This is part of an article from The Sunday Times by Simon Barnes dated 01/11/2020.
"........In the 1980's the government gave financial incentives to peat extraction in Britain and Thorne and Hatfield Moors in South Yorkshire were turned into an open mine. Natural England is now working on it's regeneration.
"When you disturb peat bogs, you destroy natural habitats. You release immense amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere-bogs are huge carbon stores. It has been calculated that damage to peat bogs has caused the release of 5% of all Britain's greenhouse gases since 2018. While a third of our peat is still mined in the UK the rest is imported, mainly from Ireland and the Baltic nations, adding to peat's carbon footprint.
"The compost manufacturer Evergreen Horticulture offers the counter-argument that peat reduces the need for fertilisers, is largely free of human and plant pathogens and reduces fungal infections in plants.
"There are substitutes for peat, as [Monty] Don points out: coir, which is a by-product of of the coconut trade, and crushed bark. So, no peat doesn't mean the end of the gardening industry as we know it. It would just be inconvenient for quite a lot of people: according to the Horticultural Trades Association, 568,700 jobs are supported by horticulture and landscaping. There are 2,000 garden centres in Britain. But then climate change is inconvenient.
"Some people are seeking to demonise [Monty] Don; Don thinks he is just trying to do the right thing. Who would you ban from the gardeners world? Monty? Or peat?" END OF ARTICLE
For myself, I have been using peat free compost for some time and I've found, in most cases, it to be better than peat. It's a bit more expensive than peat based products and one has to re-think the rules a bit when using peat free. But I've found that peat free doesn't compact like peat does. Root growth is better and stronger because peat free is a bit lighter and more friable, which makes it easier for the roots to permeate through the compost. This in turn makes for better top growth and ultimately better plants and crops. Most growing media contain fertilsers which promote plant growth, but these will only last for a very few weeks and will need topping up with liquid feed or whatever your preferred addition is. Both peat free and peat are no exception to this.
We're all concerned in one way or the other about our world and the environment, especially as the world population is expanding at an enormous rate. 7.5billion human beings now rising to 10.billion in a few decades. I hope you will give peat free a try and I hope you find it works for you as well as it has for me.
Remember though, there are several types of peat free, different qualities and different compositions. Those which are 'green waste' based may not be as good and will probably deplete faster than the coir, crushed wood fibre, composted bark types. Look for the RHS recommended peat free compost. This is what we promote in our Garden Shops.
As a friend of mine once said, "cheap is more expensive in the long run." That can be applied to how we look after our gardens and allotment plots and how we look after our planet for the next generations to follow us.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
Tom
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