The John Innes compost mixes were developed in 1939 and named after a property developer who left his estate to horticultural research. The idea with the compost was to create a mix that would be suitable for growing a wide range of plants. The mixture was simple and included sterilised loam, which in this case is good quality topsoil which is crumbly and not wet and sticky. This is then sterilised by steam (some people use Jeyes fluid in their own gardens). Peat is added as well as sharp sand and fertilizer. Until the 1960’s these mixes were very popular but then peat based compost made an appearance. The peat mixes were more uniformed and cheaper so the John Innes mixes fell out of favour. Conservation concerns have now made the John Innes mixes popular again. Anyone can make the recipes as they are available to us all but if you do buy any make sure the bag carries the John Innes Manufacturers Association badge. This will ensure you get good stuff.
I thought I would share the mixes with you and hopefully this will take the mystery out of the compost mixes so that we can make our own You can experiment to see which one suits the plants the best. . Each of these recipes make about one cubic yard of potting compost.
John Innes Base Fertilizer.
2 parts by weight hoof and horn.
2 parts by weight superphosphate of lime
1 part by weight sulphate of potash.
John Innes Potting Compost No 1
7 parts by bulk sterilised loam.
3 parts by bulk granulated peat.
2 parts by bulk coarse sand. To which is added:
5lbs of John Innes base Fertiliser.
1lb of ground limestone or chalk per cubic yard.
John Innes Potting Compost No 2
7 parts by bulk sterilised loam.
3 parts by bulk granulated peat.
2 parts by bulk coarse sand.
To which is added.
10lb John Innes Base Fertiliser.
2lb ground limestone or chalk per cubic yard.
John Innes Potting Compost No 3
The same as No 2 but add
15lb of Base fertiliser and
3lb of chalk per cubic yard.
John Innes Seed Compost.
2 parts by bulk sterilised loam.
1 part by bulk granulated peat.
1part by bulk coarse sand.
To which is added:
2lb of superphosphate of lime.
1lb ground limestone or chalk per cubic yard.
Horticultural.
1 comment:
no such thing as john innis compost now in 2020, the stacking of medium loam for 6 months and then steamed ,sphagnum moss peat (irish) not readily available and so not truly john innis ,but still being called so,plus sand silver
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