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Peat Free Compost

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  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    A ten metre deep peat bed takes approximately 9000 years to form, so it is unlikely we have managed to grow any yet.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • purplerallimpurplerallim Posts: 5,287
    But the bog plants can be cultivated,  and then composted like any greenery.
  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    Yes they can, but it will not be peat that is formed.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • purplerallimpurplerallim Posts: 5,287
    But it will be compost with similar nutrients. 
  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    It will just be like the garden compost that we make from plant matter now, which is what we will have to become much more reliant on.
    Green waste will also have to become much more used by gardeners.
    I don't think the issue about peat is due to nutrients, much more to do with water retention.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • LunarSeaLunarSea Posts: 1,923
    purplerallim said:

    Plus I have read that in Europe they are growing peat specifically for the gardening market, so not all is coming from wild sites.
    Not sure about this. Yes you can grow sphagnum moss, which gives rise to peat eventually, but that takes hundreds of years.
    Clay soil - Cheshire/Derbyshire border. 

    I play with plants and soil and sometimes it's successful
  • purplerallimpurplerallim Posts: 5,287
    I feel moss based compost would be better than the wool/wood mix that people have complained about this year @VictorMeldrew
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    I think the problems with green-waste compost are
    1. they haven't got the process right yet - some batches that I've had were full of what looked like shredded wood that hadn't been composted down enough. If that was my homemade compost I'd have turned it again, made sure it was wet enough and left it a few more months. I suspect the increased demand since the first COVID lockdown has lead to the process being rushed.
    2. People put stuff that they shouldn't in their green waste bins and some of it ends up in the compost (painted wood, plastic, glass etc). Better screening might help but there's no fix for ignorant and careless behaviour.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    I feel the onus is on manufacturers to come up with a viable product.
    If they don't , surely they're going to go bust?
    Devon.
  • Allotment BoyAllotment Boy Posts: 6,774
    Pure peat has little to no nutrient value,  it simply acts a a carrier for water and added nutrients the mfcrs put in. They also add wetting agents (detergents) to help re-wet it if it dries right out. You can buy powdered fertiliser   to convert peat or coir into compost.  I use it to revive previously used compost and replace lost nutrients.  If I am potting up a lot of plants or a very big container, I put reused compost in the bottom and a bit of fresh on top, cuts the amount I have to buy drastically.

    AB Still learning

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