Legionella - Compost link.

This has probably been posted before, but here's an updated news item regarding a link between garden compost and legionella.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-24151700

 

Well that proves the fact that the compost should be kept under cover and not get too wet in storage,
Sooner or later the human race will have to cover up in overalls and face mask before we go out or do anything

 

It's interesting though that doctors are blaming the wood based composts and not the peat based composts. This could create further problems regarding buying and selling of the non-peat composts, which as we all know are not very effective as a growing medium anyway and are still avoided by a high percentage of gardeners.

 

Well I have been using non-peat composts for a good many years now and I ain't had Legionaires disease (bows to Hubris) and my plants grow just as well, if not better than in peat based ones.

 

Gardening is about nurturing plants, how can this be done at the cost of destroying centuries old habitats; peat harvesting ravages ancient landscapes that can never be replaced, I'd anyone who uses this stuff to go online to take a look at the damage this does. I'm not a tree hugging hippee by any means but I do think that peat based compost should be a thing of the past. Surely this degree of devastation just so people can have a couple of hanging baskets must be madness. I'd urge a 200% tax on it

 

We have long known that our hobby can be a dirty, dangerous business.
What we put our hands in and what filth we breath in it doesn't bear thinking about.
We could easily poke our eyes out, stab and cut ourselves seriously, fall ,trip, drown, over exert ourselves, poison.
Will I stop?................................No.
Will I still use peat.....................Yes in moderation.
It's the best hobby in the world.
If it kills me.......................What a way to go......

 

A lot of British peat comes from Ireland and the people there still burn much more on home based fires than we use as gardeners. If it is made available to us then we will buy it, the only way that will be prevented is to stop it at source and surely that is down to those that have the power to do so.

I agree that the damage is devastating, but until gardeners etc. find a medium that is peat free and acceptable for growing they will continue to buy peat based compost. I have already set myself a challenge for the growing season next year to see what I can come up with as a 'home made' compost, particularly for seeds and cuttings.

 

Surely it's down to supply and demand. We gardeners expect to see it on the shelves so the retailers put pressure on the suppliers to make it available as cheaply as possible. The only way to break the cirlce is to cut off demand. The easiest way to curb demand is by increasing cost. Carrier bag use has dropped in Wales by up to 95% just by introducing a 5p charge - a tax on peat based products would reduce its consumsion (wherever possible people would use a non peat alternative) and encourage industry to come up with viable alternatives.
I think your stance on making your own compost is fantastic,and I'll try to follow suit- lets face it we handle the raw ingredients of the stuff every day so hopefully we should get reasonable results

 

There are two threads running here, peat versus non-peat and the bacteria found in non-peat compost.
There are arguments to be made on both sides of the peat usage thing but no amount of discussion on the Web is going to ever resolve the differences. It just leads to acrimony. I use non-peat purely and simply because I sell (for charity) at an RHS controlled event and they insist on non-peat usage.
As to the presence of Legionnaire's bacilli in the compost, well normal hygiene precautions should keep one safe.
Let's face it, the report says 5 people got it from the compost and one died. How many thousands die from road traffic accidents? So do we all stop crossing the road, or driving? Look how many people die from smoking, does not stop them from doing it.
One feels that a sense of proportion is needed about the risks.
I could list the nasties found in the Chicken s.........er grit which is dumped on the field next to us, waiting to be either ploughed in or turned into Pelleted Chicken fertiliser which so many people seem to use. But I won't, it might put you off!

 

Palustris....... Discussion on the web may not resolve the differences as you say, but there is no reason why we can't have a discussion, without acrimony about the points this subject has raised, after all it is something that we as gardeners and GC are involved with from day to day. We know many people panic at the mention of something that could make them ill and Legionaires, even though the numbers are low, will put quite a few members of the public off buying peat free. That will in turn automatically reverse the numbers already achieved for peat free back to peat based.

As gardeners we are all aware of the necessary hygiene and it's up to the individual to maintain that for their own personal safety.

 

I quite agree with you Sheal; it's tough enough as it is to convert people to being more aware of the importance of using materials that won't destroy ancient ecosystems without scare mongering headlines like that.