Using peat is something many gardeners do without really thinking about it. But using peat in your garden is not an eco-friendly choice.
Gardening can be one of the best steps to take to live a more sustainable way of life. But it is important to think about how we garden in order to do the right thing for people and planet. Avoiding peat-based composts and potting soils is one very important thing we need to do.
The sale of peat based compost will be banned in the UK, after a number of delays and the failure of voluntary phasing out, from 2024. But as sustainable gardeners, we should all make the switch to peat-free alternatives without delay.
Peat has traditionally been widely used in growing media and amendments for garden soil because it is great at retaining moisture, and providing nutrients. It has a structure which keeps the medium aerated and avoids compaction issues.
A major challenge for garden experts in recent years has been replicating these desirable characteristics without using peat. But research and development in the field means that there are now excellent peat-free alternatives for gardeners. There really is no excuse not to make the switch in your home garden, and to only choose plants and products from peat-free suppliers.
To help you understand why this switch is necessary, and so urgently required, here are some of the key reasons why using peat in your garden is a bad idea:
Peat Bogs Are Vital Carbon Sinks
Peat ecosystems are vital in our fight against climate change. When we think about carbon sequestration, our minds may leap immediately to trees – to woodlands and forests. But wetlands catch and store more carbon than any other type of ecosystem – forests included. Though they cover only 3% of our planet’s surface, peat bogs store more than 1/3 of soil carbon globally.
Peat ecosystems are the most efficient carbon sink on the planet, because, where an ecosystem is left to flourish as it should, peatland plants capture CO2 naturally released from the peat. This maintains a natural balance.
So when we are digging up and using peat in our gardens, we are implicating ourselves in the loss of ecosystems which are vital in combatting global warming. Degraded peat bogs can turn from ecosystems which draw in carbon, to ecosystems which emit more than they take in.
Using Peat Contributes to Biodiversity Loss
As you may well already be aware, we are facing not only the climate crisis, but also the related and interconnected crisis of biodiversity loss. Many species face extinction, or are critically endangered. Only protecting and enhancing ecosystems can help preserve the planet’s biodiversity, on which we, and all life in Earth, depends.
Many people take steps to protect and encourage wildlife in their gardens, without realising that when they buy peat compost, they are unwittingly contributing to the loss of vital wildlife habitats elsewhere.
Wetlands, including peat bogs, are the most biologically diverse ecosystems on our planet. They provide a crucial habitat for a huge range of plants and animals. We should be leaving these regions undisturbed and protecting them – not digging them up for use in our gardens.
Wetlands are Important in the World’s Water Cycle
Wetlands like peat bogs are crucially important in the world’s water cycle. An important part of source-to-sea continuums, peat bogs are vital in maintaining the fresh water cycle on our planet. They are crucial in maintaining healthy water flow, water retention and water filtration as part of interconnected systems.
People Rely on Peat Ecosystems For the Water They Drink
In the UK, more than 28 million people use drinking water from water sources that rely on peatlands. Yet few of those people are truly cognisant of the ecosystem services that peat bogs are providing. And even fewer take the time to think about the importance of the preservation and restoration of wetlands, and how this can be achieved. Globally, peatlands provide nearly 4% of all potable water stored in reservoirs.
Using Peat and Degrading Peat Bogs Exacerbates Flooding Problems and Other Catastrophes
Peat bogs are crucial in preventing water related problems too. Peat bogs catch and store water in the landscape. When they are degraded, flooding issues become more prevalent downstream, and more households and livelihoods are threatened by increasingly common extreme flooding events. Wetland ecosystems close to coastlines can also help in preventing coastal erosion and lessen the impacts of sea-level rise and extreme weather events.
So by choosing peat and contributing to peat bog degradation and destruction, we are putting people in peril and disrupting the natural patterns of water flow.
Using Peat Depletes Peat Bogs Faster Than They Can Be Replenished
The problem is that though peat is a renewable resource – it is being used up far faster than it can be replenished. It takes a century to form just 10cm of peat. While extractors can take away up to 22m in the same time-frame.
The UK has nearly 5 million acres of peatland – tragically, at least 80% of those ecosystems, likely more, is damaged or degraded. We urgently need to be restoring these ecosystems so that they can provide all the vital services mentioned above – not continuing to contribute to their destruction.
So all sustainable, ethical and eco-friendly gardeners should avoid the use of peat in their gardens – and keep peat in the ground, where it belongs.
A report released in October 2020 revealed that between 2015 and 2019 the amount of peat contained in growing media only reduced from almost 53 per cent to 41.5 per cent in the consumer sector. So clearly, we need to do more.
Fortunately, there are plenty of peat-free alternatives for sustainable gardeners. And if you choose the right ones for the plants you wish to grow, these are now just as good as peat based options. So, whether you may your own growing media, or buy commercial mixes, peat-free is the way to go.
As a gardener, you can choose to be part of the problem. Or you can do something about it, avoid using peat, and more sure that you garden in a sustainable and eco-friendly way.
