Skip to content

7 Comments

  1. Benjamin Ranyard suggests 2 alternatives to using peat! | Question and Planter
    September 27, 2011 @ 10:02 am

    […] Last week, we learned from Benjamin Ranyard ( who runs the boutique UK flower farm Higgledy Garden) how using peat to garden hurts our planet. […]

  2. The danger of planting with peat | Question and Planter
    September 15, 2011 @ 8:33 am

    […] says alternatives to peat include composted bark, wood fiber, and coir… Link: http://higgledygarden.com/2011/01/01/the-peat-ban/ […]

  3. Peat Free and Proud. | Higgledy Garden
    September 6, 2011 @ 7:20 pm

    […] gardens think they can get along with out it then so can we. I wrote about peat and the forthcoming peat ban in my first article of the year and feel very proud that we are part of a new generation of […]

  4. Martine
    January 2, 2011 @ 8:45 pm

    Thanks Ben, both for the info and the good wishes………they are of course reciprocated! I will let you know how I get on with the potting compost. I am viewing the molehills with new zeal! Martine

    • Ben
      January 3, 2011 @ 9:52 am

      Ha!!! I got a ‘top tip’ from an old chap at the allotment who half burried beer bottles in the ground, neck up…he said the noise the wind made as it blew over the top freaked the moles out…they thought it was an angry mole or something (!) and they legged it elsewhere! x

  5. Martine
    January 1, 2011 @ 7:38 pm

    Happy New Year and a happy new growing season!
    Although I have never used peat as a soil improver in the garden I have to confess to using it in potting compost…..it is much easier and more reliable for me than my experiments with alternatives. My experiences with these have ranged from strange fly infestations, fungi growing on the surface and poor retention of water and nutrients. After years of using various alternatives (and thinking I had lost my “greenfingers”) I did some trials with my greenhouse vegetable plants. The peat based compost won out over the others with bigger healthier plants and more fruit……..presumably why many are not happy with a ban. Nevertheless, I am up for the challenge of succeeding with greener alternatives, it has to be the way to go. I already use the council green waste, make my own compost and am fortunate in having a good soil, so I think I will try to make my own sowing and potting mix. I am thinking of sterilizing it in the Aga to avoid the fungi problems!
    What do you do at Higgledy Garden?
    Warm regards, Martine

    • Ben
      January 1, 2011 @ 7:49 pm

      Brilliant idea using the Aga. I have used a blend of finely sieved compost with good loam…and results seem fine…it is harder than using peat but I think we’ve simply been spoiled for a few years! Time to face the reality that those golden days MUST end…let’s not forget that Kew Gardens have been peat free for years. Upwards and onwards.
      Hope you and your family had a wonderful season and we wish you all the best for this year…its going to be great!!! ;)