Any arbtalking veg growers in da house?

[Goaty]

:sneaky2:Just had a rescrutinize of your pics Tony, hope that is responsibly produced bags of growing media and not bought on price.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

:sneaky2:Just had a rescrutinize of your pics Tony, hope that is responsibly produced bags of growing media and not bought on price.

 

Horse manure from mushroom farms in the yellow bags, multi purpose reduced peat in the others, bought due to time constraint, today was my only and first chance to get to work, so sourcing alternatives to this compost was not possible.

 

I do appreciate your pulling me up on it though, its a factor i was not 100% happy with either:thumbup1:

 

mostly ive been using well rotted mulch/chip, but as i was doing brassicas, wanted less fungal presence more bacteria

Edited March 17, 2013 by Tony Croft aka hamadryad

[Goaty]

Ive been to garden centres recently, best deal for my conscience was new horizon 3 bags for £12

 

But even then William Sinclairs the producers have been alledgedly naughty extracting peat. No win whatever you do.

 

However on a garden scale we can be alot more responsible than many commercial growers even though we we would like to be better:thumbup1:

 

O and this stuff does have a whiff, it could be poultry manure maybe, which wont be from someone going around a meadow pooper scooping.

[mdt]

Ive been to garden centres recently, best deal for my conscience was new horizon 3 bags for £12

 

But even then William Sinclairs the producers have been alledgedly naughty extracting peat. No win whatever you do.

 

However on a garden scale we can be alot more responsible than many commercial growers even though we we would like to be better:thumbup1:

 

O and this stuff does have a whiff, it could be poultry manure maybe, which wont be from someone going around a meadow pooper scooping.

 

Saw this at a garden centre on Saturday. Need some compost, can you educate me why peat free is good please?

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Saw this at a garden centre on Saturday. Need some compost, can you educate me why peat free is good please?

 

because peat extraction is threatening a habitat

[Goaty]

Peat takes centuries to form its ecosystem, although not pretty to look at like a meadow or forest, it has its own exclusive variety of life. Also peat bogs have sponge like water holding capabilities which is good for regulating water flow, also help out with carbon cycles etc.

After milleniums of forming,man just ploughs in and bulldozes it out to make fuel and to grow your begonias in for a season. Just plain unethical. They claim to restore sites but hard to see how as the sites end up being alot lower.

The way I see it plants grow everywhere sand, loam,clay etc. Whilst performing better in peat, must we have the best, also if we dont work it out now. When its gone what will we use?

Commercial horticulture has been very slow. Reluctant to take the kiddie stabilisers off the bike as it were.A company called Petersfield produce a good variety of commercial peat free that is used by Kew etc.

[breffni]

Peat extraction has decimated most of the raised bogs in the Irish midlands. It used to be one of the main fuels used in electricity generation in Ireland but not so much now. It was also used by most households as a fuel before oil and gas took over.

 

 

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[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Peat extraction has decimated most of the raised bogs in the Irish midlands. It used to be one of the main fuels used in electricity generation in Ireland but not so much now. It was also used by most households as a fuel before oil and gas took over.

 

 

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as i understand it rural ireland communities still use it?

[breffni]

Ye some do. We used to go to the bog every year to turn the cut turf. Hard work! Peat briquettes are widely sold, great burning but crap environmentally.

 

 

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[mdt]

Thanks for clearing that up chaps will get peat free!! Bought myself a veg book by dr hessayon today just to keep me on right track with veg, got a free book with it only had a brief look but looks good. Was at whs bookshop.