BEST SUPPLIER OF COMPOST - 2017

Whilst I agree with you to a certain extent Redwing it is fact that peat bogs suffer worst from extraction for burning on fires. The percentage used for gardening is small in comparison and this at least gets recycled in the garden, after use for baskets and planters. I've not yet found a peat free compost that is reliable.

 

Try your local council, Our Council in Fife do not do it, as they are unable to generate enough heat to sell compost to the Public
Adjacent Council Dundee, their compost is approved and comes in at 50p for 100Ltrs, you have to bag it yourself though :-)

 

Thanks all, I do have a area in the garden that needs clearing, I will have to see what I can get from that, didn't realise I needed that much,

I've been putting my grass cuttings and old plants there for the last two years, I will post a few pictures up of the soil when I get round to it and wait for further advice, many thanks.

 

I do not agree with your statement that the percentage used for gardening is small in comparison to fires. Horticultural use is the greatest use of peat in the UK, it's huge, with much of it being imported from Ireland and the Baltic countries, especially now that extraction is finally being controlled in the UK. Burning peat in the UK is small and largely limited to rural parts of Scotland. I have tried to research this but finding up to date statistics on the percentage used for horticulture is difficult.

Here is an site stating the views of Scottish Wildlife Trust:

50 for the Future - End peat extraction - Scottish Wildlife Trust

 

I was shocked when I learned awhile ago that Ireland has a peat burning power station. I believe that Geoff Hamilton, one of my heros, was one of the first people to draw attention to large scale peat extraction for this purpose and it's use in horticulture and was one of the first, if not the first, to search for alternatives. Remember his old trials with coir on Gardener's World in the 80s and 90s? As stated in my above post, a huge amount of peat is industrially extracted for horticulture, destroying huge acreage of natural peat bogs.

 

You make some good points, Shiney. I think the manufactures of compost really need to get their act together and make some decent and consistent peat free compost. Last year I bought several bags of Aldi peat free compost and found it very good, for a change; the best I've found so far. I'll buy it again this year. Others have not been so good, I agree. What I often do is add rotted manure and sharp sand to the bought peat free compost. Admittedly it is a bit hit and miss.

I think those who believe horticulture doesn't use much peat are kidding themselves. Peat extraction on an industrial scale is horrifying and we all have a responsibility to stop using it.

 

I think if DEFRA's policy was for both gardeners and commercial growers to stop using peat by 2020 then there might be some decent peat free stuff around by now, but I suspect we might have to wait until nearer 2030 when commercial users are supposed to stop using peat for anything really good to become available.

 

Yet it always seems to be us gardeners who get hit by bans first, whilst commercial users can carry on using stuff for many years after we've been banned from using it.

 

I've always tried to avoid using peat based composts, although I do agree that the quality and consistency of peat free potting composts in particular is very variable to say the least. I've tried several over the years and have usually been disappointed.

My solution has been to make up batches of home made potting compost whenever possible, using about two parts leaf mould to one part each of sifted soil and sifted garden compost, with a couple of good handfuls of fish, blood & bone thrown in. This always gives me good results, although I do realize this is not a practical solution for those of you who need large quantities of consistently good quality compost.

As for seed compost, there is one which I can thoroughly recommend and which has performed consistently well for me for many years now. It's not peat free, BUT it is made from naturally occurring peat extracted from water which runs off moorland, so involves no peat excavation. It's called Moorland Gold, more information here: West Riding Organics

Admittedly it's not cheap, but I'm happy to pay the extra for a quality product which I only use in small quantities and which gets my seedlings off to a good start every year.

 

I moved up here to the Highlands a few months ago and now read a Scottish newspaper on renewable energy. Scotland as a whole is producing a very high percentage of renewable energy which consists of wind, hydro (water) and solar power, in fact I was surprised at how many homes here have solar panels on their roofs. A recently established underwater turbine is now undergoing testing in the area I live. Recent reports state that Scotland will be using 100% renewable energy within a few years. The burning of peat here has to be minimal because of this and no doubt will eventually be stopped. Whether Scottish peat is used from a gardening point of view I have no idea at this time, as it's something I've not researched.