OK, then what about helping to stop your home being flooded? Peat bogs in upland areas soak up water. They therefore help reduce the risk of flooding and flood surges. But multiply that one bag by all the gardeners in Britain, and the total soon mounts up. So, by purchasing an alternative product, you will make a difference.
Have you checked? Unless it says peat-free, chances are it will contain at least 70 per cent peat. Many gardeners trust peat as a growing medium. It is a poor mulch, quickly dries out, and is easily blown away. Peat compost alternatives have been refined over many years to provide a fantastic growing medium.
Essentially it is a special form of partially rotted organic matter, which has formed over long periods of time in the sterile, acidic and waterlogged conditions of peat bogs and fens. Left alone, about 1 mm of depth is added to a peat bog every year - so if you're digging down 10 metres you're going back 10, years or so into history.
Peat is being extracted far faster than it's being replaced - it's not a renewable resource in our lifetime. And the wildlife that depends upon it suffers. So why do gardeners use peat? According to the Wildlife Trusts , the use of peat in horticulture was not widespread before the late s.
Gardeners back then favoured soil-based potting mixes, but also used coir which is a waste product from the coconut trade — renewable, but not local.
Only after a concerted marketing effort on the part of the peat producers did peat become such a ubiquitous garden staple that even those of us in the know struggle to avoid it. An old-school gardener will tell you that peat is stable, sterile and holds water. That's why it's used in compost mixes and seed composts. It has to have 'wetting agents' added. Now I'm fuzzy on what they are, but they're there because once you let peat dry out it becomes pretty much water-repellent and you'd struggle to get it wet again without some help.
I am no doubt fortunate, in some respects, to have started gardening at a point where peat-free composts are readily available. They're not all good, and they're not all suitable for all uses. But I learned to garden and grow with peat-free products and my garden thrives without them. The organic matter peat provides is easily replaced with composted waste products.
The question is, now that we know what problems the destruction of wildlife habitats causes — why are we still doing it? Why are people still putting peat products in their trolley? Perhaps it's the same 'out of sight' mentality that prompts our ongoing issues with the food chain - where we can happily chow down on a chicken that is only a few weeks old but oddly the size of a turkey. We can buy food from the other side of the world, then chuck it in the bin a week later because we didn't really want to eat it.
Until someone points out the glaringly obvious environmental impacts of our actions, we remain oblivious. Perhaps it's a matter of priorities. We pick up the cheapest option, not really caring that birds, butterflies and dragonflies will be left homeless, just as long as our dahlias are bigger than next door's. Perhaps it's a generation gap — the gardeners who use peat will continue to do so, because swapping to a new product requires learning something new: how to garden without peat.
It's not an instant, easy, transition. It's a re-education — a new skill. I have also encountered gardeners who justify their peat use by explaining that the amount used in horticulture is minuscule compared to the amount burned in power stations in the countries who still have sizable peat reserves left we don't. This smacks of a juvenile, playground response — 'he started it! As rational adults we should take responsibility for our actions, which includes making informed choices. Although birds, butterflies and dragonflies won't engender much of an emotional response from many people, we also need to be looking at our peat bogs and fenlands with an eye towards self-preservation.
Peat, in its natural environment, is a massive carbon sink. When we dig it up, dry it out and burn it or use it in the garden we're adding a considerable amount to our carbon footprint. Last year a spokesman for the RSPB quoted in the Independent suggested that ditching our peat habit would save the same amount of carbon as taking , cars off the road — and it is far more easily achieved. Rather than willingly and unnecessarily participating in habitat destruction, and hurtling towards irreversible climate change with our heads in the sand, it's time we all made the choice to garden without peat.
Make your own compost — you'll find that most plants prefer it anyway, and it certainly has more 'oomph' for a longer period. Use peat-free mixes where you need stability, fine texture or sterility, and invest in some nice modules so you won't be tempted with those little peat pellet things. Coir has its uses, and you may find it works for you — but it has likely come from many miles away, so bear that in mind as well.
Emma Cooper is a garden writer and the author of the Alternative Kitchen Garden. For a signed copy please visit Green Shopping and place a request with your order. Emma also makes the popular Alternative Kitchen Garden podcast. Gift Donate Subscribe. Peat moss is found in bogs — swampy, mucky, waterlogged areas primarily located in the northern hemisphere. In fact, Canada, Finland, Ireland, and Russia are the primary sources for the commercial product, according to Marianne C. Ophardt at the Washington State University Extension.
A plant called sphagnum moss is often found growing on top of the layers of peat moss, but this live plant material should not be confused with peat moss, which refers to the often-ancient layers of decomposed material. Harvesting this soil amendment requires a bog to be drained of all near-surface water. Then, layers of native vegetation must be removed.
Commercial harvesters use large vacuums to harvest up to acres of peat per day during the harvest season. The commercially more desirable material which is newer and less decomposed is found toward the surface and is marketed differently than the lower layers.
The scraping or harvesting process conducted to glean this product is under scrutiny, as the peat bogs provide a habitat for a variety of creatures, including certain species of plants and frogs that are unique to peat bogs and mires.
In order to access peat, there is a considerable disruption to these living things, and the removal of peat acres also decreases overall production of necessary gasses and nutrients. Manufacturers have found themselves defending the practice of mining and selling these products to consumers.
They claim that they are using responsible practices to ensure that what they take is growing back at a healthy rate. While Canada has done a good job of tracking overall reserves, other nations continue to harvest the material without any standard enforcement of sound ecological practices. This has caused other regions to respond by issuing bans on certain uses of this soil amendment.
Ireland, which has stopped peat mining for good in certain regions, is leading the charge for change. Scotland is returning acres of peatland to their natural state after misguided timber companies seeded trees on ancient bogs decades ago. Scientists there found that peatlands are an important part of our ecosystem for their ability to absorb and retain carbon dioxide. Government groups around the world continue to work with ecological experts, colleges, and industry leaders to adjust standards as needed to keep depletion at a minimum.
Many of us consider peat a gardening necessity, even if it has only been popular in the last 20 years. That means generations before us found other means of amending their soil. One effective method of amending soil for density and drainage control is by adding a suitable compost. But if we do have the time and foresight required, this is an excellent way to avoid the peat conflict altogether.
You can certainly use what you have on hand, but compost made from crushed eggshells , shredded corn cobs, used coffee grounds , and fruit and veggie scraps is the easiest to work with. For additional tips on making fantastic compost, see our beginners guide here. A special compost blend made from alternating layers of manure — from herbivores only — and straw is also recommended. As the manure breaks down the fibers in the straw, a lighter and airier compost forms that is comparable to peat moss in its density.
In addition to fully decomposed compost, you might have success aerating the soil directly with other natural materials. Wood from a chipper may be produced finely enough to have a similar benefit. Dried lawn clippings may work well too, as long as they have not been chemically treated in any way. If better drainage is all you are after, a fine layer of sand could do the trick. This can be especially effective when growing certain vine fruits and veggies.
Perlite is another little-known tool that has made gardening a dream for me, and has rescued me from many tricky situations. If a potting compost is not labelled peat-free, it most likely contains some peat. Peat-free composts tend to be more expensive because they require more processing. If you are concerned about peat use in your garden, you can also support reduction by buying only potted plants which have been grown in peat-free compost. Commercial extractors typically remove up to 22cm of peat per year.
It aims to increase awareness of the plight of the world's peatlands and the need to use more sustainable materials in gardens, and in so doing, develop a practical way forward to achieve peat-replacement in the UK.
Shop peat-free compost We stock a wide variety of peat-free composts from trusted brands to suit all gardening jobs, from planting seeds to potting on.
Take a look at our range of peat-free composts and make the switch today! I used New Horizon last year and the tomato plants withered and died.
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