Peat is a natural substance made from partially decayed plant material, that occurs in waterlogged conditions. It’s crucial for the health of the planet and also home to many rare butterflies and other creatures.
Removing it (for both gardening and the hunting industry to make ‘flat land’ for pheasants to eat heather) is causing floods. Despite still being legal to sell, environmentalists urge us not to buy it.
It takes thousands of years for peat to form, mostly from dead mossed in waterlogged conditions, when oxygen is scarce (so peatlands deprived of air don’t decompose). Instead, they store carbon and regular water by absorbing rainfall, reducing flood risk. This in turn offers shelter and food for many species.
The Impact of Peat Harvesting
When peatlands are harvested for horticultural use, this devastates ecosystems and contributs to climate change, by releasing vast quantities of stored carbon. As peat is now renewable (and we have lost half our peat bogs in England), they are in great danger. Peatlands are also home to 5000 species of insect and supply most of our drinking water.
Alternatives to Peat
Gardener Monty Don calls using peat ‘eco-vandalism’ (even today, some organic box schemes use peat to grow lettuce, and most garden centres sell it). He wants the government to ban its sale, to protect curlews, golden plovers, hen harriers, amphibians and reptiles.
Keep fresh compost and mulch away from pets (no mulch is safe). If you use wood chip mulch, don’t leave pets unsupervised with it. Straw mulch is only digestible by ruminants, so pets eating it will be sick.
Use no-dig gardening and fruit protection bags (over netting, which can trap birds and wildlife). Learn how to create gardens safe for pets (use humane slug/snail deterrents). Avoid facing indoor foliage to outdoor gardens, to help stop birds flying into windows.
Also keep fresh compost away from pets, as it contains mould.
- Natura Grow offers organic compost made from energy crops, on a Cambridgeshire farm, which are fed into anaerobic digestors (to supply energy). Buy as liquid feed or pellets, that are added to soil.
- Some composts are made from coir (a by-product of processing coconuts) and others use bracken. Two good brands are Natural Grower (which also offers a liquid fertiliser to pour around the base of plants). And Fertile Fibre (multipurpose, seed or potting compost)
- B & Q now sells own-brand peat-free compost, and commits to going peat-free by 2026. But why wait until then?
Why Grouse Shoots Harm Peat Bogs
Peat burning often occurs on land used for grouse shoots, by burning vegetation (that lays on top of peat), usually purple moor grass or heather. This provides new heather shoots for grouser (so they are easier to find and shoot).
A voluntary ban by government a few years ago did not work, with Greenpeace reporting fires on peatlands, in northern England’s national parks.
The peat bogs on a grouse shooting estate were on fire. The burning of peatlands is likely to exacerbate floods downstream. Towns in the Calder Valley such as Todmorden, Hebden Bridge and Mytholmroyd have been flooded repeatedly. George Monbiot
Choose ‘Unpeated’ Organic Whisky
Nc’Nean Whisky is the first Scottish organic whisky, which does not use peat for environmental reasons. Sold in an recycled glass bottle, this has flavours of citrus, peach, apricot, spice and rye bread. Made with organic barley and matured in red wine and American whisky barrels, it’s made in a net zero distillery.
The company founder (who set up the brand on her parents’ farm on Scotland’s west coast) said she never considered using peat fires to dry the malted barley, due to peats housing biodiversity and capturing carbon. She says that peated whiskies taste like TCP!
