It’s been a good while since I have written a blog post. 3 years to be exact… where has that time gone?! Maybe I’ve just been waiting to write about something worthwhile. Maybe, I’ve just been distracted by all the pretty pictures on Instagram. Either way, I’ve written something new and it’s surprising how productive it has made me feel!
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So, back to the real reason you are reading…compost! We all use it. Whether you make your own or buy it from your local garden centre, it’s the foundation of creating any garden. But, do you know what goes into it? If you make your own compost, it will be a concoction of green and brown material and food waste. However, many people simply do not have the space or time to make sufficient compost to cover the whole year. A year of growing, mulching and what seems like excessive amounts of potting on. Instead, the majority of us buy it in garden centres, online, or on the high street. It is pretty safe to assume that most of this compost is a combination green and brown material with some form of fertiliser added to aid the growing process.
As a vegan gardener, the quest for ready-made compost poses 2 questions: Where does the fertiliser come from, and, what is it made from? Think about it for a second; egg shells, manure, wool, blood fish and bone, pesticides. All of these are commonly used ingredients to either boost nutrient levels or prevent beasties from eating our crops. But, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bag of compost with a list of ingredients. If you are making your own vegan compost, it is easy to include these nutrients by using plants in your mix like Comfrey and Nettles or by planting green manures. However, trying to find compost on the high street can be a frustrating task.
The next thought process for me is: How are compost brands sourcing their animal-based ingredients? Unfortunately, the most available and affordable way to obtain products like this is by using byproducts of animal farming industries. You can see the endless rabbit hole you can fall down…
I’ve written this post to make it all seem a little easier. I’ve been contacting UK based compost suppliers to get an idea of what goes into their compost and whether, in fact, they are vegan friendly. So far, I’ve been suitably impressed by the results! So, here is a list of vegan composts on the high street or available online.
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All gardening products are suitable for Vegans.
The following products are suitable for vegans:
Levington John Innes No1
Levington John Innes No2
Levington John Innes No3
Miracle Gro Peat Free All Purpose
Enriched Compost
Miracle Gro Peat Free Planter
Miracle Gro Moisture Control Compost
Levington Houseplant Compost
Notes: Currently in the process of becoming Vegan Society approved.
All products are vegan. This includes the Mysts, Greenfuse, and Nitrozyme.
Notes: All compost listed below is fully vegan certified by Vegan Society.
Vegro Seed Compost
Vegro Multipurpose Compost
Vegro Potting Compost
Notes: The ingredients consist of peat, grit, loam, lime and a mineral fertiliser base.
All products are vegan.
Marshalls Seeds
No products are suitable for Vegans.
Notes: All products have recently been converted to a vegan formula.
Moorland Gold Seed & Cutting compost
Moorland Gold Potting & Container compost
Moorland Gold Multipurpose compost
Moorland Gold Natural Peat Alternative
Moorland Gold Grow-Bags
Notes: Our bulk ingredients are forest by-products – bark and wood. All organic range products contain animal derived ingredients.
SylvaGrow Multi-purpose
SylvaGrow with added John Innes
SylvaGrow Ericaceous
Melcourt All-Purpose Peat-Free Compost
All of the mulches and soil improvers (apart from Farmyard Manure)
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Notes: The below are all either based on mineral fertilisers or do not contain fertiliser at all. All organic products contain animal based ingredients.
Gro-Sure Easy Container Compost
John Innes Seed, No.1, No.2, No.3 and Ericaceous
Multi-Purpose Compost With Added John Innes
The Gardeners Multi-Purpose Compost
The Gardeners Seed & Potting On Mix
Gro-Sure All Purpose Compost
Gro-Sure Seed and Cutting Compost
Topsoil
Bonsai Potting Mix
Cacti & Succulent Potting Mix
Citrus Potting Mix
Houseplant Potting Mix
Orchid Potting Mix
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Woodland Horticulture Ltd
No products are suitable for Vegans.
This list is up to date as of May 2019. Please do comment below with brands we may have missed and we will get in contact with them and update the list.
The Vegan Veg Gardeners 
I’m not UK based (live in Oregon, USA) but I just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to put this list together – I’m sure it took a lot of time to research and compile everything, hats off to you! I became vegan in terms of diet and clothing a year or so ago, but I’m just now delving into veganic gardening and it feels a bit daunting, so I’m thrilled to come across your site.
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Ooh I love Oregon ♥️ I’m so pleased you like the blog. We’ve been gardening veganically ever since we got our grow space, so 5 years this year. I mainly did the research for myself and then realised that it’s probably information that everyone could do with. There are lots of lists of vegan foods, beauty products etc. But nothing garden related that I’ve found 😊
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This is so ridiculously helpful – there is nothing else online and I was desperately searching in B & Q for an ingredients list with no luck! I can’t thank you enough for taking the time to do this. Keep up the great work – vegans are grateful! 🙂 x
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I’m so pleased you found it helpful! I just know how many times I’ve desperately needed compost and had to order online and wait. I will be adding another batch of companies to this list soon when I get a spare minute 😊
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Hi there – just came across this list, very helpful! Have you any updates since mid-2019? And in particular, I am interested in vegan organic composts.
All that I can find are the Fertile Fibre, Moorland Gold and Dalefoot Composts’ Lakeland Gold, which you could add to your list (https://www.dalefootcomposts.co.uk/products/lakeland-gold.p.aspx) but I have not found it suitable as a compost on its own as it is too woody and needs mixing with something finer (I think it is intended to be mixed with garden soils to improve them, rather than be used by itself in e.g. raised beds).
Thanks again, and hope you are safe and well,
Kezia
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Hi Kezia, thanks for your comment.
Unfortunately I haven’t made an update as of yet. Work and life just seem to be getting in the way! But I will be trying to update soon.
It’s interesting what you say about the Dalefoot compost – I wonder whether it should be sold as soil improved instead?!
Stay safe xx
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