My strawberry plants arrived yesterday from the Organic Gardening Catalogue.
I didn't have enough potting compost so trundled off with my shopping trolley to Homebase. Remembered when I got there that the bags Homebase sell are usually too big. Too heavy for me to lift and likely to damage my shopping trolley beyond repair. But thought I would check. They had very little selection, and all huge bags, except for some growbags.
Who uses growbags in winter?
So off I trundled to B&Q. They had some peat-free potting compost but in 50 litre bags. They had a bigger selection than Homebase but all 50 litre or 60 litre bags. So I got a growbag instead - which I could have got 25 minutes earlier!
I got "Alice" which the catalogue said had sweet fruit. The ones I got from a garden centre this year were virtually tasteless so are for the bin!. I noticed in the Organic Gardening Catalogue that their best seller "Cambridge Favourite" had no mention of what the fruit tasted like!
Such is the car-based culture. In Clacton, where I live, there is an independent store, that sells garden stuff and aggregates, and they deliver free if one spends over £10, but I know that most places, like B&Q and Homebase charge a fee for delivery. Do you know anyone with a car who might do it for free? Do you have a time bank or LETS scheme in your area? There are some general stores that sell compost in small amounts, which you could get on a bicycle trailer if you have one. I think some Morrison's stores sell compost in small bags, or they used to. But I know from my own experience that B&Q and Homebase only sell compost in large bags because they expect everyone to have a car.
ReplyDeleteVery few of my friends have cars. The friend with a car I'd find easiest to ask lives in Streatham - the other end of London! When I was digging a pond I got a taxi from Homebase planning to get the driver to get the bags on to the doorstep and I would take the sand through the house half a bucket load at a time. My taxi driver had a bad back!!! I have asked the checkout assistants at B&Q and Homebase about their delivery service and they know nothing about it! If there was something really important to me to get home from the DIY store I might make an effort to track down this information but can't face it just for potting compost!
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