John Innes compost replacements

For the discussion of topics related to the conservation, cultivation, propagation and exhibition of cacti & other succulents.
Forum rules
For the discussion of topics related to the conservation, cultivation, propagation, exhibition & science of cacti & other succulents only.

Please respect all forum members opinions and if you can't make a civil reply, don't reply!
Herts Mike
BCSS Member
Posts: 4303
https://www.behance.net/kuchnie-warszawa
Joined: 20 Sep 2007
Branch: LEA VALLEY
Country: Uk

Re: John Innes compost replacements

Post by Herts Mike »

Problem for me is they are all on the top shelf and everything underneath gets drenched.
User avatar
Tina
BCSS Member
Posts: 7019
Joined: 11 Jan 2007
Branch: NORTHAMPTON & MILTON KEYNES
Country: England
Role within the BCSS: Member
Location: BUCKINGHAMSHIRE

Re: John Innes compost replacements

Post by Tina »

Just use your 'foe' button & never see an unwanted post again
Tina

varied collection of succulents and cacti but I especially like Euphorbia's, Ariocarpus and variegated agaves.

Bucks, UK
Branch co-ordinator, Northants & MK BCSS https://northants.bcss.org.uk
BCSS Talk team member, contact me- BCSS.Talk@Gmail.com if you want to volunteer or suggest a speaker plz.
User avatar
Ali Baba
BCSS Member
Posts: 2289
Joined: 26 Dec 2007
Branch: DERBY
Country: UK
Role within the BCSS: Member

Re: John Innes compost replacements

Post by Ali Baba »

Perhaps we should think outside the box a bit ?
When I first started growing cacti in the early 70s I inherited a few plants from my mum which were growing in compost that she had made herself in the 1940s. This was a mixture of heavy Sussex loam from the garden, coarse sand, crushed brick lime mortar and charcoal. The plants had been growing in this for years in clay pots without ever being repotted and were pretty healthy considering, particularly the lithops. When I repotted them in my youthful enthusiasm the compost seemed to be mostly inorganic presumably as the clay had slowly been washed away over the years.
Conversely my school friend had a flourishing pot of Rebutia and Echinopsis which were growing in pure Kentish soil from the garden, no added grit or even a drainage hole.
Maybe we don’t need John Innes or his substitutes at all?
wildedges
Registered Guest
Posts: 196
Joined: 13 Nov 2018
Branch: None
Country: uk

Re: John Innes compost replacements

Post by wildedges »

I bought a bag of Sylvagrow John Innes No2 100% peat-free this week and thought I'd post up some details in case it's of any use. It's a 15L bag and cost £4.99 but they had a deal for a couple of quid off if you buy three. I've been using Sylvagrow multi-purpose peat free for years now and I've found that to be really good so I had high hopes for this stuff.
Image
First impression out of the bag was surprisingly good. Nice texture, no fungus, not too much in the way of sticks and stones. The compost clumps up when squeezed but then crumbles again nicely.
Image
Image
I chucked a few scoops through a riddle, as I do with most composts these days, and a fair bit of woody material was removed to be added to the bag of multipurpose. I've seen a lot worse though.
Image
I mixed some of the sieved compost 50/50 with Melcourt's smaller sized potting grit and filled one pot with this mix and one with straight sieved compost. Both pots had a broken crock in the base but no weed barrier or similar to catch the soil.
Image
I then watered them thoroughly which resulted in a bit of a decrease in volume and a bit of material washed out the base. The woody material floated and covered the top of the soil but poking a finger in reveals that the 'loam' element is qute sludgy and clayey underneath. In the pot with the extra grit the woody material will probably end up working it's way to the top without a top-dress of gravel to keep it down.
Image
Image
I've left the pots on a sunny shelf in the greenhouse to see how quickly they dry out. I'm fairly happy to use this for alpines and some succulents though. I'll be adding a weed membrane type material to the bottom of my pots to help retain the finer materials. It's certainly better quality than some of the peat John Innes mixes I've bought recently and my initial impression is mostly positive and reassures me that peat-free can be a viable future.
User avatar
ralphrmartin
BCSS Research Committee Chairman
Posts: 6052
Joined: 11 Jan 2007
Branch: None
Country: United Kingdom
Role within the BCSS: Chairman - Research
Location: Pwllheli
Contact:

Re: John Innes compost replacements

Post by ralphrmartin »

Looks quite reasonable. Do they do an ericaceous one?
Ralph Martin
https://www.rrm.me.uk/Cacti/cacti.html
Members visiting the Llyn Peninsula are welcome to visit my collection.

Swaps and sales at https://www.rrm.me.uk/Cacti/forsale.php

My Field Number Database is at https://www.fieldnos.bcss.org.uk
User avatar
Paul D
BCSS Trustee
Posts: 1144
Joined: 21 May 2009
Branch: GRAMPIAN (N.E.Scotland)
Country: UK
Role within the BCSS: Trustee
Location: Collieston, Aberdeenshire
Contact:

Re: John Innes compost replacements

Post by Paul D »

ralphrmartin wrote: Mon May 23, 2022 4:32 pm Looks quite reasonable. Do they do an ericaceous one?
I've just bought the ericaceous one Ralph, will do a summary once I get it opened.

@wildedges, great write-up, thankyou!
Paul in North-east Scotland (Grampian Branch BCSS)
National Collection Rebutia, Aylostera & Weingartia (inc. Sulcorebutia). Also growing a mixture including Ferocactus, Gymnocalycium, Lobivia, Mammillaria, Lithops, Gasteria, Haworthia.
http://www.rebutia.org.uk
User avatar
Paul D
BCSS Trustee
Posts: 1144
Joined: 21 May 2009
Branch: GRAMPIAN (N.E.Scotland)
Country: UK
Role within the BCSS: Trustee
Location: Collieston, Aberdeenshire
Contact:

Re: John Innes compost replacements

Post by Paul D »

Here is a quick review of the Sylvagrow Ericaceous Compost.
It's a big bag- 50 litres.
At first glance it looks full of sticks. But there is a lot of pretty good composted material in there and the texture feels like it should. I don't have a suitable griddle at present but I think once the bigger sticks are removed it will be fine.
There is no loam in this; it is entirely compost. So after griddling I plan to add sterilised loam and some sand to it and see where we are at.
Attachments
compost in bag.jpg
compost in bag.jpg (410.24 KiB) Viewed 533 times
compost in tray.jpg
compost in tray.jpg (526.23 KiB) Viewed 533 times
compost close-up.jpg
compost close-up.jpg (532.71 KiB) Viewed 533 times
Paul in North-east Scotland (Grampian Branch BCSS)
National Collection Rebutia, Aylostera & Weingartia (inc. Sulcorebutia). Also growing a mixture including Ferocactus, Gymnocalycium, Lobivia, Mammillaria, Lithops, Gasteria, Haworthia.
http://www.rebutia.org.uk
User avatar
ralphrmartin
BCSS Research Committee Chairman
Posts: 6052
Joined: 11 Jan 2007
Branch: None
Country: United Kingdom
Role within the BCSS: Chairman - Research
Location: Pwllheli
Contact:

Re: John Innes compost replacements

Post by ralphrmartin »

Thanks Paul. My hunt for a soil based Ericaceous JI replacement continues...
Ralph Martin
https://www.rrm.me.uk/Cacti/cacti.html
Members visiting the Llyn Peninsula are welcome to visit my collection.

Swaps and sales at https://www.rrm.me.uk/Cacti/forsale.php

My Field Number Database is at https://www.fieldnos.bcss.org.uk
Herts Mike
BCSS Member
Posts: 4303
Joined: 20 Sep 2007
Branch: LEA VALLEY
Country: Uk

Re: John Innes compost replacements

Post by Herts Mike »

Let me know if you find one Ralph. Not convinced by the above but I guess time will tell.
wildedges
Registered Guest
Posts: 196
Joined: 13 Nov 2018
Branch: None
Country: uk

Re: John Innes compost replacements

Post by wildedges »

Just an update to my compost write up:
48 hours later and the pot with the gritty compost is still slightly damp. There's no plant in there so it's just drying out on a sunny shelf in the greenhouse in a porous pot. The compost with no grit has started to go very solid which says a lot about the clay content. Definitely not a compost to use on its own. It suggests that the larger bits of wood are intentional to break things up a bit but you'd still be battling to stop the lighter material from separating and floating while watering.
Post Reply