[Matt31]

just interested to know

[mumofstig]

I have yet to find a decent reduced peat compost, let alone a peatfree one 

[tosca100]

I've used peat free for years, whatever is on offer. I add water retaining granules and slow release fertiliser. Tends to be quite rough, so for seeds I use a soil based with lots of vermiculite mixed in.

[gremlin]

I would like to go peat free and mostly use JI, but even that has peat in it.
 

[Rampant_Weasel]

i find peat free fine for potting but for seeds there was zero germination last year so i had no sweetcorn.as 95% of peat use is in power stations i feel my using a little bit for seeds only is well justified.

[Matt31]

Well in the world of gardening this is the million dollar question isn't it?

There is no decent peat free compost yet we can't sustain the demand for peat too much longer.

So the question really should be what can we do about it??

[Matt31]

i find peat free fine for potting but for seeds there was zero germination last year so i had no sweetcorn.as 95% of peat use is in power stations i feel my using a little bit for seeds only is well justified.

True about the power stations although if we all just blame other industries and not play our part then would anything really get done about it.  Yet on the other hand if power stations didn't use peat then the question still remains "can we sustain the use of peat in gardening considering it takes many hundreds or even thousands of years for nature to produce peat.  Which does indicate that it is not sustainable either way.

[mumofstig]

You can buy composts where the peat comes from a sustainable source, but they're not cheap

[solway cropper]

If we all made more use of composting and used the materials available around us there would be a much reduced demand for peat. Like the others, I've yet to find a decent seed compost that doesn't have peat in it so I use it. I grow loads of stuff in containers and last count had 141, all filled with home made potting mix and very little peat apart from a few recycled grow bags and what's in the seed compost.

[Elaine G]

I would love to find a peat free compost that works, but even the reduced peat stuff I bought this year is rubbish!

Elaine

[Swing Swang]

So the question really should be what can we do about it??

We could probably ask the Irish to stop burning it in their power stations for starters

http://www.fwc.com/publications/tech_papers/files/PeatPowerIrishWay.pdf

[AlotArds]

Swing Swang i find your comment a bit over the top, the IRISH probably burn it as they have loads of it and no coal. Ireland has a lot of peat bogs, like england used to have coal mines. Bit like saying we should stop using hoses as you have no water.

I tried the non-peat stuff this year and it is awful, my tom plants all fell over and died, it's no good for seeds, lost a lot of those too. I prefer a half and half mix.

[Swing Swang]

So if the Irish have loads of peat (which I'm not disputing) then their export of Irish moss peat for resale in garden centres isn't a problem either and this whole trend towards a total ban on peat based products is a fiasco.

[Swing Swang]

As far as I see it there are two principle objections to peat.

Biodiversity - Simplified - There aren't many peat bogs left and we need to maintain biodiversity. If this assertation is true then appropriately managed peat abstraction may be appropriate.

Carbon capture - Simplified - Not only are peat bogs huge depositories of carbon, but they continue to remove carbon from the atmosphere, the destruction of peat bogs not only releases carbon when it is burnt/broken down, but it also prevents more being captured in the future (so it would be better to compare the use of peat in a country where there is lots of peat with the destruction of the rainforests rather than the exploitation of coal by a coal-rich country). If this assertation is correct then any use of peat is inappropriate and it is legitimate to object to any use of peat.

I am not yet fully convinced as to the carbon capture argument, but do find it rather odd that we are being urged to use peat on our gardens when there are still new peat-fired power stations being built  in the world. That's all.

SS

[Matt31]

Guys this is just a friendly discussion.  Please could you keep your comments away from pointing the finger at any particular group or country. Not a moderator just want to keep it positive and freindly.