Soil, compost & bark

It is highly likely that the little round “eggs” are in fact smart release plant food granules and not vine weevil eggs.

For a quick comparison, vine weevils/slug eggs are white and approximately 1mm in diameter whilst plant food granules are 3mm in diameter.

The plant food is ever so clever and releases nutrients when weather conditions are perfect for plant growth i.e. when it is warm and moist, and feed for up to 6 months. Find out more about Miracle-Gro continuous release.

These plant food granules deliver the great performance you expect to see with our Miracle-Gro range of composts, so it really is important to make sure they are not removed.

If you find anything out of the ordinary in your compost, we would like one of our team to deal with this enquiry so please click the ‘email us’ button and a member of our care line will be in contact with you shortly.

Miracle-Gro and Levington are working hard to reduce the amount of peat in our composts and our now using responsibly sourced alternative ingredients, such as coir, wood fibre, composted bark and composted green waste.  As a result the product is changing in its appearance and feel so don’t worry, they are perfectly natural and necessary additions to our compost mixes and don’t throw any of the ingredients away.  When we change formulations Evergreen Garden Care undertakes extensive growing trials to make sure you achieve the same excellent results without compromising on quality.

To find out more about the ingredients and what they look like click here.

• The wood fibre known as Fibre Smart™ is a patented design that we have worked hard to create. The hollow wood fibres ensure the optimum balance of air & water for strong roots to grow healthily. Wood fibres are 100% natural and peat free, however they do tend to look very different to the peat type products that you may be used to.
• Green compost is a renewable material, rich in valuable nutrients for plants to grow healthy.   It comes from the recycled materials found in people’s gardens, such as prunings, hedge trimmings, leaves and grass cuttings.
• Composted bark is a by-product of the timber industry where bark is removed from logs before timbers are cut. The bark helps with drainage in compost creating airspaces for roots to explore and breathe.  Any larger parts of bark help with aeration and water retention to contribute to the healthy growth of plants.
• Coir or coco-peat, is a by-product of coconut processing.  A coconut is surrounded by a husk, made up of fibres and pith.  This is dried in the sun and compressed into dry blocks, which expand when water is added to make a spongy material good for holding water.

We advise you use your compost within 1 year. This is because any feed in the compost will be leached away by rain due to their being air holes in the bag. We suggest you use any old compost as a soil improver directly in your beds and borders.

We always advise using fresh compost for any new pots or containers. Any feed that was in the compost will have been washed away but also there may be a disease or pest in that compost that may affect any new plant. You can always spread old compost onto a bed a border and lightly fork it in.