CLASH OF THE TITANS
Industry players and environmental groups hold opposing views on the future of peat use, reports Ian Hodgson
The ongoing debate over peat use in horticulture has reached boiling point, with environmental lobbyists and horticultural figures clashing over the prospect of a complete ban by 2024. Triggered by the launch of the government’s delayed public consultation initiative just before Christmas, 26 media and industry figures signed an open letter challenging the government’s position.
Penned by garden and industry writer and presenter Peter Seabrook, the letter called for “a much more open debate on the peat in horticulture issue with both for and against statements up for discussion”. Signatories included The One Show’s Christine Walkden, former Beechgrove Garden anchor Jim McColl and garden designer Bunny Guinness. Garden owner/ nurserymen included Adrian and Jason Bloom, Glendoick Gardens director Ken Cox, nursery and garden centre chairman Robert
Hillier, along with a broad spectrum of seed and plant growers and retailers. The Seabrook missive also garnered support from MP Sir Brian Donohoe, previously chair of the Parliamentary Gardening and Horticulture Group.
“For the Government to spend time on banning peat looks like, to me, madness, when there are so many other more pressing things to do. Why do they want to put people out of work and damage the horticulture industry?” said Peter. “Moss peat use in seed and potting composts is currently, by all available measures, an environmentally friendly growing media and, in most uses, results in the absorption of CO2, plus the sequestration of carbon in woody growth and the soil. Cut-away raised peat bogs can be restored, where water levels are raised and harvested areas re-seeded with the correct species of sphagnum.”
But the RHS has slammed the letter, saying: “This is disappointing. We believe a collective effort should be made on helping to grow home composting, use of alternatives and provide information on using the right product in the right place. The RHS has committed to being 100 per cent peat-free by 2025.”
The National Trust, Garden Organic, Friends of the Earth and RSPB issued a combined statement urging government to “move faster” in going peat-free. However, the issue of available, economically viable alternatives for growing media manufacturers to use continues to fuel the debate. "Peat as an ingredient in growing media for the retail market is dropping and at its lowest since records began in 2011,” said industry body Horticultural Trades Association chairman James Barnes. “This trajectory is entirely dependent on securing enough volume and quality of alternative materials.“