Has anyone tried the peat-free John Innes?

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Pattock
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Re: Has anyone tried the peat-free John Innes?

Post by Pattock »

iann wrote: Sun May 02, 2021 4:38 pm Could also be a nightmare if the "finely-shredded bark" turns out to be random lumps of wood.
Nominal particle size: 0-6mm
https://www.bhgsltd.co.uk/melcourt-sylv ... -1491.html

Small bags, so quite expensive.
https://www.thegardensuperstore.co.uk/p ... s-no2-15lt
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Re: Has anyone tried the peat-free John Innes?

Post by ralphrmartin »

FredG wrote: Sun May 02, 2021 3:30 pm Why is it called John Innes? It's like taking an egg sandwich, removing the egg, adding cheese and calling it an egg free egg sandwich. :sad:
Indeed. Makes about as much sense as alcohol-free beer.
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Re: Has anyone tried the peat-free John Innes?

Post by FredG »

Pattock wrote: Sun May 02, 2021 5:42 pm
FredG wrote: Sun May 02, 2021 3:30 pm Why is it called John Innes? It's like taking an egg sandwich, removing the egg, adding cheese and calling it an egg free egg sandwich. :sad:
Because it is approved by the John Innes Manufacturer's Association. :grin:
And they don't receive payment for their name being used? 😇
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Re: Has anyone tried the peat-free John Innes?

Post by ralphrmartin »

What relation does the John Innes Manufacturer's Association have to the John Innes Institute / Centre? None as far as I can see.

Smells to me like a trade body trying to rake in the money off the back of someone else's good name - and their website doesn't exactly dispel that idea.
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Re: Has anyone tried the peat-free John Innes?

Post by FredG »

ralphrmartin wrote: Mon May 03, 2021 2:08 pm Smells to me like a trade body trying to rake in the money off the back of someone else's good name
I believe your olfactory system is in excellent working order :wink:
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Re: Has anyone tried the peat-free John Innes?

Post by Pattock »

ralphrmartin wrote: Mon May 03, 2021 2:08 pm Smells to me like a trade body trying to rake in the money off the back of someone else's good name - and their website doesn't exactly dispel that idea.
You may be looking looking at the wrong website:

https://growingmedia.co.uk/john-innes-m ... tions.html
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Pattock
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Re: Has anyone tried the peat-free John Innes?

Post by Pattock »

ralphrmartin wrote: Mon May 03, 2021 2:08 pm What relation does the John Innes Manufacturer's Association have to the John Innes Institute / Centre? None as far as I can see.
The John Innes Centre has had nothing to do with John Innes Compost for over 75 years.
...while our scientists developed the recipe for what came to be called John Innes compost in the 1930s, we have never manufactured, supplied or sold compost for public use and have never benefited financially or otherwise from the production of John Innes Compost.
... ...
As the old saying goes, the rest is history. We made the formula available and the horticultural retail trade adopted the methods and sold their own versions of our original recipes as ‘John Innes Compost’. Their success made ‘John Innes’ a household name.
https://www.jic.ac.uk/blog/the-john-inn ... -our-name/

The RHS mentions the JIMA:
However, many compost manufacturers are members of the John Innes Manufacturers’ Association whose aim it is to provide reliable John Innes potting media that will support good plant growth even though not all ingredients match the original specification.
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=952

Peat use is unsustainable, destructive of scarce plant habitats and is completely unnecessary. The RHS have asked gardeners to stop using peat. https://www.rhs.org.uk/about-the-rhs/po ... nt-on-peat

The use of peat-based composts is a personal choice, of course. To me, it stinks worse than an egg sandwich.
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Re: Has anyone tried the peat-free John Innes?

Post by SimonT »

I am surprised that peat-free John Innes composts are not widely available from DIY stores and big garden centers. If it was just a case of swapping the peat component of John Innes for a peat-substitute wouldn't this have happened already? What will happen in a few years time when all peat products will have been stopped- will John Innes just vanish with the other products containing peat?
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Re: Has anyone tried the peat-free John Innes?

Post by wildedges »

It's a shame that the compost industry haven't even got as far as requiring the peat content of individual compost mixes to be quantified. I've tried a few different brands of JI over the years and they all have something along the lines of "New and improved formula" written on the bag but some seem to contain stones and lumps of fibrous material like straw or coir. I assume that the peat content has been dropping in favour of the coir or whatever they're using but it would be nice to know. It's also frustrating to know that your bag of JI is approximately 1/3 sand though when all you really want is loam/soil with something added to retain moisture. I'm never sure what I'm gaining over buying a bag of peat-free loam based topsoil and adding my own grit/sand mix. Something like this, which is probably the same stuff they're using in the JI anyway https://www.thegardensuperstore.co.uk/p ... WQEALw_wcB
Sorry for putting this in 'Off-Topic' but the last time I raised the issue of peat free compost it was suggested that the topic had been discussed to death so I thought I'd avoid that and just ask for peoples' experience of this brand. As a fairly new grower JI is my go-to compost because it's a fairly reliable base to grow succulents but I'm always conscious that I should be avoiding using even that small amount of peat.
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Re: Has anyone tried the peat-free John Innes?

Post by ragamala »

wildedges wrote: Tue May 04, 2021 11:20 am
Sorry for putting this in 'Off-Topic' but the last time I raised the issue of peat free compost it was suggested that the topic had been discussed to death so I thought I'd avoid that and just ask for peoples' experience of this brand.
No reason at all for apology. Indeed the battle has raged before between the "JI isn't JI unless it contains peat" brigade and those like Pattock (and myself) saying no to peat, and those in the middle not knowing where to go.

What we all need is some practical experience of peat-free composts, whether they call themselves JI or not, and that's why you're 100% right to start the discussion. We all want (I hope) to avoid peat, but we need to find an alternative we can trust. The topic of compost and importance of peat-free composts is to my mind more worthy of pinning than some of the pinned threads I always skip through This is what not only us set-in-our-ways folk need to understand better, the practical experience of what is available on the market, but how guidance can be given to new joiners.
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