Peat-free gardening
continued from page 8 are staying with more peat-based composts. Jack’s Magic and Miracle Gro, along with our own multi-purpose composts continue to be top sellers. Customers buying peat-free compost cover a wide age range. There is still not the confidence from experienced gardeners that non peat-based composts will give the growing quality they want. We are seeing this particularly with growbags. “We are definitely being asked questions such as: What is the difference between peatbased and peat-free composts? How good is the water retention? Do they need to add anything extra and which compost is best?’ “Our buyers already work hard to develop our range with less impact on the environment for the 2022 ranges as well as significantly reducing product packaging. They will continue to do this and increase our sustainable product ranges for 2023.” Roger Crookes, Pughs Garden Centres is worried they are not being asked enough questions: “Peat free has been our biggest sales increase within the growing media category. It’s a mix of customers buying it. There is the ‘eco-gardener’ who has been peat free for a few years and grow their own organically, there are ‘new green gardeners’ not so passionate or experienced but have heard the buzz either through social media groups or celebrity gardeners who promote peat free. But a common factor is that most customers do not understand what goes into producing a bag of compost, the whole process of balancing all the different ingredients, to provide the right balance of drainage, water retention, nutrients, air spaces, density etc, so it seems easy and obvious to them to just stop using peat and use something else, which of course is far from easy. “Price is less of an issue now as most retailers are selling peat free for the same price as peat based. Some customers are demanding peat-based compost because they have struggled with peat-free compost in the past. I think there is some loyalty to
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Peat free all purpose growing
Even Strulch gets a peatometer rating at Ayletts so that any new gardeners are sure it is peat free.
run 38/40 SKU`s. known brands with some at media from Melcourt least peat content. “They are not asking “Worryingly we are not questions so much as I’m being asked enough questions. telling them why some of Again, this could be because they the lines they are used to are not do not understand how it can make there in the same format. I must admit a difference. The real concern then is that having seen many crops of both bedding and they fail with peat free and then just give up hardy nursery stock that are just destined for thinking that they are no good at gardening. the skip over the last two or three months I We do not want to lose all those three million do worry. We havehuge job of educating our new gardeners we picked up during lock customers. My concern, like many, is if the down because they do not know how to grower fails what chance has the consumer?” grow successfully with peat free. Charlie Groves, Managing Director Groves Nurseries and Garden Centre “Another important question should be: Do says: “We have a fairly large demand for we in the trade know how to grow peat free? “Absolutely we are looking at products peat-free compost, which really seemed to with a sustainable story, it’s our biggest kick off last year.Interestingly it hasn’t been garden care opportunity for many years.” talked about by customers so much this Andy Bunker, Director, Alton Garden year but that might be because we now have Centre comments: “Generally we tend pretty much a full range of peat-free compost to lag behind on consumer demand on and there have been much better supplies various areas such as peat. However, over coming through from the manufacturers the last few weeks demand and requests this year. I also think there is an assumption has realistically gone up three-fold. that all compost might be peat free now and With Westland New Horizon, Levington there is an element of disappointment when Multi Peat Free, Melcourt and Dalefoot, a customer discovers their favourite compost customers have a very good choice. We contains peat. We are finding that customers
GTN’s Sustainability Directory 2022 27
