Finding a good peat free seed compost is hard enough but to find one for growing acid loving plants is even harder! I was lucky enough to be given a bag of this to try and it has been waiting until the spring for me to start my little trial. Like the seed compost, this will be tried over the next year or so, not just in one plant but over a range of different plants and growing habits.

So what is Dalefoot compost and what makes it so special? Well it’s a compost based on an old Victorian recipe that incorporates well rotten bracken and sheeps wool from Herdwick sheep. This produces a compost that holds water well but is also free draining. The compost is also contains potash and slow release nitrogen, as well as trace levels of iron and magnesium. The bracken is harvested in rotation from the Lake District while the wool is from the sheep that live on the hillside. The bracken used for the Ericaceous is taken from the acidic areas in the fells.

This compost is supposed to be ideal for blueberries, so as my children love blueberries, I decided to buy a couple in a large fruit order I put in too R V Rogers, so on Saturday afternoon with my little hampers helpers, I potted them on into the compost.

Like the seed compost, it was soft to the feel and nice and springy. I tried squeezing it and it formed a nice sausage that broke down finely once touched.

So they are now potted up and let’s see what happens,