COMPOST > PEAT - BASED
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Peat has traditionally been used by many horticultural experts and house growers to supply optimum condition for their plants in jackpot , and to rectify the soil in their garden .
However , in late year , there has been a displacement away from peat for environmental reasons .
Many compost or potting mix manufacturers have go by from peat all in all , or reduced the amount of peat included in their recipe .
Sustainable , eco - friendly gardener have tried to move aside from these selection to ones that are peat - free , and have less impact on the surround .
What Is Peat-Based Compost?
Peat based compost , as the name suggests , is a potting medium or mix which includes a sure ratio of peat in its composition .
Why Has Peat Traditionally Been Used?
Peat has traditionally been used in farm media and dirt repair composts because it is splendid for growing plants .
Peat retains mickle of water and supply food , while also allow a good grain that helps in maintaining aeration and avoiding crush .
Trying to repair the quality of peat with other materials has , historically , puzzle something of a challenge .
But research and development of new commercial-grade products intend that there are now alternatives , which provide the same benefit as peat , without posing the same environmental threat .
The horticultural manufacture in the UK is still hard dependent on peat as a resource – but things are beginning to change , with the proliferation of eminent quality peat - loose option .
Now , there are many peat - detached alternatives that are just as good as peat - based options .
In 2021 , new legislation has banned the cut-rate sale of peat to gardeners in the UK by 2024 , with programme to help repair the UK ’s peatland bogs.1Carrington , D. ( 2021 , May 18).Sales of peat compost to gardeners to be ban from 2024 . The Guardian . call up March 21 , 2023 , fromhttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/may/18/sales-of-peat-compost-to-gardeners-to-be-banned-from-2024
Costs
One benefit of peat - based composts that does remain is that they are usually cheaper than peat - detached choice .
This means that they can be particularly tempting for those garden on a budget .
One thing to remember , however , is that you may also keep down costs by making your own growing media .
This can also be attain by using other materials to sate arouse bed ( no dig gardening lasagna beds ) so only a smaller amount of compost is need to top new growing areas .
Using Peat-Based Compost
A peat - based compost , depending on its composition , can be used to grow a vast range of different plant .
There are peat - establish composts that can be used for starting come , spring up plant life in potful , and for circularize around flora to ramp up and improve the soil in your growing surface area .
As cite above , peat is not a sustainable or eco - friendly selection . We ’ll explain why in a little more item below .
Organic gardeners should always essay to stave off using peat - base compost whenever potential , as Horticulturist Hannah Reid explains:2Peat belongs in bogs , not bags . ( n.d . ) . The Wildlife Trusts . Retrieved March 21 , 2023 , fromhttps://www.wildlifetrusts.org/ban-sale-peat
“ Avoid using peat products – only purchase peat - loose . Peatlands stack away huge sum of carbon paper and glean it for compost is an environmental disaster .
“ It ’s both horrendous for the biodiversity of that specific country and on a global climate shell .
“ attain your own plant food using vernacular plants found in the garden like nettle and comfrey is a heavy substitute . ”
“ Peat is an almost indifferent substance and has little if any fertilising benefit , ” adds Dan Ori , a Horticultural Consultant .
“ It is what ’s shuffle with peat in products like multi - purpose composts that feed plant . The rationality it is used in planting intermixture ( compost ) or added to soil is that it has a in high spirits water system - retentive power over time .
“ The character of peat - free multi - purpose composts has improved dramatically in the last few years , but you do have to adjust to a new lacrimation approach , as peat - free composts will use more water supply than peat - based without adding extra material . ”
Where it is preferable to use peat , and a honorable peat - free option can not cater the same results ( which is increasingly rare ) gardeners should seek to choose a lower peat option .
Another potential option is to take a compost that has peat sourced more sustainably – dredge from rivers and by dams where it has been naturally washed by rain , rather than pick out peat that has been dug up from its natural ecosystem .
What Plants Is Peat-Based Compost Good For?
There is no denying that peat - based compost is great for turn a wide image of plants .
There are peat - based media that can be used for raise most plants from germ to adulthood . ( But also usually peat - costless composts that can do just as good a job . )
When part seeds , multi - purpose composts can sometimes be used . But a specialist seed starting mix might yield well consequence .
Forericaceous plants , a specialist acidic mix should be used .
Why Should Gardeners Use Less Peat-Based Compost?
The main disadvantage of peat - establish composts is the harm they do environmentally speak .
Peat comes from lowland peat bog . When we use it on a large scale in the horticultural industry , we are damaging these precious wetland environments.3Peatlands and climate change . ( 2017 , November ) . IUCN . Retrieved March 21 , 2023 , fromhttps://www.iucn.org/resources/issues-brief/peatlands-and-climate-change
The problem is that although peat is a natural resource – we are using it up far quicker than it can be replenish . And we need those peat ecosystems to remain for a identification number of cause .
Firstly , and importantly , peat bogs are a all-important carbon paper sump . Peat wetlands are the most of import ecosystems for atomic number 6 sequestration on our planet.4Why is peat so of import ? | clime modification . ( n.d . ) . National Trust . Retrieved March 21 , 2023 , fromhttps://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/our-cause/nature-climate/climate-change-sustainability/preserving-our-peatland
When peat is hit and peat ecosystems are degraded or destroyed , these ecosystem can no longer work their persona in maintain the world ’s atomic number 6 cycle .
We need to sequester more carbon , and lock it up in peat bogs and other carbon copy sinks to undertake the massive climate crisis we face.5What is Carbon Sequestration and How Does it Work?(2019 , September 20 ) . Clarity and Leadership for Environmental Awareness and Research at UC Davis . retrieve March 21 , 2023 , fromhttps://clear.ucdavis.edu/explainers/what-carbon-sequestration
wetland are also very important in the water round . When we destroy peat bog , we lay on the line disrupting the stream of water through our environment . It is judge that around 10 % of the Earth ’s freshwater is contained in peatlands.6Trenbirth , H. , & Dutton , A. ( 2019 , July 22).UK raw upper-case letter : peatlands . Office for National Statistics . call up March 21 , 2023 , fromhttps://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/environmentalaccounts/bulletins/uknaturalcapitalforpeatlands/naturalcapitalaccounts
What is more , when peat ecosystems are degraded , water system can also run across a landscape more quickly .
When we take peat away or disrupt natural organisation , this can make major flooding issues for communities at lower elevations.7Shuttleworth , E. ( 2019 , July 1).Peat renovation and natural flood tide management . IUCN Peatland Programme . Retrieved March 21 , 2023 , fromhttps://www.iucn-uk-peatlandprogramme.org/news/peat-restoration-and-natural-flood-management
And it is not just people dissemble by peat remotion . Many species of flora and creature also bank on cherished peat habitats .
Wetlands are the most biodiverse of all nature ’s ecosystems . When we disrupt and disturb them , we are impart to home ground personnel casualty and biodiversity loss.8High Biodiversity . ( n.d . ) . The Wetlands Initiative . retrieve March 21 , 2023 , fromhttps://www.wetlands-initiative.org/high-biodiversity
These are just some of the main rationality why we should be leaving peat in the reason , not steal it to use in our gardens .
