Grow-your-own gardeners encouraged to use peat-free compost

March 9th 2010

The government has launched a new campaign to raise awareness about the harmful consequences of using compost that contains peat.

There is a new trend among people in their 30s and 40s to grow their own vegetables, with many even investing money and time into allotments. Now, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is launching a campaign to discourage the use of peat for gardening.

Figures show that only a third of gardeners are aware about the serious environmental issues that surround the use of peat. The UK’s peat bogs have been formed over hundreds of thousands of years and are home to rare animals and plants. The harvesting of this peat for use in garden compost removes and disturbs these vital habitats and releases carbon into the atmosphere

Peat extraction releases half a million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year in the UK alone. The Defra campaign has won the support of celebrity gardener Diarmiud Gavin. He has helped to produce a video that explains the best way to establish a sustainable and environmentally friendly garden for summer 2010.