Peat used by gardeners

[hilary]

Hi,
Just wondering who saw the Gardener's World Special with Toby Buckland last night on the use of peat by the horticultual industry. I didn't feel it gave a truly balanced view since he totally failed to mention that 80% of the peat cut in Ireland is for power. ie a new generator was built in 2000 using peat only! So I shall continue to use peat only for seedlings (since I have stuggled to find a better alternative) and switch to non peat for growing, repotting etc. It would be interesting to know exactly just what percentage of peat is used by us gardeners before we all end up feeling guilty and it is all our fault! Of course it goes without saying that using less would help the peat bogs regenerate but it really does need adressing by all users.
Just wondered if anyone else felt as we did!!
Hilary

[oldherbaceous]

Dear Hilary, i agree the facts and figures were very unclear.
It seems it will be most unfair on our growers, if they are going to be penalized for using peat, compared to the ones over the waters, who will not.

[Geoff]

I agree - a poor presentation. I buy potting compost based on price and while peat is cheapest peat it will be. I am not convinced either of the need to preserve peat bogs or gardeners' impact on them. Most peaty areas round here are used for growing grouse and with the annual heather burn I cannot see that as very friendly to the environment. Banning the shotgun would have a greater environmental benefit than banning peat use!

[peter]

Sadly Geoff all that would eventually lead to is a scrubby woodland of birch and pine.
99.99% of the UK landscape is man made and the moors and bogs are kept that way by the land management used to produce game birds for the gun, or sheep for food.

[Elaine]

I'm not sure what to think. The last time I tried Peat free growing medium, the results were poor, both for edibles and ornamentals, which rather put me off using it again. I hate to think of any natural habitat being wiped out though. It's confusing. Cheers.

[hilary]

Hi Elaine,
That is my point it is confusing and we need a clear presentation of all the facts and figures so we can make an informed view - not given an unbalanced argument which is what we got by Gardener's World. After all life is one big compromise ..........
Hilary

[Tigger]

I've been peat free for the last 15 years and won't buy any peat product. I've been out to S Ireland and seen the destruction we've caused. As someone born there and assumed to be supportive to the use of peat, I'm not!

[Johnboy]

Hi Hilary,
I didn't see the programme and I didn't need to because until the production of Peat-free products improve dramatically I shall continue to use Peat for the production of seedlings.
If we were to adopt the attitude towards Peat as Finland does then Peat will be with us forever. Finland calculate how much peat is laid down each year and then the digging quota is set at 75% max so peat is never ever going to die out there. As for the destruction in ROI well this is really an international disgrace. Having said that it is totally beyond our control to do anything about it. All I can say is that because of that it doesn't and will not put me off using it to grow my plants.
JB.

[hilary]

Hi Johnboy,
Just my sentiments - should attack the heating industry before us and of course regulate at source. I won't go down the nuclear power road on this forum .....................
Regards
Hilary

[Colin Miles]

I am using Westlands Advanced Formula Peat-free compost, and despite my misgivings over it being too coarse for seeds it seems to be fine.

[Johnboy]

Hi Colin,
Over the years the so called Peat alternative have literally cost me several thousands of pounds. You ask for a sample and the samples have always turned out nothing like the bought product. I have had enormous pieces of wood and two entire pallet loads infested with nettles and so coarse that you couldn't even riddle it to make a seeding medium.
Although I do not buy in large quantities any longer I will stick with Peat so long as it is available and from Finland that will see me off the planet!
The horticultural use of peat was supposed to be the cause of the despoiling of raised peat bogs but this is untrue because the Forestry Commission are the guilty party is this case. There have been many untruthful statements made by the people against the use of peat and it is very difficult for the average gardener to actually get to the truth.
JB.

[Geoff]

I've dug out this old thread because the subject seems to have come up to the top of the environmentalists heap again.
I think I've seen several recent articles as though somebody is lobbying, though the only one I can bring to hand at the moment is in the March edition of the RHS magazine "The Garden". The argument has now changed :
"recent concern is the loss of peat as an important store of carbon, once bogs are drained and peat extracted. This peat, over time, gradually breaks down, giving off CO2, a greenhouse gas. As a result, new Government targets for peat replacement will be linked to the 'Act on CO2' campaign".
So having lost the argument based on habitat ("a UK Government target set some years ago to make 90% of composts peat-free by 2010 will not be met ..... a reduction of around 25% has so far been achieved") they have shifted the argument to new ground. In another article in the same magazine they accept that the target has not been met because consumers are confused by bad labelling (they don't know what is in the products), the cost of the new products and prior experience - gardeners are still unsure about quality and consistency. They also acknowledge that peat-free mixes work differently to peat-based media. So, as I think the majority of us agreed, the products are not generally fit for purpose and cost more.
The basis of this whole argument bothers me. Surely whatever the organic content of your potting medium, mulch or whatever be it peat, bark, wood fibre, coir, Council compost or old socks when you use it and expose it to the air it breaks down and gives off CO2. I guess that used in the same way the different formulations contribute the same amount of greenhouse gas. If we are so worried about carbon capture why not bury the rubbish that is going into these dubious formulations and carry on using the peat that works?
I think we are yet again being herded onto to a bad science band wagon by environmentalists.

[nemo]

we cut peat every year to burn in our solid fuel range it costs about 350 Euro to heat and cook for a 4 bedroom house and five people.my neighbour uses about 4 thousand litres of oil to heat his house.which of us has the biggest carbon footprint .there are very few peat fuelled power stations left in Ireland that was another fact that got blurred.one of Eu s largest peat compost and peat moss is an Irish company with Irish peat.is it not better to use peat harvested locally or shipping coconut husks and other peat free compost ingredients around the world.people make noise about using peat but nobody really cares that rain forests are being cut and burnt to make way for palm oil plantations so we can cook our food which is chemically treated and travels around the world for us to get cheap food on our table .
there is always going to be peat products in one way or another even if we approve or not

[oldherbaceous]

Dear Nemo, i've heard the peat in Brosna is of the highest quality.

[nemo]

it isn't as good as the peat in south west kerry. people come as far away as Dublin with trucks to buy the best turf as fuel