The peat ban spotlight Switches to growers

Our roundup of the month's latest gardening news and views

Campaigners say the battle to remove peat from compost isn't over yet, despite the Government confirming it will be illegal to sell bagged compost that contains peat after 2024.

While the Government has declared a ban on peat for amateur gardeners, it dropped a proposed deadline of 2028 to remove peat from professional horticulture, meaning growers can still produce plants in peat-based compost. A ban at some point is still on the table, and the Government says it "continues to work closely with the horticulture industry" to help them make the switch.

Nursery growers get through over a million cubic metres of compost a year - and over half (51.7 per cent) 66 Growers million cuba compost a ye just over ha is peat. Fewer than one in 10 of the UK's 1,800 garden centres and nurseries have taken the plunge and gone peat-free, but that doesn't mean they aren't trying, says Horticultural Trades Association president James Barnes.

He says, though growers are making progress towards becoming peat-free, a shortage of substitutes such as wood fibre and composted bark is delaying the process: "The fundamental issue is that there just won't be enough peatfree compost to supply the nation." Like many growers, Suffolk-based Mr Fothergill's is trialling peat-free composts before taking the plunge. This year it grew tomatoes and petunias in both peat-free and peat-based compost. Technical manager David Fryer says those grown peat-free needed more feeding, but it hasn't put him off.

"We know peat isn't sustainable," he says.

"We expect to be peatfree within two years." use over a metres of ar, of which is peat 99 Dr Anton Rosenfeld of Garden Organic says it's too little, too late: "It's like doing your homework on the bus." He says gardeners can avoid buying plants grown in peat-based compost by raising them from seedlings and cuttings at home instead, and looking out for peat-free nurseries.