Compost: best buy: Silvamix, Melcourt Industries

Earlier this year I went on an outing to Melcourt Industries, a company who supply commercial compost and mulching materials.

The outing was arranged by my Guild, the Professional Gardeners' Guild, and we were given full access to the entire site, from the arrival of the rough materials, through the various processing piles, through to the bagging section.

It's always fascinating to see any machinery with converyor belts and hoppers, and it's always fascinating (to gardeners) to have a look at other people's compost arrangments, so it was an excellent day out all round.

I have certainly never seen anything on the scale of Melcourt, as far as composting is concerned, and it was possibly the cleanest, tidiest industrial site I have ever been on! At the end of the visit they very kindly gave us each a bag of their standard garden compost, and wow, was it lovely stuff! It had a texture that I can't quite describe, not soggy, not gritty, not exactly harsh, but not fluffy: lovely to work with, and very easy to "wet".

And, unlike the usual cheap stuff that I buy, not a single un-usable particle:  no plastic, no glass, no great thick woody bits, every teaspoon of it was fully usable.

Unfortunately it's quite expensive for me: I'll stick with sieving the cheap stuff for now, but if ever I become rich, I shall definitely be buying Silvamix!