GET THE BEST OUT OF YOUR PEAT-FREE GROWING

Anton Rosenfeld, knowledge officer at Garden Organic, shares advice for making the most of peat-free composts

- Anton Rosenfeld

With a promised phase out of compost containing peat in the retail market in 2024, we’ll all need to get used to peat-free growing. Just over a year ago, it was still a challenge to source peat-free compost, but now it can be found easily. It even dominates the piles of bags outside supermarkets. As extracting peat makes a significant contribution to CO2 emissions and wrecks wildlife habitats, it’s good news that we’ll be leaving peat in the ground where it belongs.

DOES PEAT-FREE BEHAVE DIFFERENTLY?

One reason that peat has been so popular is that it behaves quite consistently. Peat-free composts, by contrast, are made up of a mix of natural materials, predominantly composted wood fibre, bark, green waste compost or coir, which means that there will be some variability between and even within brands.

Dealing with this variability requires a change in mindset. We need to get to know our plants better and observe and adjust our growing practices when required.

PURCHASING PEAT-FREE COMPOST

Some brands perform better than others, so try a few out and see how you get on with them. Peat-free compost is also more sensitive to storage conditions than peat compost. Left out in the rain, it can interact with the biology, resulting in changes in nutrient composition with time.

Ensure you’re not buying last year’s stock and look out for faded bags. Some manufacturers also add packing dates to the bag. For this reason, just buy what you need for that year so you’re not storing it for too long.

ENSURING GOOD GERMINATION