Melcourt peat free compost

On 24th February ODGC welcomed Richard Cave, Technical and Sales manager of Melcourt Industries Ltd. 

This is a small company of 22 people situated on the Gloucester/Wiltshire border and was set up by the proprietors of a sawmill in Bishops Castle, Shropshire and Forest Products, Cumbria in 1983.

Garden compost forms a small part of Melcourt’s range. It produces bark products for landscaping, play areas, equestrian purposes and biofiltration. Wood is taken from forest to sawmill for processing and the bark is then graded depending on its future use. The very fine particles, fines, were waste products initially. Stockpiles of fines coincided with the peat extraction debate and it was realized that they could be mixed with composted bark to provide a renewable and consistent product, low in nutrients therefore versatile.

Coir is added to hold moisture and is carefully sourced from central India to avoid salt contamination from coastal sites. It is washed to remove the pith using monsoon water collected in a lagoon and exported in compressed bales.

In 1995 the first peat free compost was produced for landscapers and growers and the Sylvagrow range for gardeners was produced in 2013. Other ingredients include green waste, a base fertilizer, soluble lime, controlled release nitrogen and a wetting agent. Green waste is variable in quality and therefore Melcourt uses only one source, in Hampshire.

Melcourt trials its products regularly to ensure consistency and tests against a peat based mix. In order to find an alternative to coir interesting experiments have been conducted using dried sphagnum produced commercially in the UK. Peat free composts have been criticized for their lack of water retention but Richard explained that it is a question of management, water little and often and add feed slightly earlier than required for peat based products. Usefully bags are date stamped.

Melcourt’s Sylvagrow products are endorsed by the RHS, approved by the Soil Association and have received a Royal Warrant. They have received 23 ‘Which? Best Buy’ accolades since 2013. Richard’s informative and interesting talk ensured that his audience was unlikely to view this product as ‘just’ a bag of compost.

Ghislaine Arundale