I’ve used purely peat free for many years now so it is what I am used to. Some makes and some years are better than others, but I’ve heard that about peat based as well.
If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”—Marcus Tullius Cicero East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
I purchased a bag of Miracle Gro earlier this week and I am very pleased with the look and feel of it, whether the plants like it is another matter - only time will tell!
I’ve had no problems with peat free in the last few years. If plants don’t grow in it, you’re getting something else wrong. It doesn’t behave like peat compost so gardening practice needs to change if that is what you’re used to. It really isn’t difficult and there is plenty of advice on the internet. This is a good starting point https://www.jackwallington.com/peat-free-compost-trials-2021/
I wouldn’t dream of buying anything else. I’ve noticed this year that shops like Aldi have moved over completely to peat free, which is great as that probably covers quite a large number of sales.
When I first started gardening, I didn’t really know anything about what peat/peat free even related to. I wouldn’t be surprised if many consumers are the same.
But I very quickly learned and now I would make my own mix rather than buying a bag of peat compost if that was all that was available. I’ve had success with even cheap peat free.
However what they really must tackle is the volume of plastic crud that ends up mixed in with it.
Last summer we visited Sissinghurst, and in their veg garden area they’d laid down large quantities of peat free compost as mulch. Great! What wasn’t great was that this particular compost they’d sourced was completely full of plastic. It looked awful, just plastic pieces everywhere along the beds, a huge concentration of them.
Although it would have been a big job I really hope that the gardeners there cleaned as much of it up as they could and not just left it there in the soil. I’d be shocked if an organisation like the National Trust was happy with that. I hope they source compost from a supplier that actually does quality control this year!
I've got a bit of a worry here, has going peat free really been thought through? From what I can fathom many (including myself and compost suppliers) are using more coir, so obviously demand for coir is shooting up. So what do farmers of coconut trees do..... they plant more coconut trees. But where do they plant them? In forests where orangutans and other creatures live? So while we're saving the peat bogs of one country, another country is sacrificing their precious wildlife. Am I over thinking this?
Maybe we should be making more use of hydroponics?
I've got a bit of a worry here, has going peat free really been thought through? From what I can fathom many (including myself and compost suppliers) are using more coir, so obviously demand for coir is shooting up. So what do farmers of coconut trees do..... they plant more coconut trees. But where do they plant them? In forests where orangutans and other creatures live? So while we're saving the peat bogs of one country, another country is sacrificing their precious wildlife. Am I over thinking this?
Maybe we should be making more use of hydroponics?
I've got a bit of a worry here, has going peat free really been thought through? From what I can fathom many (including myself and compost suppliers) are using more coir, so obviously demand for coir is shooting up. So what do farmers of coconut trees do..... they plant more coconut trees. But where do they plant them? In forests where orangutans and other creatures live? So while we're saving the peat bogs of one country, another country is sacrificing their precious wildlife. Am I over thinking this?
Maybe we should be making more use of hydroponics?
Do you have any evidence this is happening?
No I haven't, only what I've read from somewhere or other which made me fearful. Palm oil is causing a problem with rain forests, but... I understand now they shouldn't be confused, in my ignorance I was under the impression they were the same. So I take back what I said. Thanks for making me question.
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East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
When I first started gardening, I didn’t really know anything about what peat/peat free even related to. I wouldn’t be surprised if many consumers are the same.
But I very quickly learned and now I would make my own mix rather than buying a bag of peat compost if that was all that was available. I’ve had success with even cheap peat free.
However what they really must tackle is the volume of plastic crud that ends up mixed in with it.
Last summer we visited Sissinghurst, and in their veg garden area they’d laid down large quantities of peat free compost as mulch. Great! What wasn’t great was that this particular compost they’d sourced was completely full of plastic. It looked awful, just plastic pieces everywhere along the beds, a huge concentration of them.
Maybe we should be making more use of hydroponics?
Cambridgeshire/Norfolk border.
Cambridgeshire/Norfolk border.
https://www.dutchplantin.com/nl/coconut-palm-trees-versus-oil-palm-trees/
Sphagnum moss does seem to be sustainable, and I guess eventually the science will settle, until then I'll remain 'Confused of the Fens'.
Cambridgeshire/Norfolk border.