peat free organic soil mix?

Mikell said:

Leaf mould would be the ideal choice, but given the breakdown time required (one to two years, can be accelerated with nitrogen and grain meals), would be something to start now for future use.

Unless of course you could find a local source. The legwork would be stiff but the payoff beauty.

Here's a Guardian article on the subject.

And another from the RHS.

Given the direction the UK has gone re: reducing peat use over the past decade, your local information/experience eclipses ours.

50 percent humus material is far too high of a ratio. If one were to look at a cross cut of an ideal in ground soil, the humus layer would comprise 5-10%. Growers increase this to maximum (as a general rule) 1/3 volume to increase growth/compensate for artificial mixtures.

The bulk of a good mix is aeration and inert (sort of) substrate. There are peat free mixes based around top soil but these are usually too heavy for our purposes. Too high of a bulk density (fine particles including sand, that comprises much compost) in a soil mix needlessly taxes root growth, restricts oxygen/CO2 exchange and negatively effects water movement and retention.

Wood fines and/or bark fines are another option, but require much processing to obtain ideal particle size. Mesh screen, an angle grinder and a concrete mixer would make short work of it. One could even extend the barrel to increase processing volume.

Click to expand...