Kitchen Garden Forum

ive not been on for a while so have only just seen this thread but having lived and worked in the somerset lowlands for a long time i feel i must comment.
the levels cover a vast area, the peat extraction on an industrial scale is largly confined to a small area to the west of glastonbury, after peat extraction we are not left with an industrial wasteland, basicaly the ground level is lowered a few feet and reverts to either farmed grassland or inceasingly in latter years nature reserves consisting of open water, reedbeds,marshland,scrub or woodland, the rspb itself manages areas as nature reserves. as do other national and local organisations
In general the "conservationists" dont realise how little of the countryside they wish to preserve is actually natural never having had the hand of man imposed on it..... they also dont seem to appreciate that even an entirely natural landscape is a constantly evolving, changing entity

How right you are Peter and if you wish to see Bitterns ,Great White Egrets, Otters etc etc just pop along to the Peat Diggings that are now wonderful wetlands bursting with wildlife or travel a little south to Aller Moor and see the 18 Cranes flourishing in this habitat. I believe that there are about 10 peat works now employing 50 people producing (to me) the best compost available, long may it continue as a responsible and integrated part of the landscape.

Incidentally I still think Michael King near Walton produces very fine peat based compost, I buy from him every year.

Barney

I am a supporter of the RSPB Lurganspade because of the very good work they do in helping bird life. However you are quite correct in that they deny any evidence that goes against their politically correct mantra regarding conservation. It is such a shame but this is how these pressure groups seem to drift away from reality.

More magpies less songbirds is obvious to me, but you dare not suggest so to the RSPB.

Barney

Sorry Barney what touches a raw nerve is being patronised not having someone disagree with me, that is healthy, I grew up in some of the finest peat bog country there is, the derbyshire moors, Kinderscout and the like. I don't see them ripping tons of peat out from up there on an industrial scale. Ten years might be a new comer to you but do you suppose I have been naively waliing about with my eyes shut for the past ten years? I have taken the time to find the local customs and traditions and of course the industries. I class Somerset now as my home, i pay my council taxes and work here, contributing to the local community in many positive ways. You cannot have the 'right' opinion just because you have lived here longer. As i respect your opinion, i am not sure that you and a few others on here can respect that of other's. What I class as patronising is your comment 'I do appreciate many newcomers do need time to understand the landscape and traditions of us locals'.

The opinion bit comes in when other say that the upside is the creation of nature reserves, and I have been down to greylake and the westhay reserves for a bit of twitching and have enjoyed it, all I say is that should somewhere else now have some new lakes and nature reserves, do we not have enough here?

You can grockle bash all you want, I am entitled to an opionion whether I passed through for an hour, or ten years.

All the off-topic comments from viewtopic.php?f=4&t=9419

Please do carry on the debate here.

There is no 'Grockle Bashing' Compo, it is unfortunate that you appear to take offence from my posts extremely easily. You may also have a degree in peat studies for all I know and your views are supported (or influenced) by many academics. I was only trying to defend a way of life that has existed for many centuries in harmony with and as part of a living working rural landscape.

My original posting was against those, of which there are many, that impose their ideals on peoples' lives without consideration of how it may affect those same people.

The fact that newcomers may take some time to understand the traditions of us locals,(a view that you find patronising) is very well documented in much literature. There are several books written by newcomers (for newcomers) about surviving in Somerset, most of it tongue in cheek, as was my reference to it.

e.g.
http://www.halsgrove.com/proddetail.php ... 1841148267

Surely you are aware of the fuss after the BBC4 and newspapers discovered that NHS Doctors were writing NFB on locals’ medical notes? All this banter is taken in good spirit by most local people.

It seems to me such a pity that you live in an area that produces some of the finest peat based composts and do not take advantage of it, due to you believing that its use is ruining our planet. I just think that in the grand scale of things digging and using local sedge peat has little if any bad consequence but provides many benefits for the local rural industries and gardeners alike. I am patiently waiting for impartial evidence to prove otherwise.

It is natural for Somerset folk to buy peat as it is produced locally and has always been valued as being beneficial for horticulture and the small local producers. You may as is your right regard the peat workings as not being pretty, I disagree, and since the older workings are now several of the most prized areas for wildlife, I consider the peat extraction to have been carried out in a controlled and responsible way.

Best wishes

Barney

Barney I sent you a PM mate, explains things a bit better

CoMpO