[Teen76]

I was just wondering what everyone thought of the Peat Debate that was on Gardener's World yesterday.

I have to say I was quite shocked at the indifference of gardeners in general to be honest.  I'm probably one of them.  Why does it shock me?  Well we go on about organic gardening and not wanting to use chemicals and yet we're quite happy to tear up the peat bogs.  I have to admit that I am just as guilty but more for affordability reasons than just plain ignorance.

Like free range chickens and free range eggs, I would love to buy peat-free but as I am on a very low income I cannot afford them.  Is it my fault or the commercial industry?  I'm not sure.  Maybe both.  This is my excuse.

My only way out of this excuse is to make my own compost, and I have to say that I am pleased to say I am in the process of doing this.  So some of the guilt will slowly go away.

I'd love to hear what you all thought.

[Mr McGregor]

Went today to B & Q and brought 125litres of peat free compost for £6.98 which I thought was very reasonable.
I thought it was a very informative programme and it really hit home. Never going to use peat based compost again

[richyrich7]

I  missed it I don't watch GW these days. But I still use peat or peat reduced stuff mediums. Big worry for me this year if I was buying peat free was that it would be guaranteed to be free of Aminopyralid

http://www.allotment-garden.org/garden-diary/257/aminopyralid-herbicide-residue-in-manure-killing-crops/

It's already been discussed on here perhaps you may want to read
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=31845.0

[Teen76]

The bit I didn't know about was how peat bogs absorb Carbon.  Surely if the government is on about reducing CO2 emmissions it should first take a look at this?!

[Hey Jude]

Having watched the programme, I'm going to try and find the peat free compost that the 'Which' team recommended and give it a go. Whilst I think we gardeners are an easy target for the environmentalists to have a pop at, I do believe that the peat bogs can't be dug up at the rate they are, especially when they are our equivalent to the rain forest.

[peapod]

Im a massive dont use peat person. Its fundamental to me that we cant use it any m,ore.  My love is heathland and I get so frustrated at the use of peat that is not possible to replace. We as gardeners should be looking at how we can improve our environment,as we have done for the wildlife
Its a matter of adapting to the new growing mediums we have and not taking the easy done it for years attitude. The compost that is available now is lets face it, tat! But it eill improve, and we have to learn to change our ways...sowing seeds isnt rocket science and we can make sure we dont ruin one of our (if not the most) important habitats we have for the sake of convenience

[tam]

I didn't catch it, which brand did they recommend? I picked up a bag a few weeks ago but it didn't seem so good for seedlings though it grew tons of very pretty toadstools!

[zazen999]

New Horizon Peat Free Growbag was the best it seems. Then the New Horizon Organic peat free and I can't remember the other. ETA: it is Westland Earth Matters.

I've used Bulrush peat free this year, its a bit tricky getting it to hang onto water but it's grown the strongest onion seedlings I've ever had..and my indoor dwarf beans are thriving on it.

I've now mixed it with home made compost and some sand and I'm using that. It holds onto water better and things are germinating and growing, so it can't be bad.

[celjaci]

Did they mention that the horticultural use of peat is only a small %age?
Something like 5-10% of Irish peat - bulk of it goes to power stations as fuel!!

In some areas like Finland, Canada, Siberia, peat is still being produced so fast and over such large areas it could almost be seen as a renewable resource.

Some Finnish peat extraction has been carefully controlled to enhancethe environment, producing lakes, bogs and water courses and encouraging biodiversity

Peat free composts have had many difficulties and still need more development - see thread on Peat Free Composts

Certainly peat should not be used for soil improvement as it used to be - composted green waste is now cheap and widely available and does a better job

[Mr McGregor]

For anyone who has not seen it yet, its available on BBC I Player (BBC 2)

[beestie-crawlies]

I quite enjoyed the program, watched it with my three eldest.

The two older ones instantly turned into right wing anti peat usage eco warriors?

Didn't have the heart to tell them that there were 200 peat pots in the dining room waiting to have seedlings transplanted into them! 

[Rampant_Weasel]

what is your recomendation for seed compost peapod? i mean the peat free one.
cos this is where it seemed to fall down teh most.have a few pointers to make it work as well as the peat seed compost?

[peapod]

Got to say Rampant, I need to look into it further...its only recently Ive realised the importance of not using peat and havent as yet made a decent mix of my own..thatll be next Spring..for now Im using MP (with sand for carrots). Too light? Yep it is, but I can water every day as I start my seeds off at home.  I was going to look a coir but that seems even more hit and miss, so will next year try my own home made (for weight) probably about a 1 in 5 part to MP.
For now, nearly all seeds have started off well, though Ive struggled with chillies and toms

[richyrich7]

You could if you wish germinate seeds of in a tray of vermiculite. Will work for most seeds except the tinniest.

[Rampant_Weasel]

Did they mention that the horticultural use of peat is only a small %age?
Something like 5-10% of Irish peat - bulk of it goes to power stations as fuel!!

In some areas like Finland, Canada, Siberia, peat is still being produced so fast and over such large areas it could almost be seen as a renewable resource.

Some Finnish peat extraction has been carefully controlled to enhancethe environment, producing lakes, bogs and water courses and encouraging biodiversity

Peat free composts have had many difficulties and still need more development - see thread on Peat Free Composts

Certainly peat should not be used for soil improvement as it used to be - composted green waste is now cheap and widely available and does a better job

i only buy compost for seed sowing, for plot enrichment and potting on i use homemade stuff ( now that ive been growing long enough to create it) - so from a personal point of view i use a very small amount.
the store manager on the GW program made a good point that using peat compost has developed over a long time so peat free growing looks like its going to have to be developed by the experts and then passed to us humble home growers.