Login
You're viewing the sfba.social public feed.
  • HelenaHellybootwader@mastodon.scot
    Jul 10, 2026, 12:09 PM

    Can we all stop using and recommending peat based composts please?

    It takes so long to make, peat is a non renewable source

    It does far more good storing carbon in the ground in situ than it ever will do in a garden, yes, even for growing food.

    I’ve just seen a website recommending using peat based compost😭

    Peat was introduced as a cheaper filler for compost mixes within the lifetime of people alive today. It was not always used. We can switch away

    #Gardening #ClimateDiary

    💬 9🔄 95⭐ 70

Replies

  • 💬 0🔄 0⭐ 0
  • Dagnabbit, Pascaline ! 💥pascaline@mastodon.nl
    Jul 10, 2026, 12:23 PM

    @Hellybootwader

    It will take a long time before people stop using it, but if shops take their responsibility it could go faster.

    There is also a massive push from the peat harvesters of course, it's big business. Gardening as a whole is big business.

    It's a great idea to make do with what you have and enrich the soil with natural compost and so on: that is something people won't run out of very quickly. But well, the convenience of grabbing a bag and dumping it where you want it, sigh.

    💬 1🔄 1⭐ 1
  • HelenaHellybootwader@mastodon.scot
    Jul 10, 2026, 12:42 PM

    @pascaline it’s getting easier to choose peat free in the Uk- there are now quite a few options.
    It helps that one of the gardening programs has been talking about it for a while now (or so I hear)

    Making it yourself is good & if you have space for a compost heap- even better, lots of folk don’t have even a garden, and I can’t see the bought stuff going away completely- better choices are needed for consumers and from producers

    💬 1🔄 1⭐ 1
  • Dagnabbit, Pascaline ! 💥pascaline@mastodon.nl
    Jul 10, 2026, 12:53 PM

    @Hellybootwader

    Yes, things are getting better over here as well, which is great. Some soil is sold as 'organic' which is a bit nonsensical, but oh well. The organic soil does usually contain peat, so it's a good idea to be careful.

    People without a garden will probably continue to use bags, and for potted plants inside as well. I do have a garden but it's in the city and the soil was not only very poor, but I fear it was (and still may be) contaminated. A neighbour had all his soil removed and replaced with good quality soil. That was so good! After a while, things got better. Nature does what it does best.

    It would be great to have a compost heap per neighbourhood. I think it could absolutely be done. If it's automated and if people take care of it, it would work.

    💬 1🔄 1⭐ 1
  • 💬 0🔄 0⭐ 0
  • Robot Diver 🌞🧴🌻😎⛱️RobotDiver@starlite.rodeo
    Jul 10, 2026, 1:14 PM

    @Hellybootwader

    Coconut coir is a viable alternative to peat. Naturally organic and made from waste products. I don't use it often because of travel distances, but it's great stuff and can be heavily compressed to reduce its shipping footprint.

    💬 0🔄 2⭐ 8
  • Mike 🇬🇧 🇪🇺MikeFromLFE@cupoftea.social
    Jul 10, 2026, 1:38 PM

    @Hellybootwader
    There's a lot of hate towards peat free compost on garden & allotment forums.
    This is based on bad experiences with the cheaper brands (or unbranded bags), and a lot of the complaints are based on the older products.
    Most peat free composts are a good alternative, but the manufacturers could help their cause by better filtering of foreign matters.
    There's no good reason to use peat in this day and age, but you do need to choose carefully.

    💬 1🔄 1⭐ 2
  • 💬 0🔄 0⭐ 0
  • 🫧 Social coding commonssmallcircles@social.coop
    Jul 10, 2026, 4:40 PM

    @Hellybootwader

    If you buy plants in the garden center, you can also check the soil that is used in the pots. Very often that is peat as well.

    Here in the #Netherlands in our history we removed most of the peat marches in the entire countrly, and are now mass-importing it from #Germany where undoubtedly some beautiful #Nature is disappearing.

    💬 0🔄 2⭐ 0
  • Adam Jacobs 🇺🇦statsguy@mas.to
    Jul 10, 2026, 8:10 PM

    @Hellybootwader We can, and I always do. But it bugs me that I can only do that because I'm in the privileged position of being able to afford non-peat-based compost, which seems to be about twice the price, at least at my local garden centre.

    Maybe we need a tax on peat-based compost to level the playing field?

    💬 0🔄 0⭐ 0
  • 💬 0🔄 1⭐ 0
  • 💬 1🔄 0⭐ 0
  • HelenaHellybootwader@mastodon.scot
    Jul 10, 2026, 8:58 PM

    @Christo_459 that’s great!
    I still see some bags and know to check it actually says peat free on it.

    💬 0🔄 0⭐ 0