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Article: For peat's sake: havens for wildlife and enormous storehouses of carbon, the world's peat bogs are under increasing threat. The culprits? Humble gardeners and their thirst for commercial potting mix and compost. But there are plenty of alternatives out there for green gardeners, from peat-free potting mix to do-it-yourself composting.
- Article from:
- Geographical
- Article date:
- July 1, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Circle Publishing Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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According to legendary gardener the late Geoff Hamilton, 'gardeners buy peat because of brain conditioning not soil conditioning'. Indeed, prior to the 1960s, its use wasn't common, as the green-fingered relied on other types of soil improver, such as home-made compost. But as the boom in home horticulture began, peat-based products became the norm--and now many of us find it difficult to imagine not using it in the garden.
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) believes that 'the vast majority of the gardening public buys multi-purpose compost. This is peat based unless labelled otherwise, and a large proportion of this is used to ...