All compost appears to be peat free nowadays

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cordyman

All compost appears to be peat free nowadays

Post by cordyman »

Working in a nursery for 5 years in my teens we used to make up compost in a cement mixer, topsoil, lime, vitax, vine weeval pellets, 6 months feed pellet, and lots and lots of peat! We'd go through peat by the bag truck load.

Looking round garden centres nowadays its all peat free icon_scratch

Are peat bogs now running out? is peat of no use anymore in an exotic garden?
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Yorkshire Kris
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Re: All compost appears to be peat free nowadays!

Post by Yorkshire Kris »

Surely the news that Peat is now considered " environmentally bad" has not escaped you over recent years?
cordyman

Re: All compost appears to be peat free nowadays

Post by cordyman »

to be honest Chris i don't watch TV and rarely read the papers.

Particularly anything global warming/climate change :lol: :lol:
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Yorkshire Kris
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Re: All compost appears to be peat free nowadays

Post by Yorkshire Kris »

Peat is a non-renewable resource like oil and gas. I'm sure others will add more.
Conifers
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Re: All compost appears to be peat free nowadays

Post by Conifers »

More importantly, it's a unique habitat for all sorts of endangered plants - mine the peat, and it's goodbye sundews, butterworts, bog-myrtle, etc., etc.
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Chad
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Re: All compost appears to be peat free nowadays

Post by Chad »

Or,

In the UK peat bogs are rare and probably need protection. Across Europe only 5% of peat is used for horticulture, most of it is burnt. But 'peat free' has become as trendy as 'organic' and even the government are now in on the act, looking to outlaw peat based composts.

What they wanted to do was protect the few British peat bogs, and what they are going to do is wreck UK commercial horticulture which will not be able to compete with peat based continental growers.

RHS trials repeatedly [though to different extents] show the functional superiority of peat based composts.

Well managed extraction [and yes I know most of it wasn't] still leaves you with a peat bog at the end of it. In EU legislation peat is classed as a 'renewable' resource!

Chad.
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Yorkshire Kris
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Re: All compost appears to be peat free nowadays

Post by Yorkshire Kris »

I agree with this...
Chad wrote: RHS trials repeatedly [though to different extents] show the functional superiority of peat based composts.

Chad.

But being the best material doesn't mean it should be used if rare and important habitat is lost.

I would argue that it is a non-renewable resource. It takes a very long time for a peat bog to form and a lot quicker to use one all up.
huporhaha

Re: All compost appears to be peat free nowadays

Post by huporhaha »

It is a difficult one - some people argue that peat is not as rare as we've been led to believe but it does provide a great habitat for some pretty endangered species. We still get sundews and a few other carniverous plants here and we burn the stuff on our open fire - sorry but it is quarter the price of coal and the blocks dug from a sensibly managed peat bank are free. The main problem is that as a nation, we've been extracting it faster than it can make itself. A large number of people here have reverted to burning peat since the credit crunch took hold. If man hadn't chopped down all the Caledonian forests and other forests in the UK we'd still have adequate firewood.
Trials seem to show that other materials like coir etc. do not come up with as good results as peat. I use large coir bales reconstituted with water and seaweed fertilizer for the resilient things that don't matter too much but I still use B & Q all purpose compost for anything that I really cherish - it is a "Which" best buy.
Rabbie
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Re: All compost appears to be peat free nowadays

Post by Rabbie »

Yorkshire Kris wrote:Peat is a non-renewable resource like oil and gas. I'm sure others will add more.
Not true as far as gardening is concerned, the peat in the bogs does nothing its the plants at the top that are doing all the work. Dig out all the peat and replace the plants and water and the peat will start to build up, if its left in the ground its only a matter of time before some ejit decides to light a camp fire and in turn all the peat below ground level is burnt off.
huporhaha

Re: All compost appears to be peat free nowadays

Post by huporhaha »

The main enemy here isn't the gardener but the wholesale producer of trillions of annuals and plants that eat up peat supplies faster than it can regenerate. Personally, I am rather sceptical about the worldwide peat "shortage" - parts of Canada and arctic tundra have enough to last 1000 generations - it is the irresponsible denuding of some areas of UK peat in the past that seems to have caused the heated debate - talking of heat - I think I'll just check on my peat supply for winter fires......................... :oops: :oops: :lol:
bobbyd44

Re: All compost appears to be peat free nowadays

Post by bobbyd44 »

love the smell of peat on the fire!!!! irish inlaws still bring the sod over great stuff..
huporhaha

Re: All compost appears to be peat free nowadays

Post by huporhaha »

Can't beat it - sorry all you conservationists but a lovely peat fire in this economic climate takes a lot of beating!
Conifers
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Re: All compost appears to be peat free nowadays

Post by Conifers »

Before - biodiversity: huge
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0002.jpg (24.35 KiB) Viewed 2941 times
After - biodiversity: nil
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0002.jpg (25.5 KiB) Viewed 2941 times
huporhaha

Re: All compost appears to be peat free nowadays

Post by huporhaha »

I fully agree Conifers - small "cottage industry" peat gathering that has gone on for centuries is one thing - mass denuding of the countryside by the multinationals is another. I'll still gather enough peat to keep myself warm next winter without feeling guilty but I do use coir and other alternatives for a lot of my garden plants.
Rabbie
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Re: All compost appears to be peat free nowadays

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