Isn't Monty Don's logic seriously flawed.

KT53 · November 2023

He posted yesterday that they have stopped using mushroom compost as a mulch because it contains peat. I would understand that if he was a mushroom producer, but he was mulching with a 'used' product thereby potentially preventing it going to landfill. He advocated people continuing to use plastic pots because they had already been made and would otherwise go to landfill. Where's the difference between the two situations?

To me is seems more a case of trying to show how 'good' he is, but shoots himself in the foot instead.

Dovefromabove · November 2023

Could it be that he feels that the mushroom growers might be encouraged to find another growing medium if they’re unable to find a way of re-cycling the used stuff … passing the responsibility/guilt onto gardeners could be considered ‘green-washing’ ?

Fire · November 2023

We are the market. There is nobody else. If we buy it, people will make it.

Pete.8 · November 2023

I often use mushroom compost from CPA Horticulture and looking on the site it says-

CPA Horticulture's mushroom compost is composed of composted agricultural straw and rotted manure, resulting in compost that is easy to crumble, spread and work with. Thanks to the compost's chemical and physical composition, it is perfect for improving the texture of heavy clay soils, or adding humus to nutrient deficient soils.

No mention of peat.
Maybe Monty should change supplier

Palustris · November 2023

I was going to add that many years ago when we lived near a Mushroom producer, the spent stuff we got was made from composted straw not peat, but Pete 8 has said much the same thing.

Hostafan1 · November 2023

I'm afraid this is not an isolated case of MD's " logic "

Busy-Lizzie · November 2023

Monty loves coir. Is that ecological though? It comes from coconuts and has to be transported.

The coir then has to be processed using chemicals. The factories are very dusty. People work in them for 6 days a weeks and get lung disease.

Then the coir has to be washed, using vast amounts of water in countries where water is scarce. The used water is then polluted. It takes about 6 months to process a load of coir ready to transport, then there are the transport costs and fuel.

Horticulture accounts for a fairly small amount of the world's peat. The worst thing about using peat is that it releases carbon, not destruction of wild life. Look at the Norfolk Broads, full of plants and wildlife, they were once peat bogs.

barry island · November 2023

And there was I thinking that Monty made all of his own compost now I don't feel quite so inferior, I sometimes do buy bags of farmyard manure which states that it contains mushroom compost why manure needs mushroom compost added I don't know but as I don't buy it often I don't worry about it much. I see that Westlands farmyard manure doesn't mention mushroom compost so that will be the way to go in the future.

ViewAhead · November 2023

Fire said:

We are the market. There is nobody else. If we buy it, people will make it.

I think it is the other way round. We can only buy what is available, be that food, flooring, boilers, cars, whatever. Saving the planet has to start at the manufacturing end of things ... which doesn't happen because we live in an economy skewed by the concept of shareholder gain.

nutcutlet · November 2023

Psalm139 said:

I don’t understand why some people like to have a go at Monty. He’s one of the most genuine and decent people in the public eye.

It's a hobby of the group. A hazard of being in the public eye. Some people put TV gardeners on a pedestal so others can knock them off. Most of us can see they're just the usual imperfect people

Fire · November 2023

ViewAhead said:

Fire said:

We are the market. There is nobody else. If we buy it, people will make it.

I think it is the other way round. We can only buy what is available, be that food, flooring, boilers, cars, whatever. Saving the planet has to start at the manufacturing end of things ... which doesn't happen because we live in an economy skewed by the concept of shareholder gain.

But that just shifts responsibity to them, away from us. For producers the only real consideration is the financial bottom line, unless regulated. They will make anything if they think they can flog it and make a profit. They are usually not interested in ethics but are always desperately interested in what punters will buy. Buyers have a lot of consumer power in their pocket, if they would only use it.

We can only buy what is available

There are often a lot of options, esp in the Uk and online. We can avoid companies we don't like (such as Amazon) or products that contain elements we don't want (like peat, industrial meat, air miles or palm oil). It's never been easier

Isn't Monty Don's logic seriously flawed.

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