Eco-warriors: give peat a chance
THE peat debate seems to be very one-sided and led by misinformed and misguided people who have obviously not researched it properly. Everyone should read the definitive and unbiased peat statement by Glendoick Nursery before making up their minds.
Peat can and should be farmed in a sustainable manner, it doesn’t need to be in everything but does need to be in seed composts. It is an essential part of gardening and rightly so as it is the best medium for seed germination and potting on when used in the correct amounts in compost. All this scaremongering by the eco-warriors and the BBC-funded ‘celebrity’ gardeners who have jumped on the bandwagon of the green agenda with their economical truths and poor information, we can all make statistics suit our needs. Victoria Prentice (DEFRA) has said “There are plenty of peat free alternatives”, there are, but very poor alternatives, she obviously is not a gardener. The total ban of peat will be a disaster to the horticultural industry and wider gardening, as all trials of peat free composts show poor germination rates.
Come on gardeners everywhere, we are a big voice collectively, there is no need for a blanket ban on the use of peat in gardening, let’s use our collective voices and write and lobby our MPs before it’s too late.
Garry Coward-Williams Editor says
I understand your concerns and I can assure you that Amateur Gardening has published more articles highlighting the potential problems of a total peat ban than any other magazine. I also signed the petition to DEFRA to ask for a reconsideration of the ban on seed compost and for more time for producers to create genuinely viable alternatives.
■ Peter says we should all read the peat statement by specialist rhododendron growers in Perthshire, Glendoick Nursery. To find it, visit this link: glendoick.com/Peat