Why we're peat-free.

Peat bogs are some of the most carbon-rich areas on Earth. Even though they cover less than 3% of the planet (12% of the UK), they store more than twice as much carbon as every tree on Earth combined. However, we extract peat from these bogs much faster than it can be generated naturally, leading to a reduction of more than a third in peatland within the last 50 years. The process of draining peat bogs releases significant quantities of greenhouse gases, equivalent to around 10% of all annual fossil fuel-related emissions. Such vast operations completely destroy natural habitats as well. In the UK, over 80% of peatland has been negatively impacted. Not all of the peatland is dug up for horticultural use though, some is drained to create agricultural land, but even then, this leads to soil erosion which alone causes the loss off 1-2cm of peat off the top to blow away each year. This is devastating when you know it takes over a decade to naturally regenerate the same amount.

The public is slowly becoming aware of peat and the negative impacts associated with its use, and we actually saw a 2.3% decline in its use in the UK from 2018-2019. Unfortunately, everyone got into gardening through the COVID lockdowns and we saw its use go back up by 9%.

At Rymer Trees and Hedging, we use a coir-based compost. It consists of coir fibre, wood fibre, and a heat-activated slow-release fertiliser. The mix we use is far better for the environment than peat and is a brilliant substrate, but we are always looking for ways to improve. We have had external companies come up to assess our compost and help us improve it. Despite these assessors standing to gain from us changing compost, they said that it’s the best on the market for our situation. This has led to us experimenting with organic fertilisers and vermiculite alternatives though.