RocketGro Reviews 74

Tried the rocket grow seed compost after having terrible germination rates last year with another peat-free brand (50% at best).

I used to get good results with F1 pro peat seed compost (which I think was supposed to be trade only).

Plus points.

The dates on the bags showed it wasnt old stock.
No big lumps, twings etc.
Nice and crumbly.
Feels like real compost.

Minus points.

Gets waterlogged below top layer.
Top layer dries out quickly
Very dense once wet
Terrible germination rates and loads of damping off issues.

Results so far

Large seeds - sweat peas, sunflowers, etc - ok
Surface sown fine seeds - 90% fail
Seeds covered with vermiculite - 50% fail
Seeds covered with more rocket grow - 70% fail

So about £15 of seeds not germinating or damping off.

Retrying after mixing in vermiculite and grit at 50% to try and open it up a bit as it still feels like one of the better peat free options.

I feel it needs something adding to open the structure up more to help with drainage and root growth or notes on what you need to mix in it for good germination with different seed types.

Like so many others. The customer service is non existent. I ordered a pallet of mixed composts on the 6th April and have yet to receive it. They say allow 3 to 5 working days which I have done. I have asked via email for an update twice and received no response at all. According to their website you cannot cancel the order either.! Whatever happened to consumer rights? I love the product but can’t seem to get it delivered. Shall not use them again.

Very bad experience with rocket grow, they don't reply to your emails, very bad customer service, such a shame. They take your money and don't bother for replying your email for faulty items, never buy from them again, go for more trustable supplier.

Bought a couple of bags of multi purpose. Terrible results. In 40 years of veg growing I have never had such awful germination. Plants withered and died on transplanting. Never buy this terrible compost

After reading the mixed reviews I ordered a few bags of RocketGro with added John Innes to try out.
All the stories of bags of compost being full of poorly graded material and full of rubbish are completely untrue. The compost is lovely fine material, and smells like well rotted home made compost. Time will tell what the plants grow like, but I have no doubts whatsoever that it will live up expectations. I will be placing a further order in the near future.

i wish i had read the reviews before I purchased these growbags of compost worst I have ever purchased in 40 years of gardening

I used RocketGro compost on medium mature plants and the results were very satisfactory on aubergines and peppers. I monitor the water run off and in the past the WQM (water quality meter) indicated that I was over enthusiastic with the fertiliser. By just using the compost for at least 8 weeks and not meddling, it has worked fine for me - today, I went out and bought some more. At the end of the day, that is the metric. I don't use it as seed compost - you need a free draining moderate feed=based support for that as seedlings are delicate. But with adolescent plants - brilliant!

In 50 years of growing professionally and as a hobby gardener this is the worst compost I've ever used. The water just runs out of the container and stains the patio, plants are almost dead through lack of water despite watering every day in this heat.

After trying a few different brands this is the best peat free compost I have used. I use both the seed and multi-purpose compost and have had no issues. I highly recommend it. Looking forward to trying the Magic Mulch next!

As well as the same problems that have already been stated multiple time, I also noticed that some signs of compaction which prevented root growth. Perhaps the Rocket Gro referred to how quickly the Chickweed seeds, that the compost was infested with, grew
Note They turn yellow and died off.

I bought 6 bags of this at my local garden centre, I bought the multi-purpose and used it on everything, sowing seeds, potting on, planting out and in pots. I had very low or nonexistent germination with the seeds, almost all the plants I potted on with this compost have either died or have stunted growth or have stopped growing! My pots are doing awfully even with garden centre plants! I have found when throwing away half of my plants that have subsequently died from using this compost that the compost is so wet at the bottom of the pots and holds water resulting in the roots just rotting away. There are also loads of mushrooms popping up everywhere I’ve used this so no idea what this is made from!

Lovely customer service response / I am very much looking forward to trying the famous 'magic mulch'!

I found out about RocketGro thanks to YeoValley and their promotion, and wanted to order some of RocketGro famous magic mulch, but I accidentally used the wrong promotion code in the checkout. The customer service team of Rocket Gro were very helpful and will send me the bag, as per the promotion rules, despite my mistake so thank you very much! I really need good soil improver and some good mulch so very much looking forward to using it in my garden! Thanks again

Sad to say that when I transplanted my seedlings from the seed compost to the multi purpose they just stopped growing. The tomatoes and beans and peas have survived but are really small and fragile compared with previous years. The cucumbers, leeks and sweetcorn just refuse to grow and have gone yellow. The cucumbers are now dying. The surface of the compost in the pots is dry and rock hard, but looks dark, as though it is still moist. It is difficult to get my finger through the hard layer on top to see if the soil beneath is still moist or not. It's a shame, it looks like lovely stuff and I bought a pallet of 15 40l bags for our allotment.

I have used many peat free composts over the years and found most of them tend to get very dry at the top with plants wilting, and then find the pots water logged at the bottom.
This doesn't happen with RocketGro as its more free draining. They use digestate which is a by-product of anaerobic digestion, so very sustainable.
I add perlite to aid germination as seeds require moisture and air, not nutrition.
Highly recommend it.

Do NOT use this stuff. Rocketgro is the worst 'compost' I have ever used (if you can even call it compost). I bought 8 bags to try it out and after 6 weeks I dug the last remaining plants back out of it to save them as they were almost all dead! I have over 20 years experience gardening and I work at a good sized garden centre, we have endless complaints and problems from customers who buy the rocketgro. It has got to the point that we no longer recommend rocketgro to anyone and now actively try to steer people away from using it. It appears to be a poorly made mix of farmyard manure and wood chips, it smells awful and doesnt retain any moisture at all unless you completely waterlog it. The 'compost' has an appaling structure to it as a result it has very poor water wicking capability, resulting in pots that are dry like the desert on the top half and soaked like a swamp in the lower half as the soil structure prevents the distribution of moisture properly. It's genuinely absolutely awful and not fit for purpose, and rocketgro's defence that a celebrity uses it is laughable, anyone can be paid to say something is good, but its junk. Save your plants, don't use rocketgro, it isnt fit for purpose!

I've had an allotment for years and never had such poor results as when using this compost. Seedlings have turned yellow and died after being transferred. Root growth practically zero.
Judging by RocketGro's snarky replies to others, they'll no doubt blame the customer instead of recognising there's an issue with their product. No other brand has this many one-star reviews.
Unless you have a degree in botany or horticulture and all the equipment to test the exact moisture level under the rock-hard surface, I suggest using any other compost. You'll be glad you did.

I have had 18 years experience of allotmenteering, and have used peat free multipurpose compost of different manufacture for the last 6 years. This year our allotment shop is selling Rocketgro.
It is absolutely APPALLING!
Sets like a rock in 24hrs. Very low or zero germination of seeds.
To be fair, Rocketgro did reply rapidly to my queries and photographic evidence. Their comment was that it says on the back of the bag that they do not recommend it for seed sowing.
It should be clearly stated on all their advertising that 'multipurpose' does not mean what it says, and that it fails with seeds.
I have bought 2 bags of other manufacturers peat free multipurpose, and within 4 days, seedlings have emerged.
This has cost me £50 in purchase of Rocket gro and lost seeds.

The production of Rocket Grow meets a lot of key things for me such as peat free, sustainable and chemical free (John Innes has chemicals in it though doesn't it?). My experience with using the "Stage 2/3 Multipurpose Compost" has not been consistent. My tomato seedlings, when potted on from a seed compost, have done well. They were 3 to 4 inches in height when re-potted and have continued to prosper. However, my cucumber and courgette seedlings have not survived being potted on into the Stage 2/3 mix. They lost vigor and have all but perished now. I have started germination again with fresh seed in a seed compost but I am now wary of using Stage 2/3 to pot them on. The first time round they had only just got past their cotyledon stage leaves so I may try bringing them on longer in the seed compost. Maybe the Stage 2/3 is a bit too much of a shock for very young seedlings? I will try the Rocket Grow Stage 1, Seed and Cutting Compost and follow on with the Stage 2/3 to see if this helps seedlings survive. Some advice on the web site about when to pot on would help.

The Stage 2/3 mix does need a different approach to watering as I found a dry, crusty top layer formed whilst deeper in the pot the compost was still very wet so the danger of over-watering is there if you do not check carefully.

Rocket Grow seems to be a different beast to many composts. I will persevere with it to see if I can master its use.

Lovely honest compost. The mulch is outstanding

Have been using, and spreading the word about Rocket Gro products, for several years now.

Excellent product, environmentally sound, achieving superb results: healthy plants in very healthy soil.

Have most recently had 100% seed germination with seed and cutting compost in readiness for two new raised beds full of rocket gro medium.

Excellent customer service.