Peat or Coir

You have said it all, Liz. I agree completely.
The earth will ultimately solve the problem by getting rid of the malignant virus that infects it - us. Until then - we must each live as best we may.

 

Yes I agree with you on Gaia. They recently said on the news that Britain has an ecological footprint three times its size. ie A viable population would only be about 20 million. Even if we solve the energy problem, there is still the lack on roads, lack of houses, lack of water worldwide etc.

 

As I don't drive and never have done(except for a series of lessons years ago when I realised I had about as much road-sense as a rabbit)I'm afraid I usually have to use whatever I can carry from the shops and, furthermore, what I can afford to buy; as often as not this proves to be peat-based.
I understand that there are certain types of seed (Busy Lizzies for example) that won't germinate if a peat-based compost is not used. I don't know how correct this information is.

 

Hello people this is a good issue but there are alternative fuels available to run motor cars ethanol is totally re newable cost pennies to produce and emissions contain water and some other stuff thats okay, in Brasil they have used ethanol for years and years to run cars, but here the government has made the tax on producing ethanol so expensive it is not viable to do, so whilst the lying cheats in government try to lie to all of us saying that they are concerned about the environment which is why they tax us like they do, if they were really concerned about the environment they would allow ethanol to be produced and used by all of us without hefty tax because it is an eco friendly fuel, the government don't give a monkeys about the environment they just like to raise the money via fuel tax so that we have the money available to pay for the next phase of bombing the middle east into oblivion.

 

I used to grow impatiens from seed (in bulk numbers) thirty years ago or so before peat based composts were around and they did grow well but they will grow quicker in peat or peat free as the lighter more open structure suits the delicate roots particularly at the seedling stage, however they need more feed than in the old loam based composts.

 

That's interesting, strongylodon. I remember the late Geoff Hamilton on a Gardener's World programme advising that Impatiens had to be grown in a peat mixture.
An old chap where I used to work said to me,
"Busy Lizzies ...you can do practically anything with them, but I've never been able to get them to grow from seed."
I asked him what compost he used and he told me it was a John Innes. After changing to a peat-based compost he had success with his Lizzy-seeds!

 

May be in those days some growers may not have known that they need light to emerge and perhaps covered them too much, just a thought.