Blog & Latest News
We don’t just make beautiful peat-free composts. Our FSC-certified bark and mulch range offers a variety of ways to bring some TLC to your garden this autumn Autumn or spring mulching is a great way to lock in a multitude of soil benefits. A mulch can help suppress weeds and encourage beneficial soil…
Read More
Gardening is on the rise – but so is knowledge and interest in the environmental cost of peat harvesting and its alternatives One of the happier outcomes of the pandemic has been a shift in the numbers of people gardening. Research by industry body the Horticultural Trades Association shows up to three million more…
Read More
Gloves and wellies at the ready! Here’s our top ten jobs to be getting on with in the garden or allotment this autumn… 1. Sow autumn leaves It’s not too late to sow crops such as Chinese mustard, mizuna and American land cress for salad leaves. And they can easily be grown in containers.…
Read More
We share our top tips for watering your peat-free garden containers this summer Watering your garden containers should be a simple operation – but as any gardener knows, a surprising number of difficulties can be encountered. It’s useful to remember that rainfall, however strong, rarely is enough to effectively water containers. In other words, don’t…
Read More
August’s National Allotment Week focussed on how allotments could contribute to a sustainable future. Here, we offer five ways you can save precious natural rescources on your plot Save water Drier springs and hotter summers have meant it’s even more important to find a more sustainable way to preserve water. It’s estimated the average…
Read More
At Melcourt we are very aware of environmental issues. Here we round up some of our latest eco-friendly initiatives Having never dealt with peat, we have have been very involved with the debate about its use for nearly three decades. And we are very happy to have been able to take a leading role…
Read More
A new Responsible Sourcing of Growing Media Scheme could help you make more informed choices about the eco-friendliness of the compost you buy No keen gardener can be unaware of the call to stop using peat. It is an issue that has been raging within professional horticulture for more than three decades. But although…
Read More
We are delighted to report that for the second year in a row, Melcourt has won the Best New Product Award at the Garden Press Event. Voted by the delegates at this year’s event which was successfully held online, SylvaGrow Farmyard carried the day. Melcourt’s Managing Director Andy Chalmers said, ‘We are delighted to have…
Read More
This month, we explore what can happen if compost is stored incorrectly – and what to do with leftovers… Anyone who has read the small print on the back of our SylvaGrow bags will see that we recommend using the product within the season of purchase. This may seem a rather vague statement –…
Read More
We know there can be confusion about what John Innes composts actually are and who he was. In this month’s blog, we aim to answer all the questions you may have about this great heritage range of composts… Our new SylvaGrow John Innes composts went into production in February and will start appearing on garden…
Read More
We delve deeper into our vegan composts this month and explain just what makes them perfect for vegan gardeners. Interest in vegan gardening has sky rocketed in the last year – and with it the curiosity about our vegan range. Many of our peat-free SylvaGrow composts are suitable for use by vegans, but exactly what…
Read More
Grab the New Year by both gardening gloves! Melcourt’s technical director Catherine Dawson shows you how to plant a tree, take root cuttings and get mulching January. A new year with all the hope and promise that it brings – this year more than ever. Many of us were thankful for the sanctuary of our…
Read More
