Great news this month on the gardening blog! The UK government plans to ban all use of peat for amateur gardeners by 2024. Initially the hope was that garden centres would stop selling peat based composts by 2020 but the resource is cheap and demand has still unfortunately been high. So by 2024, there will be an absolute ban which is great news for peat bogs, the precious wildlife that live there and our co2 emissions.
Peat takes thousands of of years to form and is removed from ancient peat bogs in the UK and Ireland which releases co2 into the atmosphere accelerating climate change. Along with the ban, the government will be restoring peatland, planting thousands of trees and helping beavers and other wildlife thrive in the UK.
Gardeners have grown in peat based composts for decades due to its perfect conditions for growth – but there are alternatives. I have been growing in peat free compost for years and have never had a problem with any of the alternatives. The best way to approach this is to buy only peat free compost (the bags will clearly state it) and make sure it’s always from a reputable seller.
This is also great news for our sponsors of the gardening show. PlantGrow is a purely plant based fertiliser certified organic and available as a liquid feed but also as the perfect compost and mulch material. I have used PlantGrow on my own no dig allotment for three years now and it continues to prove excellent as nourishing the soil, keeping weeds down and improving moisture on a very sandy soil. If you are looking for a peat free alternative, check out PlantGrow products on their website, in garden centres and stores such as Waitrose.
