and what is the impact in the production, harvesting, processing , transporting and distribution of alternatives like coir?
No idea. But yes, the alternatives need to be compared. And the personal situation plays its role too (if your local GC doesn't have peat-free, how far do you need to travel, etc.).
My conclusion: It is up to everyone to do their decisions regarding their carbon footprint.
My problem, locally, is trying to source peat free compost.
The only peat free I could find this season was from Aldi and it was utter rubbish. Full of plastic pieces. Our garden centres don’t stock it. They sell cheap bags of 100% peat.
The message hasn’t sunk in yet. Watching all the Gardeners’ World segments on being Peat Free, I’m fully onboard but I just can’t find any! At least not at an affordable price.
My problem, locally, is trying to source peat free compost.
The only peat free I could find this season was from Aldi and it was utter rubbish. Full of plastic pieces. Our garden centres don’t stock it. They sell cheap bags of 100% peat.
The message hasn’t sunk in yet. Watching all the Gardeners’ World segments on being Peat Free, I’m fully onboard but I just can’t find any! At least not at an affordable price.
Exactly. The alternatives are often "utter rubbish" and too expensive.
I don’t think peat for garden use should be banned. Instead it should be limited and controlled. At least until a truly sustainable, local and viable alternative is available. No point switching to something else if it’s grown on the other side of the world and/or destroying local habitats or other carbon sinks in the process.
Here, if compost has peat in, it’s seen to be a good thing, something to boast about, not an environmental problem. There are some peat-free composts available locally, usually made of composted woody matter, but none proudly proclaim it as such and the majority do contain peat. I bought a new brand of composted ‘horse manure’ recently and was shocked to discover it (totally unnecessarily) contained 20% black peat, added to ‘improve plant growth’. Large bags of pure ‘red peat’ are cheap and freely available. This sort of profligacy has to end of course.
However, once a year I use a 20L bag of fine seed compost for small seeds such as toms and peppers and that is peat-based. The rest have to sink or sprout in the woody stuff. I would certainly miss that little bag.
My instincts (not based on any scientific facts) is that there is no justification of widespread use of peat for improving garden soil or even for use in a general potting medium, but there is an argument for limited use in seed sowing and raising young seedlings/cuttings.
To that end I would limit the bag size of compost containing peat and make it more expensive, rather than instigate a worldwide ban, so what is precious is used in a limited and more controlled manner. Using more shrubs and perennials over miles of trays of annual flower seeds and bedding plants might also help 😊
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
If commercial growers can grow peat-free, there is absolutely no excuse for the home gardener. I agree that some of the peat free stuff available at GCs is poor, but good quality peat free alternatives do exist, and when peat is finally banned, there will be a demand for them.
"What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour".
In my opinion it is irresponsible to buy peat. I think I've bought about one small bag in the past couple of years and I don't plan to buy any more. We all know habitat destruction occurs due to large scale peat mining. It is up to us to find alternatives. So what if it isn't as good. It's a whole lot better than global warming and people being displaced because of climate change. Make do with the alternatives and accept, for the sake of the planet, that we have to accept some gardening losses; it's not the end of the world to use peat free compost.
Based in Sussex, I garden to encourage as many birds to my garden as possible.
I don't use bought compost for the garden or very rarely if I am planting something which need more organic matter, I do tend to use homemade compost or manure and at times old peat compost to improve structure .
I would cost me a fortune to swap from peat based to peat free. How much is melcourt ? £7 per bag or around that . I normally buy 9 - 12 bags of compost each time sometimes more if I collect for the neighbour / others , it cost £10 for 3 bags 50L peat based or £3.99 per bag. Its going to add up quite considerably to the bill even doubling it going off £7 per bag.
When it comes down price similar to peat base and the quality is improved all round is when I'll switch over.
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My conclusion: It is up to everyone to do their decisions regarding their carbon footprint.
UK uses 3 million cubic metres of peat a year for gardening, that makes a lot of carbon.
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
The alternatives are often "utter rubbish" and too expensive.
However, once a year I use a 20L bag of fine seed compost for small seeds such as toms and peppers and that is peat-based. The rest have to sink or sprout in the woody stuff. I would certainly miss that little bag.
To that end I would limit the bag size of compost containing peat and make it more expensive, rather than instigate a worldwide ban, so what is precious is used in a limited and more controlled manner. Using more shrubs and perennials over miles of trays of annual flower seeds and bedding plants might also help 😊
I would cost me a fortune to swap from peat based to peat free. How much is melcourt ? £7 per bag or around that . I normally buy 9 - 12 bags of compost each time sometimes more if I collect for the neighbour / others , it cost £10 for 3 bags 50L peat based or £3.99 per bag. Its going to add up quite considerably to the bill even doubling it going off £7 per bag.
When it comes down price similar to peat base and the quality is improved all round is when I'll switch over.