Melcourt Professional Growers Range Sustainable growing media Bark-based media ingredients www.melcourt.co.uk
Dear Grower Welcome to this guide to Melcourt grower products. We are widely respected as brand leaders and product innovators in the field of sustainable growing media. True specialists, we work in partnership with all sectors of the industry to deliver first class, quality-assured products for every kind of commercial growing situation. Our technical expertise, production methods and customer service, built from more than 30 years experience, are second to none. When you have browsed this brochure please feel free to contact us for additional information. Andy Chalmers Andy Chalmers, Managing Director Sustainable Growing Media Sylvamix Nursery stock Sylvamix Potting Sylvamix Hanging Basket Sylvamix Seed and Cutting Sylvamix Natural Sylvamix Special - Prescription Mix Growing Media Additives and Pot Mulches The Melcourt story - and our promise to growers Pot Mulching Orchid Bark Potting Bark EcoBark Topper Propagating Bark Growbark Pine Growbark Mixed Conifer Hortibark Pine Sylvafibre Coir Orchid Bark Coarse Orchid Bark Medium Growing with Melcourt More about Melcourt and our wider product range Our distributor network Pages 4-5 Pages 6-9 Page 7 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Back page See our website for more information, advice, news and full technical specifications www.melcourt.co.uk 2
Proven growing media. Rigorous quality control. Unrivalled technical support. Consistent results. Melcourt ticks all the right boxes... Melcourt barks and wood fibre originate in sustainably managed UK forests and are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). We have a peat-free compost or ingredient to suit any crop requirement. Our range is at work across the UK helping growers develop commercial success whilst keeping them in line with government targets for peat reduction. Our qualified, experienced personnel will fully understand your requirements and provide practical expertise from seed to saleable plant. Using sustainable growing media can help access new markets. We have access to ample raw materials ensuring that your compost volume requirements are available now and into the future. Samples for trials are available on request. We undertake trials and product monitoring throughout the UK, in conjunction with existing Melcourt customers, as well as recognised research bodies, including HDC and ADAS. Our state-of-the-art mixing equipment and meticulous production systems backed by rigorous quality assurance procedures ensure consistency, batch after batch. We have a unique distribution network to service your orders promptly. Our typical order turn-around time is 5-7 working days. Melcourt are active members of the Growing Media Association and the Growing Media Initiative. Many of our products are certified by the Soil Association. These are flagged up throughout this brochure. Our products are constantly tested for efficacy and consistency at our trials site near Cambridge. 3
Sustainable Growing Media The Melcourt Sylvamix Range of professional peat-free growing media provides growers with consistent, costeffective solutions to growing superb ornamental and edible crops. It does so, incidentally, without the use of peat. Melcourt Sylvamix has an attractive, dark brown, friable appearance. It is uniform and very easy to handle, flows through potting machines with speed and ease and neither compresses nor slumps with time. Sylvamix Nursery Stock An open-structured, free-flowing, ready-to-use peat-free growing medium that supports strong rooting and superb top growth. Suitable for a wide range of nursery stock, trees, herbaceous perennials and alpines in pot sizes from 5cm to 250 litres or more. Can also be used for vegetative propagation and seed sowing. Very resistant to structural breakdown, giving good long term porosity. Supplied with enough nutrients for the first 4-6 weeks and is compatible with the use of controlled-release fertilizers or liquid feed programmes. Sylvamix Potting A fine, free-flowing, ready-to-use peat-free growing medium that supports the rapid development of excellent top and root growth. Suitable for a wide range of applications including bedding plants, herbaceous perennials and pot plants, in all pot sizes. Supplied with enough nutrients for the first 4-6 weeks and is compatible with the use of controlled-release fertilizers or liquid feed programmes. Also suitable for seed sowing. Sylvamix Hanging Basket A fine, free-flowing, ready-to-use peat-free growing medium specially formulated to give enhanced moisture-retention and superb quality hanging baskets, tubs and troughs. Contains Celcote water management aid giving enhanced moisture-holding capacity. Supplied with enough nutrients for the first 4-6 weeks and is compatible with the use of controlled-release fertilizers or liquid feed programmes. Sylvamix Seed and Cutting A free-flowing, ready-to-use peat-free growing medium designed to provide the perfect conditions for excellent germination and root development of a wide range of plant types. Suitable for all types of vegetative propagation and for all but the finest of seeds. Supplied with enough nutrients for the first 4-6 weeks and is compatible with the use of controlled-release fertilizers or liquid feed programmes. 4 Celcote is a registered trademark of Certis Europe BV
Sylvamix Natural A free-flowing, ready-to-use, Soil Association approved (as a restricted input) peat-free growing medium. Suitable for a wide range of organic applications including ornamental and edible crops from seed-sowing to potting on. Supplied with a base fertilizer and requires supplementary feeding at an early stage. Sylvamix Special - Prescription Mix Sylvamix Special is the prescription mix service fulfilling the specific requirements of individual growers, incorporating modifications to any of the standard Sylvamix formulae, for example by the addition of controlled-release fertilizers, insecticides, biofungicides, sterilized loam or other ingredients. Delivery options The products on these pages can be delivered in: 70L bags Bulk bags Maxi-bales Loose Bulk 5
Growing Media Additives and Pot Mulches Potting Bark TM 3-15mm, matured pine bark chip, mid to dark brown in colour, with virtually no fines, designed for incorporation into peatbased or peat-free growing media, to improve both air-filled porosity and long term structural stability. Also an excellent pot mulch to suppress weed, moss and liverwort growth. TM EcoBark Topper 0-12mm, attractive, dark-coloured mixed-conifer bark designed for pot mulching where it offers excellent natural cohesion and effective suppression of moss, liverwort and weed growth. Can also be used as an excellent growing medium ingredient. Propagating Bark TM 2-7mm substantially dust free, matured, pine bark designed for use in mixes with peat or suitable alternatives for the vegetative propagation of nursery stock and a wide range of other plants. Also an excellent pot mulch to suppress weed, moss and liverwort growth. Delivery options The products on these pages can be delivered in: 70L bags Bulk bags Maxi-bales Loose Bulk 6
Pot Mulching Save yourself time, money, water and herbicide by using Melcourt Potting Bark TM Propagating Bark TM or EcoBark TM Topper to: reduce the spread of moss and liverwort on top of the compost; reduce the effect of water evaporation from the compost; help prevent hostile weed seeds and spores germinating within the container; substantially improve the visual appearance of the potted item before leaving your nursery. Melcourt Pot Mulches are: coarse enough to present a dry surface and allow free passage of irrigation; free-flowing, easily covering the entire surface of the pot with no gaps; evenly graded so ready to knit into a resilient, wind resistant surface; resistant to shrinkage on drying so no gaps appear; very easy to apply either by hand or by machine, with minimal requirement for protective clothing and no formal training required; non-damaging to stock non-phytotoxic and no restriction on protected crops; competitively priced against herbicide use - a 2cm layer is all that is needed; long lasting enough to maintain an attractive appearance until the time of despatch a single application is all that is required; certified by the Soil Association, so suitable for organic weed suppression. As well as providing a hostile surface for moss and liverwort, pot mulching has been shown to enhance growth by preventing evaporation from the pot surface and reducing competition, as shown in the picture below taken 6 months after potting. Choisya Aztec Pearl with no mulch on the left, a 2cm layer of Melcourt Potting Bark on the right. We share the high standards expected by our garden centre customers and have used Melcourt Propagating Bark as a pot-mulch for many years now. This plays a key role in our moss, liverwort and weed control strategy and provides an enhanced cosmetic value at point of sale. Melcourt s professionalism is second-to-none, deliveries are always on time and we appreciate the technical support we are given when needed. John Richards John Richards Nurseries Ltd A newly potted Ceanothus crop pot mulched with Melcourt Propagating Bark at John Richards Nurseries Ltd. 7
Growing Media Additives A range of highly consistent, effective growing medium ingredients that provide excellent results when blended together or with other materials. Growbark Pine 0 5mm, fine, matured, British pine bark designed as a major growing medium ingredient. An ideal additive to peat and its alternatives where it imparts long term structural stability and resistance to slumping. Growbark Mixed Conifer 0-6mm, fine, matured, British mixed conifer bark designed as a major growing medium ingredient. An ideal additive to peat and its alternatives. Slightly coarser and softer than Growbark Pine. Hortibark Pine 0-15mm, matured, British pine bark, designed for incorporation into peat-based or peat-free growing media, for the purpose of improving both air-filled porosity and long term structural stability. Contains fines. 8
Sylvafibre 0-6mm, fine composted British wood-fibre designed as a major growing medium ingredient, ideal for peat-free or peat-reduced plant production. Stabilized with nitrogen during production, this product requires no further supplementary nitrogen. Coir 0-6mm fine, consistent coir fibre from a single, socially compliant source in India. Ideal as a growing medium ingredient where it imparts a good moisture-holding capacity and excellent re-wetting qualities. Melcourt Orchid Bark TM Orchid Bark Coarse 15-35mm TM Orchid Bark Medium 5-15mm Chunky, fine-free pine barks, designed for use in orchid composts where they provide extremely free drainage and excellent long-term structural stability. Delivery options The products on these pages can be delivered in: 70L bags Bulk bags Maxi-bales Loose Bulk 9
From seedlings and cuttings to mature trees, with every kind of production in between, Melcourt s sustainable growing media range Sylvamix is helping to deliver top quality crops for many of the UK s leading commercial growers. These businesses have successfully switched from peat-based products enabling them not only to meet targets relating to public sector plant procurement but also to satisfy a growing interest from garden centre operators and amateur gardeners in environmental awareness and sustainability. Growing with Melcourt Trial before you switch to Melcourt - like Lowaters. When Charles Carr of Lowaters Nurseries, home of the Garden Beauty range, approached us about taking a pallet of Sylvamix for trials on Hebes we were delighted to help. As a nursery committed to environmental awareness across the business, looking at growing media has been a logical step. In previous peat-free trials Hebes had proved challenging but results are now excellent to the extent that Charles has been a regular customer since 2011. As we grow on sand beds we were keen to find out if the Sylvamix would supply enough moisture. In fact the results have been fantastic and easily as good as our former nursery standard across 12 hebe varieties and other subjects such as lavender, Callistemon and Choisya. Charles Carr of Lowaters. The results have been fantastic Darlington Borough Council gives a strong lead The government s target for all local authority contracts to use sustainable growing media has come a step closer thanks to Darlington Borough Council who supply the contract for the East Riding of Yorkshire. Nursery Manager Mark Riddle says, Using Sylvamix has been an easy transition for us and we are absolutely delighted with the bedding plants that we can now produce - in fact our quality has gone up considerably since moving to Sylvamix. Producing around 125,000 bedding plants and hanging baskets of such good quality without the use of peat will surely give a great lead to other councils. Public sector contract requirements at Hillier Broadmead Trees The requirement for public sector contracts to use sustainable growing media has led many growers to switch to Melcourt. It was a local authority contract that first got Hillier Broadmead Trees into growing a peat-free range back in 2002. Finding that Sylvamix Special was outperforming their current peat-based mix prompted the decision to switch exclusively to using the Melcourt product. Many years on they are still delighted not only with the performance of the mix but also the level of service and back-up that Hilliers receive from Melcourt. We use Sylvamix Special for all of our containerised trees and the results speak for themselves, says Martin Hillier, manager of the Broadmead Tree Unit. It is easy to use, has a good open structure that doesn t compact, is easy to re-wet and always gives excellent results. It also always arrives without delay on the day we want it. Martin Hillier of the Broadmead Tree Unit showing the use of pot mulching. We use Melcourt s Spruce Ornamental on most of the containers nowadays as it reduces moisture loss from the pot surface and certainly keeps weeds at bay. Salvias in Sylvamix at Earley Ornamentals who contract grow the East Riding bedding plants for Darlington Borough Council. Staff at the nursery found Sylvamix very easy to handle through the potting machinery and subsequent management was equally straightforward. See the front cover for the excellent rooting in this same crop. Neil Alcock of Seiont Nurseries (left) and Kevin Jarvis (right) of Wyevale Hawkins could hardly produce more different crops. Neil produces liners and supplies leading nurseries and garden centres. Kevin grows mature trees for amenity landscapes with a smaller percentage going to garden centres. Both have switched their production completely to Melcourt growing media and each has seen many benefits to their business as a result. 10 The chances are that we supply a nursery growing similar stock to yours. Please contact us if you would like to be put in touch with them to compare notes.
More about Melcourt... Our quality Melcourt Industries was founded in 1983 when the UK bark industry was in its infancy. From then and to this day, we aim to provide the best possible products at affordable prices together with excellent customer care. The outstanding reputation that Melcourt has earned is testament to these guiding principles. We also understand the importance of our part in providing the building blocks for our customers products and to that end we offer as much technical support as required in close and supportive relationships. Our consistency All Melcourt products and ingredients are extensively tested in a rigorous quality assurance programme that ensures product quality and consistency, year in, year out. Results from our in-house labs are also routinely verified by an independent, accredited laboratory....and our wider product range We have a wide range of gardening and landscape products which offer real opportunities for profit for those growers who sell plants direct either to gardeners or to profressional landscapers. A unique gardening product Sustainable growing media for gardeners who are as passionate about the environment as they are about their gardens see www.sylvagrow.co.uk for more information. The sustainability of our raw materials Melcourt products are part of a virtuous forestry circle which ensures that a use is found for every part of the tree - and that new trees are planted every time one is felled and processed. To that extent we are working with renewable resources which we can be confident are sustainable. Continued certification by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is something we are proud of. We re also proud of the fact that, with one or two very minor exceptions, the bulk of our raw material is from UK sources and that all of our manufacturing takes place here. Our Passionate Gardener Range, including SylvaGrow, above, a specially formulated peat-free growing medium for gardeners. We ll be adding to this range as time goes on so please see our website for more information. The Melcourt Professional Range for landscape contractors and similar professionals comprises a wide choice of sustainable products including: Landscape and garden mulches Compost and Soil conditioners Topsoils Walk surfaces Natural Play surfaces CONTACT US FOR MORE DETAILS ON STOCKING THESE PRODUCTS Come to Gloucestershire and see for yourself We re always happy to welcome visitors to our office and production facility near Tetbury in Gloucestershire. Of course, it s a working site so we need to plan such visits in advance. Please contact us to set something up. 11
Technical advice and where to buy our products Switching growing media is a big step for any grower - something of which at Melcourt we are well aware. We will be delighted to give all the help you need to discuss the right mix and to help set up any trials. Just call us to set things in motion. Our Technical Director Catherine Dawson and Technical Sales Manager Neil Gray are two of the most respected people in the field. Catherine has worked with bark products and growing media for more than 30 years and is widely consulted for her unrivalled expertise. Neil has many years experience of commercial horticultural production with a wide range of crops and is thus well placed to deliver sound advice to growers. Above all both Catherine and Neil are known for their integrity and their commitment to building productive long-term relationships. Made in the UK from renewable resources Melcourt We re proud of the fact that the vast majority of the ingredients in our products are British and that we manufacture in the UK. All of Melcourt s bark and wood originate from British forests that are sustainably managed. Melcourt professional grower products are available from our unique network of appointed horticultural distributors. Clydeside Trading Society Tel: 01555 894151 www.clydesidetradingsociety.co.uk East Riding Horticulture Ltd Tel: 01904 608157 www.eastridinghorticultureltd.co.uk Henry Alty Ltd Tel: 01772 812176 www.altys.co.uk Dejex Supplies Ltd Tel: 01775 821800 www.dejex.co.uk BHGS Ltd Tel: 01386 444100 www.bhgsltd.co.uk Fargro Ltd Tel: 01206 735467 www.fargro.co.uk JFC Monro Tel: 01736 755766 www.jfcmonro.co.uk Fargro Ltd Tel: 01903 721591 www.fargro.co.uk Melcourt Industries Ltd Boldridge Brake Long Newnton Tetbury Gloucestershire GL8 8RT Tel: 01666 502711 Fax: 01666 504398 Email: mail@melcourt.co.uk www.melcourt.co.uk The information in this brochure was correct at the time of printing. Melcourt reserves the right to make changes to product specifications if deemed necessary for the purposes of product improvement August 2014