[Subversive_plot]

As secretary of our allotment society I negotiated a trial delivery of non peat compost made to the BSI standard PAS100. I have club root thanks to previous supply of rubbish compost so I have been using this PAS100 to line the hole when transplanting Brassicas. I have not been able to find PAS100 on any compost bag currently for sale in supermarkets and garden centres. It is a pity they did not standardise the procedure before banning peat compost. Some of the rubbish on sale cannot hold water and I fear for holiday makers when they return to their plants. Details about PAS100 can found here: https://wikiwaste.org.uk/PAS100

Thanks for that I.B.

I am curious, is the criteria to meet "no longer a waste" based on a PSRP: process to significantly reduce pathogens, followed by a PFRP: process to further reduce pathogens?  Composting could be the PFRP, if it meets time plus temperature requirements, for example.  Also, the lab testing could be the means to demonstrate PSRP and PFRP.  Is lab testing for pollutants (example: metals) also part of the lab testing?

I would not at all be surprised if UK standards and USA standards are similar for this process.

[jezza]

Hello I thought that there were regulations and guidelines for composting Perniscious weeds Mares Tail, Bind Weed, Ground elder ,Himalayan Balsam,I know that when I was looking into my local village starting community composting i was given a very long list of regulations of what could and could not go into the compost ,any thing with weed killer on had to be in black bags perniscious weeds had to be bagged , woody material was recommended to be chipped or shredded then allowed to heat up to 80 degrees before being mixed with grass clippings and general weeds    jezza

[perris]

I bought Sylvagrow multipurpose this year and it's been excellent. It's expensive, but it has suited my various plants and retained moisture well - which has been crucial, given we've had (barely any and) no proper rain for some 6 weeks now. I've been caught out with the false economy of cheap compost in years past - if you add on the seed and plant losses the cheap stuff causes, it actually adds up to far more than the extra pounds spent on good compost. I'm now converted to spending more initially to get a product that works and doesn't starve my plants of moisture and nutrients, or introduce pests and diseases.

[Nobbie]

Was about to post a long rant about this years peat free offerings, but then thought I’d order up a couple of bales of peat to keep me going after the ban comes in. Bit of Googling later and it seems the ban has been delayed to 2027/2030 . Until they get their act together and produce reliable peat free compost, I’m sticking with peat. It’s just not worth the disappointment of watching carefully nurtured plants fail to thrive

[snowdrops]

Was about to post a long rant about this years peat free offerings, but then thought I’d order up a couple of bales of peat to keep me going after the ban comes in. Bit of Googling later and it seems the ban has been delayed to 2027/2030 . Until they get their act together and produce reliable peat free compost, I’m sticking with peat. It’s just not worth the disappointment of watching carefully nurtured plants fail to thrive

Can you post a link to that source of googling please? As I’m our store manager for our local garden club & awaiting an update on this. I don’t want to stock up on what our members want if then I’m not allowed to sell it to them etc.
I’m going to Glee next week & hoping for more information there as well

[Potty Plotty Lotty]

Was about to post a long rant about this years peat free offerings, but then thought I’d order up a couple of bales of peat to keep me going after the ban comes in. Bit of Googling later and it seems the ban has been delayed to 2027/2030 . Until they get their act together and produce reliable peat free compost, I’m sticking with peat. It’s just not worth the disappointment of watching carefully nurtured plants fail to thrive

That is SUCH good news! Likewise I was planning to stock up.

I've been using Levington's peat free for some of my potting on which has been good so far (much better than my previous experience of peat free) but don't dare use peat free for seed sowing yet. The price tag of Sylvagrow makes me baulk somewhat!

[vikingraider]

I found this;
https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/news/uk-government-confirms-ban-all-peat-based-gardening-products-will-not-be-implemented-until

[Nobbie]

Was about to post a long rant about this years peat free offerings, but then thought I’d order up a couple of bales of peat to keep me going after the ban comes in. Bit of Googling later and it seems the ban has been delayed to 2027/2030 . Until they get their act together and produce reliable peat free compost, I’m sticking with peat. It’s just not worth the disappointment of watching carefully nurtured plants fail to thrive

Can you post a link to that source of googling please? As I’m our store manager for our local garden club & awaiting an update on this. I don’t want to stock up on what our members want if then I’m not allowed to sell it to them etc.
I’m going to Glee next week & hoping for more information there as well

This was where I saw it. Never saw anything on the bbc news website. https://www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/news/government-confirms-ban-all-peat-based-gardening-products-will-not-be-implemented-until-2030#:~:text=facebook-,Government%20confirms%20ban%20on%20all%20peat%2Dbased%20gardening%20products,not%20be%20implemented%20until%202030&text=ban%20until%202030-,While%20some%20peat%2Dcontaining%20products%20will%20be%20banned%20from%20shelves,from%20a%20ban%20until%202030.

I’ve done a bit more googling and the link above is a bit misleading. It looks like the ban on compost and peat will go ahead as planned, it’s only a few commercial ‘products’ that will continue to contain peat, maybe some types of plug plants, but doesn’t sound like they’ll be selling peat next year. Back to plan A and stockpiling.

https://hansard.parliament.uk/lords/2023-05-09/debates/C888869B-C140-4844-BF3E-83AB50D9B209/HorticulturalPeat

[Potty Plotty Lotty]

I’ve done a bit more googling and the link above is a bit misleading. It looks like the ban on compost and peat will go ahead as planned, it’s only a few commercial ‘products’ that will continue to contain peat, maybe some types of plug plants, but doesn’t sound like they’ll be selling peat next year. Back to plan A and stockpiling.

https://hansard.parliament.uk/lords/2023-05-09/debates/C888869B-C140-4844-BF3E-83AB50D9B209/HorticulturalPeat

 

[Ali T]

Meterman, I really like the idea of 'drowning' pernicious weeds and being able to use them in compost - I already harvest nettles for 'tea' and grow Comfrey for the same reason, its brilliant stuff. I have a couple of big wheelie bins that were left on the plot too, so they may be perfect to drown weeds in - how long does it take? Nettles and Comfrey are slime in a matter of weeks - I guess its probably the same for the weeds - wait til they're properly 'slimed'?

[Odders]

For the life of me, I can't fathom why achieving a top-quality peat-free compost would be that difficult.  Never mind whether it's necessary (it isn't over here).

Properly processed municipal compost works perfectly well as a soil amendment. The material I have access to is inexpensive ($20 fills the bed of my full-size pickup truck heaped to overflowing).  Foreign materials (plastics, etc.) are well-managed and kept out.  With a little more screening, it would look better than anything offered in a bag from garden centers.  This material is mostly made from composted green waste and municipal biosolids; rigorous testing and temperature control keeps it safe with respect to metals, pathogens, and herbicides (there has never been a concern over safety of this material).  The compost plant that produces this material is run by my city-county government, and I live in one of the poorest counties in Georgia. A compost facility manager that can't manage to do the same or better should consider employment in the fast-food industry.

I did a little experiment with composts for starting seed, results here: https://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=136112.30  The same municipal compost (no peat) performed a little better than the peat-based seed-starting compost.

I wish municipal compost was that cheap here - the equivalent of three builder's dumpy bags (2,700 litres max) cost me £180.

[Odders]

I just bought 40, 80litre bags of locally produced peat based compost & stacked them in the spare rented garage to (hopefully) see me through until someone produces a viable alternative.
Failing that, I'll be visiting my friends in East Clare, Eire & bringing back a load of peat briquettes from their winter fuel store...