{"id":9287,"date":"2022-04-06T14:21:32","date_gmt":"2022-04-06T12:21:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gardensillustrated.com\/?p=11571"},"modified":"2022-04-07T15:59:17","modified_gmt":"2022-04-07T13:59:17","slug":"why-you-should-switch-to-peat-free-compost","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/rss_feed\/why-you-should-switch-to-peat-free-compost\/","title":{"rendered":"Why you should switch to peat free compost"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Daisy Bowie-Sell\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 06 April 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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My personal opinion, which is heavily influenced by the research we have done here at the RHS, is that every gardener should try and use exclusively peat-free compost. But there are several issues with banning it completely.<\/p>\n

Peat is ultimately very inexpensive, because it can be dug out of the ground. It is completely inert, it has no weeds, no diseases, no pests, no fertiliser, so it\u2019s a blank canvas. Peat also has very good physical and chemical properties so you can use fine peat for seed sowing and coarse peat for growing trees and shrubs. It holds on to fertiliser and releases when plants need it and it is acidic, so you can add as much lime as you need to make it suitable for acid-loving plants or plants that prefer more alkaline soils. Peat is a wonderful substrate, which is why we\u2019ve used it with gay abandon in the past.<\/p>\n

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But since the 1990s it\u2019s become apparent that the depletion of the peat bogs was proceeding rather fast. Contrary to what many people have said, peat is not replenished in a sensible time frame. It takes hundreds of years for a peat bog to reform. In this country we use both Irish and British peat but we also import it from countries such as Finland, Estonia and Latvia, and these places are increasingly concerned about their peat bogs. The Irish are stopping it being used for burning in their power stations. Ultimately, we will run out of peat, although, to be fair, it will take a very long time. However, bogs are rare and valuable ecosystems that should be preserved.<\/p>\n
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Peat bogs are thriving ecosystems which get destroyed and aren\u2019t replaced in any sensible way <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>
But there are other very good reasons to leave peat bogs untouched. They are thriving ecosystems which get destroyed and aren\u2019t replaced in any sensible way. Then there\u2019s the climate-change<\/a> factor. The carbon content in peat is enormous. When you dig out peat and allow it to oxidise, all the carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere, which contributes to global warming.<\/p>\n
Surprisingly, it is gardeners, not commercial growers, that use the most peat compost. The main reason is that there are millions of gardeners. They tend to use big pots and window boxes, so the volume of compost needed is very high, whereas commercial growers tend to raise young plants in small pots.<\/p>\n
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