is for seeds and cuttings:-
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The second for young plants
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The third is for container and large plants:-
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Edit to note I had missed out uploading the seeds and cuttings chart, this has now been rectified Thanks to Hairy Face for pointing this out to me.

jesus homebase done well

many thanks for posting this ot1

e2a - just out of interest ot1, are these results making you consider switching composts?

Id love to know which version of the Westlands Hanging Basket & Container compost they tested
It got great marks , so surely it cant be the shit formula
I wonder if Westlands have indeed reverted back to the old formula....
I wonder a lot
Cheers for putting this up OT1

Redgrotto

thanks ot1...

Hmm I am still using the same westlands HB and container compost plus JI, ie I have been reusing it, sieving out roots and adding 10% worm and 5% premix by volume for 3 grows, with an increase of yield each grow.

You can only do this if there has been no disease.

It takes about 300 liters per 48 plant grow.

I am going to try a bag of west + advanced in a few pots in my coming grow to see how it does against the reprocessed compost.

I don’t know what the latest westlands HB and container compost plus JI is like or if it has been reformulated. When I bought the west + advanced, it was the only fresh delivery westlands compost they had in stock.

Hey thanks' ot, been on the lookout for new compost as i need to be potting some cutts up real soon.

Think i'll still be going for the jab meself.

Thanks' again

taffy

click on the picture once youve opened it up, that will magnify it mate

A very useful post, thanks OT1. I'm glad to see the West+ Advanced scored well, we used it for our last grow and found it much easier to use than the current WMP, it's softer and doesn't harden like the WMP. A pity that so many composts were reformulated and thus disqualified, not very bright of the manufacturers ISTM.

Agreed.

I'm using Levington's multi-purpose compost with it's fancy dan 'waterlock' system.

As it's gonna be in the loft it holds water for longer. Early indications show that it does hold water better than my other compost I was using... Homebase multi-purpose FFS!

homebase here i come thanks for this ot ,much aprreciated

thanks for posting this years charts ot1 .

be interesting to hear your results with the advanced + . it seemed more suited to my tap water (soft water water pH adjusted with lime to +8 by the water company . it settles to 7.6 after a day of bubbling ) and produced the best root system i v seen with compost . didn t get to flower the plants i had going in it in though, so no comment on yeild etc .

it also worth mentioning i noticed a load of dead fungus gnats on the floor when i removed the plants to cull. i v read other members had similar experiences . sorry if this is off topic but is Gnatrol available in the UK or is Gnat-Off our equivalent ?

i v just put some seedlings germed in 1" RW cubes into 3" pots with advanced+/ 50% perlite . i ll post some pics in a few days .

open the picture , maximise the window , wait a few seconds and you should see a box with four arrows appear in bottom right of picture . click on this to few full size . hth JD

hi OT thanx for this info .. iwas wondering do you use your own worm castings? .. i have a wormery that is located outside so i'm a little hesitant to use the castings indoors ..

I really like West+ very light and fluffy and the roots love it but the fungus gnat thing is really annoying and bad for the plants, making me consider a switch cos measures against them will get expensive.

I'm using West+ and haven't heard anything about this, the compost bringing gnats into my grow room?!

The gnats are usually down to poor storage by the garden centre (being left out side un-protected etc.)

Ah, cool.
I saw the dude chuck mine from the pallet onto the shelf then i grabbed it so fingers crossed i'll be fine.

I’m using biobizz worm casts at this time, I do use my own sometimes, when I do, I part sterilize it in the microwave before use indoors. The misses objects to me using the microwave and the ammonium stink it makes.

Hey all... Good thread!

Just wondering if anyones got any info on whether this 'reformulated' B&Q multipurpose composts ok..
Bought 75 litres earlier!
Typical luck its not in the trials..

cheers

for those interest i have done a little side by side test of the new J.Arthur Bowers with john innes and syncro boost against the old "good" westlands mix

Here

and they results were good ,the rooted pretty much the same and growth rate seem the same aswell,not sure about final smoke yet but ill update it when i can

Has anyone got any of this new Homebase MP compost yet? I had a look at their website and it says that it contains West+, so I wonder is it made for them by westlands. It gets the same score as the new Westlands Advanced+ (which I've used and found great), but is half the price.

Bajer

Well, I took a trip to the local Homebase this evening to try and grab some of their multi-purpose compost, but it wasn't that simple. The only size bags they had of their Homebase MP was 20L. This cost €3.99 (£3), a whopping 20 cent a litre - more expensive than the tried, trusted, branded and premium Westlands Advance+, which was 15 cent a litre. So I continued to browse, and came across the Homebase grow bags which also scored top marks in this years trials. This was priced at a much more realistic price of €1.99 for the 33l bag - a mere 6 cent a litre. I grabbed six.

But I'm still a bit wary. If you look at homebase's website, they list the ingredients for both their MP and grobags as containing West+. There's no mention of this on the bags I bought, or on the small 20L bags of MP. They did, however have Homebase hanging basket compost in 10L bags for €4 (40 cent a litre - no thanks), and that had the West+ symbol. I'm wondering if I got last years stock, and the stuff that did so well in the Which trials, is the new West+ stuff. I'll be potting up a few from 6.5L to 11L next week, so I'll use it then and see how we go. I'll also use a couple of them as real grow bags for some tomatoes. I'll get a feel for it with that as well.

Yea i wondered about the west+ not being on the bag but bought three managed the 70ltr bags , the make up imho is very simlar on the bag pictured " it looks darker as is damp one bags in the shed the other , loft" looks more wood flakes in the adv+ but i tend to sieve these out time will tell i guess , hope it preforms like the westies as im a big fan of it & so me plants .

Click to view attachment

Well I've had a good look at the compost in the Homebase 33L growbags. It doesn't seem that great to me. It doesn't seem to contain any perlite or West+ and the consistency seems the same any generic MP compost. I definitely wouldn't rate it as good as the West Advanced+ and would reckon that I got some of last years stock.

Has anyone found any Homebase stuff that was reviewed in Which?


Bajer

I picked some stuff up this week.

£2.49 per 20 litres I believe.

Put my plants into flower yesterday with it, I'll let you know how it goes.

1st immediate observation is that opposed to my Levingtons, it comes very moist. The Levingtons with it's 'waterlock' system is quite dry and crumbly, but when it comes to first water, it holds the water on the surface for about 10 seconds. Which is infuriating, to say the least, especially when you're trying to water 10 plants.

As to whether it holds water longer than any other composts, again, I'll let you know.

I've just picked up a bag of JAB 'Multi-Plus' from my local Wyevales. They only had small 10ltr bags of JAB MP+JI at £2.99 a bag, and this stuff in 35ltr bags for £3.99. Haven't seen it before but it looks very similar to JAB MP+JI, I wonder if it is just a re-marketing/repackaging exercise? Plants will be going into it in a few weeks time, will see how it gets on.

It's not listed on these charts but I've had to change to JAB MP from my tried and tested Gem MP as nowhere seems to stock it anymore (prolly to do with it's high peat content ...sorry environment! I was really dissappointed when I opened the bag, it was really wet and needed loads of sifting + didn't smell great BUT the plants I re-potted into it have exploded upwards! might buy a small bag of B n Q or homebase MP to see the difference....

im happy with my JAB mp. (the one without JI )
plant like it ,and for a change i have no gnats

Well, having been unimpressed with the Homebase MP, I popped down to B&Q to pick up a couple of bags of the Westlands Advance+. It works out at about 14c a litre here for the standard 76 litre bag. I was about to grab a couple when I noticed that the West Advance + grow bags work out cheaper. They are in 60 litre bags a nd they work out at 10c a litre. Seems to be the exact same stuff.

I have found that to be a very nice compost too, have never seen the one with Ji for sale near me, but would like to try it sometime to see what it's like.

Anyone using West + noticed that it runs out of nutes really quick?? I potted up from 3.5 ltr to 6.5 and within 10 days i was getting some quite strong Nitrogen defiency.

Has to be said after the bashing I gave it the my plants seem to be loving the JAB MP

we have used homebase multipurpose since day one so im not surprised to see it at the top. its fantastic stuff and i would advise anyone to use it!
- we even use it for clones!
mom
x

ot1 , i wouldn t mind havin a go at growing some tatties in a pot , Jersey Royals or something the equiv. would any additional fertilizers be required if i were to use one of the reccommended composts from the which guide ? how big a final pot would be required .

has anybody seen the TV adverts for Miricle Grow Peat Free Organic MP Compost ? cheesy ad like , but i m wondering what it s like for veggies .

edit : also forgot to add the MJ seeds i germed in rw cubes then transferred to 3" round pots with 50% WL advanced+MP/ 50% perlite haven t performed as well as previous seeds i transferred to 100% 07 formula WL MP with added JI . they seemed stunted and a bit overferted . perhaps nutrients are more available in the adv+ than with a JI formula compost . 1 plant that dryed out quicker than the rest looked like a plant in hydro medium that drys out , ie totally fryed by high nutrient concentrations . i v since transplanted them to B & Q JI #2 , top scorer for young plants in the which guide . it s a heavy compost , that sets like concrete! i added a few handfulls of rockdust , some epsom salts and a handfull of perlite . after 10-14 days i started seeing signs of improvement with nice green growth . even though it sets hard , i v found the B&Q JI#2 easy to re -wet with decent drainage (it s contains a fair bit off sand). think i m going to try JAB MP + JI for final pots .

http://www.homebase.co.uk/webapp/wcs/store...htext%3ECOMPOST

is that the homebase multipurpose stuff your talking about there?

10p if it's all the same to you old chap

Not in my local B&Q which is in Ireland!

Ok JB, here is what I suggest.

Roll down your empty compost bags so they are about 12 inches high fill with 4 inches of spent compost, put in 3 or 4 seed potatoes, cover with 5 or 6 inches of more spent compost, water well.

Poke a few holes in the bottom of the bags with a pencil so the compost can drain.

When the potatoes are about 6 inches to a ft high roll the bag up a bit and cover all the shoots but the top inch or two with compost, repeat until the bag is fully unrolled and full of compost.

After that just let the tops grow.

Water and feed with a tom fertiliser from the start. Never let them get short of water.

Jersey Royals are hard to grow, I would try Charlotte or Anya if you like waxy salad potatoes with taste.

Hahahah sorry! Turns out I am a nob

Brilliant tip fer taters OT, cheers!

thanks ot1 , thats magic mate . going to give it a go . only thing is i wont have any spent compost for 2 or 3 months . i do however have a bag of WL MP + JI ( keek formula) and a bag of WL adv+ that are lying around gathering dust . both are unopened so still got all their "chemical" nutrition . i doubt the produce will do me any more harm than commercially available food . unless you say otherwise !!

keep you posted mate .

mentioned in my last post the b&q JI #2 sets like concrete . it s more like a 1/2" crust forms on top after the initial watering-in. after culling some males i emptied out the root balls to find underneath the crust, the compost was soft and crumbly with nice white fuzzy roots . all the plants are looking nice and healthy with just tap water apart from 1 stretchy , lanky looking female i was going to cull . leaves are clawed and not as dark , glossy green . looks nothing like her brothers and sisters , and seems a bit high maintenance for my liking ! we ll see how she smokes.

bought b & q JI #3 for final pots . get pics up over the weekend of the transplanting .

i wish i read that a week ago!

these are the plants i v mentioned in this thread . been in 5" square pots with b & q JI #2 for approx 4 weeks . watered with plain tap water bubbled for a day or 2 .

planted 10 seeds of each var ; Blueberry x Cherry HP , from an old friend i met on OG and AK47 x SK1 , freebies from G by Luna Seeds .

BB x CHP 8 females / 2 males . AK47xSk1 4 females / 5 males / 1 runt culled .

some more pics

couple more pics .

b & qs JI range are far from the cheapests compost around , the #2 does grow MJ pretty well without much hassle . hopefully the #3 flowers as well as #2 grows ! after phoning JAB i v found a local supplier for their products so think i ll be using JAB MP + JI in the future .

transplanted the females today to 6.5l sq pots with b&q ji#3 . mixed in approx 1l of seers rockdust , 1l perlite (just cause i d got a bag needing used up ) and 11 teaspoons of epsom salts to 60l of sieved compost .

texture of the ji#3 is very similar to ji#2 , sandy and peaty . very heavy compost to lift , maybe thats why b&q only do it in 20l bags . just about put me back out shifting the bucket i sieved 3 x 20l bags into . volumes stated on the bags of both the #2 and #3 have been spot on .

when i transplanted these out the 3" pots with 50/50 : WL adv+ / perlite to 5" sq pots with b&q ji#2 they looked poorly and so did the roots . they were watered-in to their new pots with biomagix for innoculation . the previous pics only show them after they d recovered.

roots pics on the females . wee bit root-bound , lower leaves were yellowing .

more roots pics

last one ...

A picture of health those root balls. And just how they should look for potting on.

cheers Bish .

gave them a couple of weeks to root out the final pots before flowering . pics show them at 21 days 12/12 . feeds now 1ml grow + 3 ml bloom .

Heya mate , imho a good seeding compost ie from the top and a good final compost , container and large plants one , will see you fine , dont see many going the ji 1,2,3 any more , good luck .