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Reason for my angst? There have been two cases ofÌý reported in the press in recent months, the source of infection allegedly traced to COMPOST!Ìý, the first time the text was accompanied by a picture of an allotmenteer forking green vegetable waste on to his compost heap. On the second occasion, the text was accompanied by a close-up of a hand pulling a mature carrotÌýout of the soil. The facts as quoted attribute the source of the problem to be from a seed/potting compost in a plastic bag – an entirely different scenario.

These scary, headline-grabbing tactics annoy me because they are misleading and can cause so much mischief!Ìý Should we be more careful and refer to Growing Medium rather than seed/potting compost?Ìý Would it make any difference, perhaps not?

Talking about growing medium, like so many, I have come through significant changes over the years. In my early days, was the accepted standard, then for a whole lot of reasons we became embroiled in the soilless compost saga based on the use of granulated peat and nowadays, as we try to move away from that we are confronted with ‘peatÌýfree’ growing media.

Since we reached this latest phase, I have taken a keen interest in these developments in the , testing many of the new products against a standard peat-based mix and it is just as well that we do! In our very first comparison a number of years ago weÌý were able to highlightÌý a basic mistake in one formulation which we were able to report back to the manufacturer. The problem was acknowledged by the makers. As time has gone on, it is patently obvious that the formulation are getting better but in my experience they do lack consistency. The arguments for and against the use of peat are raging still but I don’t intend to join in.Ìý I do wish however that people wouldn’t try to adopt rigid deadlines for change, it has to be positive but gradual.Ìý

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In our most recent observations, it was obvious that some manufacturers are almost there whilst others still have some way to go. Note, I use the word ‘observation’ these are not trials in the scientific sense of the word. There is no replication and therefore no statistical analyses.Ìý My photo illustrates that original ‘trial’ showing the style we adopt. The product at the front is exhibiting a lack of growth compared with all the others. This was identified at the time as being the lack of nitrogen because a ‘wrong’ source had been used.

Jim McColl presents ´óÏó´«Ã½ Scotland's the .