It was lovely to hear from Liz Steele of Nailsworth in Bloom to whom we donated some bags of our award-winning peat-free compost compost earlier in the year - and to receive these pictures of their stunning showcase waterwheel display which celebrated their local heritage theme of 'Wool and Water'. It's just the thing to brighten up a dark December day. It probably won't surprise you to learn that they achieved...(more)
Gardening's green credentials are increasingly in focus these days so it's great to see that the gardening press is offering practical advice to gardeners on how to eliminate single use plastic and on how to garden peat free. The latest is a piece by our friend David Ware of edible culture in the much respected Gardens Illustrated which flags up Melcourt peat free products and our Bag for Life. You can...(more)
We've all seen the issue of plastic use in UK horticulture take a far higher profile over the last 12 months. At Melcourt we take this seriously and are looking to play our part in reducing the amount of single-use plastic. For those customers who want to do the same, we have developed a unique system to suit some of those retailers which builds on the experience of edibleculture The big...(more)
On the face of it this just the kind of challenge that members of the 5th Kettering Scouts might face during some kind of survival training but these tents came from a tree in a more indirect way. We gave the 5th Kettering some bags of award winning SylvaGrow peat-free compost (main ingredient tree bark!) they grew and sold some plants and put the proceeds towards these new tents - as...(more)
SylvaGrow® Tub and Basket launches at GLEE and, for next spring, garden centres can sell RHS Endorsed Melcourt products in a re-usable Melcourt Bag for Life Like all of the products in the award-winning Melcourt SylvaGrow® range, new SylvaGrow Tub and Basket is a peat-free blend of fine bark and wood fibre. To meet the particular demands of plants grown in tubs and baskets, it contains a water-retaining aid to...(more)
Growers purchasing Sylvamix® in 50 litre bags may be interested to know that an equivalent amount of product bought as a maxi-bale would use a massive 5 times less plastic. No special machinery is required to handle our maxi-bales as Sylvamix® is free-flowing and doesn’t become compacted in the bale. There's more information on this, on the Melcourt Bag for Life scheme, and on peat-free deadlines in the new issue of...(more)
We've been giving Nailsworth Rotary some free bags of SylvaGrow in which to plant their floral displays for a few years now so it was an absolute delight to meet up with some of them in the town the other day and see the results of their efforts first hand. As you can see, the displays transform the town and give enormous pleasure to residents and visitors alike. Nailsworth has a...(more)
We receive a growing number of enquiries from vegan gardeners about the suitability of our products for them. In fact, all but three of our products are suitable for use by vegans. Suitable products for vegans are; SylvaGrow® Sustainable Growing Medium SylvaGrow® Multi-purpose Compost with added John Innes SylvaGrow® Ericaceous Compost Topsoil™ SylvaBark® Pine Bark Flakes Spruce Ornamental™ Ornamental Bark Mulch™ Pine Mini Chips™ Bark Nuggets® SylvaBark® Pine Mini Mulch All-Purpose...(more)
It was good to hear from our friend Thorald Cox of Nailsworth Rotary Club about this year’s floral display. “We planted out on 5th June into SylvaGrow® which you so generously provided,” he writes. “I was assisted by Jonathan Bowen-Davies and Christine Prest both fellow club members who are shown in the photo.” Thorald notes that it is now much easier for local people to buy SylvaGrow since Blue Diamond have recently...(more)
Sales of our SylvaGrow® Peat-Free Planter for Organic Growing have exceeded all expectations since its launch this spring: little wonder when it's this simple to use. It's hugely gratifying to think of the thousands of salads, herbs, tomatoes, peppers and potatoes being served in homes across the land having been grown in these, the UK's only RHS Endorsed, Soil Association approved, peat-free planters. It has been another, remarkable and record breaking...(more)
All too often these days it seems that when young people are featured on the news it’s to do with knife crime or cyber bullying. How refreshing to hear once again from the 5th Kettering Scout Group who held their 2019 fundraising plant sale on Saturday 25 May. “We had a fabulous turnout and gorgeous weather,” writes Assistant Beaver Leader Vicky Geary. “We made a profit of around £1800, which will...(more)
In a week when the eyes of the world are on RHS Chelsea Flower show here’s a reminder of less rarified but no less vital gardening: Mark Ridsdill Smith (aka the Vertical Veg man) passing on basic skills to residents in Newcastle, with a little help from Melcourt SylvaGrow. Mark's passionate belief is that communities can be brought together by helping them learn and share the joys of growing. Looking at the...(more)
Sales of Melcourt SylvaGrow® are already at record levels but our guess is that they’ll increase even further now that this trailer has hit the road. It will be based near our Tetbury production facility, bringing raw material from nearby sawmills which will be graded and composted to form the basis of our different #peatfree products. The tractor unit and trailer are owned by A.W. Jenkinson Transport Limited, one of the...(more)
It’s hugely gratifying to see the number of Melcourt stockists growing. Since the start of this year alone we’ve added 51 bringing the total to over 500 across the UK (compared to less than 100 just five years ago). This means it’s easier than ever to buy our #peatfree products - although we still want more and better coverage to fill in the geographic gaps. For those without a local stockist...(more)
This video clip gives a drone's-eye view of our production facility at Long Newnton near Tetbury, Gloucestershire, as evening falls. The footage was taken by Darren Vertessy (who took the still we posted the other day) and shows our deeply rural location to great effect. Fitting, isn't it, that products which hold such sustainable credentials are produced in such a setting?(more)
The Easter week-end is fast approaching so time to remind everyone that the office will be closed on Good Friday and Easter Monday. We're keeping everything crossed for a cracking week-end: the forecast is good so we hope that garden centres are busy, that our professional grower customers get lots of calls to send more plants, and that we get lots of calls to send more #peatfree product!(more)
All Melcourt Garden & Landscape products are tested continually. These pictures show our recently launched SoilAssociation approved SylvaGrow® peat-free planter for organic growing doing its stuff brilliantly. Left to right: herbs one month after planting, strawberries full of tasty promise, and peas, 29 days after sowing which will soon be good enough - to eat!(more)
An important event in the diaries of both politicians and business leaders, the March release of The Parliamentary Review sees the document highlight the best practice of organisations across the private and public sectors, sharingsome of the most exciting and forward-thinking work that has occurred in the country over the last year. The Review is edited by former minister The Rt Hon David Curry. Melcourt Industries are the UK's leading manufacturer...(more)
We've been notified of some possible power outages this week as work is undertaken to improve the local electricity distribution network. This might affect your ability to contact us and our ability to deal with emails quickly. There could be an outage today and again on Thursday 4th April, both for indeterminate periods. We'll be diverting the land line to a mobile but this will restrict the number of calls we...(more)
SylvaGrow® has been a consistently high-scoring compost in Gardening Which? trials since its launch, whilst SylvaGrow® with added John Innes is regularly among the top-scoring peat-free composts for sowing seeds and raising young plants in their annual trials.* “There’s a commonly held but mistaken view that peat-free composts don’t produce the same results as peat-based products,” says Melcourt Technical Director Catherine Dawson. “These and other independent tests conducted over the years...(more)
We were delighted to welcome MP for the Cotswolds Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown to unveil our new Royal Warrant plaque on Friday 1st March. Melcourt was awarded a Royal Warrant from HRH the Prince of Wales for the supply of peat-free organic growing media last year and Friday’s unveiling by Sir Geoffrey was a fitting celebration. In front of assembled staff Managing Director Andy Chalmers welcomed Sir Geoffrey and gave a short resume...(more)
If you live in the Horsham area try to make time to visit the 'Growing Together' event at Kinder Living Home Show organised by Friends of Horsham Park on 2nd March. The event includes talks and workshops with proceeds from many of the activities going to Chestnut Tree House Children's Hospice. One of the talks will be given by Melcourt’s very own Senior Technical Sales Manager Neil Grey in partnership with...(more)
We were delighted to receive the picture above from Liz Steele, Planting coordinator for Nailsworth in Bloom, not least because it reminds us that while winter drags on, spring and summer and all the colour that they bring, will surely follow. The plants in this astonishing display were grown in SylvaGrow® and are a credit to those who grew and nurtured them Stunning as the piano and chess set is, we...(more)
We are always keen to attend trade shows and events which support our customers, further the aims of the sectors we work in and/or give us the chance to showcase our products and services. So, you'll find us at the following events this year. You can download this list here. This list will be updated as the year goes on when information about stand numbers becomes available. Hope to see you...(more)
Even with the snow on arrival and departure it was most gratifying to attend the closing exhibition at the GCA Annual Conference yesterday. There was a huge amount of interest in the new SylvaGrow® Planter for Organic Growing: the UK's first peat-free, Soil Association Approved growing bag which is of course also endorsed by the Royal Horticultural Society. Perhaps more important for us was the enthusiasm for our entire range of peat-free products...(more)
Ladies and gentlemen we give you: the very first pallet load of our new SylvaGrow Planter for Organic growing! Full production will be underway soon of this, the UK’s first Soil Association approved peat-free growing bag. Please talk to your sales contact if you would like to stock some or see a sample. (more)
You may remember that back in October we posted about the expansion of our production site near Tetbury and that work had begun to transform a large area of scrubland into useful production space. We are pleased to let you know that the area has been transformed and it dramatically improves our ability to meet ever increasing demand for our products. You might recall that the project was somewhat delayed by...(more)