24th November

With all the tunnels fully planted, and just harvesting too be done it is time to start planning the seeds for next year.

Some seeds were amazing well most were, but there is a couple we will change variety.

Over the next few weeks, I will let you know what I have ordered.

I placed the order last week for our blocking compost, which we use to fill the trays where we bring all our seeds on.

After having to move away from peat, it was a challenge, peat free compost is ok, but for crops that take ages to grow before planting it is absolutely no use.

The peat free compost runs out of steam after six weeks.

And with being organic we can only really use seaweed, which really didn’t have enough, but after bringing this up with soil association and asking what the solution was, well they were zero help, with no derogations available for a substitute feed to keep the plants going.

In the end i was left to solve the problem on my own.

So, the search was on, one huge issue is finding compost free companies that are organic and have a symbol.

In the end I found six, who all sent out one bag as samples, we filled a few trays with each and put leek seeds in them, these were the biggest problem seed that needed feeding past the six-week mark, with the seeds / plants still thriving with just seaweed feed.

And one was a winner Fertile fibre, they are coir bases compost, which consists of coir, bark and vermiculite.

So, I have placed the order for enough tonne bags for next year’s seeds, six tonne in total will take us through the whole season.

This has proved so good this is the third year I have used it.

Soil association now recommend it.

Whether it was after we had our organic inspection after the first season of using it, where they find out how successful this peat free compost is for bringing seeds on. Or actually done some trials themselves, I will never know.

But it works and that’s the important part.