Magical compost

...or compostable magic?

Here I'm starting to cover my veg patch for the winter with cardboard beneath a layer of compost. It's the No-Dig method, aimed to preserve the soil structure, prevent weed growth and fertilize the ground ready for planting in the spring. (The cardboard when wet gradually dissolves and encourages earthworm activity.)
Ideally, home made compost should be used but I never have enough of that. Instead I'm using Merlin's Magic, produced in West Wales from recycled green waste. It's peat-free and organic, local and fairly cheap at £3 a bag.

Gardeners love to moan about recycled compost. They say it contains fragments of plastic or metal and is useless compared to peat-based  compost. Peat however comes from deposits of plant material that have been laid down over millions of years,  creating carbon sinks that, once disturbed, release their stored carbon into the atmosphere. Knowing this, I couldn't bear to use it - and as of the end of this year its use for horticulture will be banned in the UK.

Every bag of Merlin's that I use I rummage through and spread with my bare hands. I've never found anything in it that is not plant material. It may not be as magical for growing as peat-based composts but it's the most ethical solution I can achieve (plus I use the plastic bags to compose perennial weeds for two years.)

Mind you, it has to be said that cardboard is not exactly an innocent material either and there's another body of opinion that states using it this way  does more harm than good by inhibiting gas exchange in the soil, releasing harmful chemicals into the ground and interfering with the daily lives of earthworms.
Sigh.
It's impossible to get everything right so  I'm just praying that Merlin, that old Welsh magician, will cast a benevolent spell upon my vegetable garden come spring.