Best Supplier Of Compost 2021

We still have packaging for whom we packed for in the past, these bags are probably near to 20 years old.

 

No fooling you Sherlock

 

Is this new?

Sales of peat compost to gardeners to be banned from 2024 | Climate change | The Guardian

Only to gardeners though, so everbody else can still buy it?

 

Not really, its just a new timescale for phasing out peat.

When we were contacted by friends of the earth in 1990 about producing an organic soil conditioner we rose to the challenge and introduced 2 products to the retail sector in 1993. They basically wanted a peat substitute to use on the land, we never got any inclination peat would be phased out in the future.

Peat has been used for numerous things over the years, mainly burning for energy. The horticulture trade has used peat for many years but it is also used to make mushroom casing and whiskey brewing to name a few.

Peat is now actually being used as animal bedding, one of the main reasons why, straw prices have soared, straw is now being pelletised and used for bio fuel.
I used to get composted bark from a company called Bark Products, they are only 20 miles away from me. They used to have an abundance of bark wood chip etc etc because the largest paperboard mill is located near me. Then the paperboard factory went fossil fuel free and started burning all the bio mass. Bark Products closed my account as they were under contract to supply the bio mass to the power plant.

All the good alternatives to peat, which were in abundance in the past is now being burnt, just like farmers are now having to use peat as bedding as straw is being burnt.

Farmers turn to peat for animal bedding | Southern Star

Farmers hit by record straw prices - BBC News

As by the report in the link above, trying to make a quality peat free substitute becomes very difficult when contracts and subsidies are handed out to the energy companies with the very materials we had been using.

 

Isn't there some kind of world summit being held in Scotland later in the year regarding a greener world.

The government are just coming out with stupid time lines and statements because its being held in the UK and they want to look good.

The other one today was no new gas boilers to be installed after 2025.

So what we all going to use, back to coal or wood burners?

Just a bunch of pointless statements IMO.

 

No, burning peat, as it's only going to be banned in garden compost, not for use as a fuel from what I can make out.

 

Peat is being phased out for burning. Bord na Mona announced in 2015 that peat harvesting for power generation would be phased out by 2030. They were challenged in the courts and two of the peat powered stations stopped producing electricity in December 2020

ESB to close two peat-powered generating stations (irishtimes.com)

 

At some point they will work out that whatever we use there will be a green price to pay.

I think they are just spouting hot air.

 

I meant domestic use.

Peat fuel for open fires and multi-fuel stoves

https://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/renewable-fuel-burning-peat-zmaz75zwar

Bags of peat 'fuel' will probably be available from garden centres. Remember how sulphur was banned as a fungicide, but was instantly rebranded as a 'soil conditioner', or something like that? Green /yellow Sulphur no more after the end of the year? - Hardy Tropicals UK

 

You can still buy sprayable sulphur for use on roses, against black spot.

 

I am not so sure peat will be available to purchase in briquettes for open fires in the future. New legislation came into force this year regarding burning solid fuels, certain coals and wet wood would be illegal to burn. Peat will be removed from the horticulture and other sectors, local governments have been refusing extraction licenses to harvest peat even though you can still buy peat compost in G/C

If these energy companies want to build a windfarm on peat land, there is an emission's calculator they have to pass. If the windfarm built on peatlands will cut carbon emission it's likely to get planning permission. Yet they don't take this into account that the horticulturist is growing plants, which absorb carbon. Its like, one rule me and another for the rest.

Plants are trying to keep pace with carbon emissions, study finds (nationalgeographic.com)

 

I thought the legislation only banned the sale of housecoal and small quantities of 'wet' wood, and didn't affect the actual burning of the stuff which had sales restricted/banned. Much of the media got their reporting of the new legislation wrong.

That's why everywhere selling smokey housecoal sold off their remaining stock at £1/bag just before 1st May when the legislation came into force, but once purchased it's not an offence to carry on burning it.

Peat to burn as fuel is already being sold in garden centres as the link in my post #71 above Peat fuel for open fires and multi-fuel stoves a garden centre in Argyll.

 

With no normal alternative it's gonna be hard. Aftican violets and streptocarpi thrive in peat based compost. Carnivorous plants etc. What's ericaceus composts are gonna be made of? I ordered a bag of Forkers moss peat, and a couple if Clover compost bags just in case. At least for the beginning.