Encouraging customers to make the switch to peat free gardening – part 1

Aylett Nurseries Peat-ometer on its point of sale for Westland Multi-Purpose Compost with added John Innes is a simple device to help customers make buying Encouraging decisions. customers to make the switch

While we wait for the results of the DEFRA consulation on peat, the industry is gearing up for the expected ban on retail sales of peat products. That means we must make sure our increasing numbers of gardening customers are able to cope with peat free growing and get levels of success that encourage them to carry on gardening over the coming years.

As growing media sales continue to increase, latest GTN Bestsellers data shows volume sales up by 2.3% on 2021 and a whopping 24.3% up on the prepandemic levels of 2019, we asked a range of garden centres how peat free growing media sales were performing for them, which gardeners were choosing to buy peat free and which questions were they being asked about peat free gardening. We also asked if they would be looking for more products with a sustainable story when they attend the trade shows this summer.

The photos with this article come from Aylett Nurseries, which in our opinion, has been leading the way in growing media point of sale material with its Peat-o-meter so customers can make a clear choice about which growing media to buy. Thanks to Ayletts and all the other garden centres who have helped with content for this article. We hope it provides useful information for your peat free gardening retail journey and if you have something you’d like to add, please e-mail trevor@pottingshedpress. co.uk and we’ll include that in future issues of GTN and the GTN Sustainability Directory.

We start with feedback from Duncan

McClean, Senior Buyer, RHS Garden Centres:

“We’ve had a very positive response from the public since we moved away from peat-based bagged growing media in 2019. Sales of compost have increased dramatically in recent years as people become more and more interested in gardening, so it’s even more important the RHS are able to offer responsibly sourced options with only new peat-free growing medias.

“Eighty two percent of respondents to our latest survey stated that they were concerned about the environment, and sustainability is high on the agenda of many gardeners.

“Purchasing of peat-free is across the board, from beginners to experienced gardeners. These gardeners said they have had a positive experience growing healthy plants with the new peat-free growing medias.

Duncan told GTN the commonly asked questions of the RHS about peat-free growing include:

Queries on watering and water holding capacity of peat-free vs peat-containing growing media.

Content of peat-free growing media, and whether peat-free alternatives are sustainable.

Feeding and need for nutritional supplements

Effectiveness and availability of peat-free growing media mixes to grow certain

‘difficult’ plant groups, e.g., carnivorous, ericaceous, proteaceous.

“As people are increasingly concerned about the environment, about a third of respondents to the latest RHS survey of gardeners said they now exclusively use peatfree compost. Our survey also found that a proportion of bagged growing media may be going to waste as it is used as a soil improver, where it is less effective than specific soil improvement products and home compost. By using the most effective products, such as their own home-made compost or shop bought targeted soil improvers, gardeners can ease the transition to peat-free.

“At the RHS we are constantly expanding our sustainable ranges to align with our sustainability strategy. We are especially looking into products that are designed with sustainability in mind.”

Tam Woodhouse, Managing Director, The Millbrook Garden Company and Chair

of the GCA explained: “We are getting more customers asking about peat free but it is not a huge number compared to the number buying compost. We are actively driving this forward and reducing our peat sales. This year Millbrook has sold 73% of bags of compost that is peat free versus 34% last year.

“The people who are aware of peat free tend to be younger. The older experienced gardeners still seem to prefer peat.

“Sales are mainly price driven. We have taken all peat-based composts off special offer or multibuys and customers have switched to peat free almost without realising it as this is the only thing on offer.

“We are getting some questions about peat-free gardening, and we are actively talking about the need to water and feed more. The GCA has launched five compost modules on GROW five online training platform written

Ericaceous mix - one of the more challenging specialist plant groups for peat-free with the HTA and growing Defra and almost 2,000 modules have been completed. These help our teams understand the peat issue, how to grow peat free and how to advise customers. “Absolutely we will be looking for more sustainable products. We have already gone pesticide and glyphosate free this year and are looking at removing all single use plastics from garden products next year. We will be searching for plastic free weed stop fabric, string, plant labels etc. We will also be looking for British made gardening products, perhaps from smaller independent companies.”

Chris Day, Publicity Manager, Buckingham Nurseries & Garden Centre

said: “Over the last year we have experienced more customers asking for peat free versions of the compost they usually use. We have also noticed a number chatting to us who have

The Peat-o-meter can be seen as part of all growing media point of sale.

had pretty negative experiences. This is useful feedback because it highlights the potential management issues these composts have. The majority of our customers buying peat free are experienced gardeners. New customers seem to be not entirely fussed on which compost they use and will adapt quicker as they have nothing to compare to. That said, our customers often ask for guidance if they are unsure, and it is at this point we are able to explain the difference of the compost types as well as the brands and try and encourage them to go peat free.

“Some customers do not buy it due to the price difference; it’s not huge but for a lot of people who are on tighter budgets this is a consideration. We offer a range of composts and try and cater for all gardening needs. Customers have time before the ban to trial and experiment with a much wider range of peat-free composts. I think it is important, given rising prices of growing media that multi-buys are offered on all types of growing media. In view of the escalating price of growing media, peat-free products are more expensive than traditional peat-based materials but hopefully that price difference will disappear in time.

“We haven’t seen any increase in questions, most people simply want the ‘best’ compost for the purpose. Normally we would give a couple of alternatives including peatfree as that may be their preferred option. We feel there should be better labelling on the bags of peat-free composts stressing the need for extra watering when using the product as it’s not peat and it doesn’t hold moisture particularly well.

“We are always looking for ways to make gardening more sustainable and better for the environment. We will be looking at future products at Glee.”

Mike Burks, Managing Director of The Gardens Group who is seeing an increase in the sales of peat-free products told

GTN: “With the staff training internally and also the GCA GROW e-learning modules that were made available to everyone earlier in the spring we are able to cope with the demand and enquiries re peat free.

“We are finding all age ranges are using it, some older (experienced) gardeners are still wanting peat-based product, but we had this issue back when traditional gardeners were used to John Innes composts and didn’t like the move to completely peat based composts. Younger gardeners are purchasing without question but then they may not be aware of peat anyway.

“We are placing soil improvers (that haven’t got the high-quality peat alternatives in) as the best buy, then peat free on multi buys with peat reduced as the third group of growing media that the customer sees. Any peat-reduced product is kept at a price that doesn’t undercut the peat-free products.

“We are getting more questions; most are around the look of the product when the bag is opened but then also the different watering and feeding requirements. As we use the peat-free products that we retail in our own nursery, we can show customers that it can be very successful and also we will experience the same challenges that the customer will face.

“We are always seeking out the sustainable story with all products not just gardening but gifts, Christmas and furniture too.”

Chris Francis. Hillier Garden Centres,

commented: “We’ve definitely seen a growing demand for peat free growing media recently with customers asking for our peat options and an increase in sales. We don’t have any data to tell us if it is new or

Peat free grow bags and top soil are two products where gardeners can more easily make the switch.

Peat-free growing media for house plants. experienced gardeners buying peat free but the feeling is it is a mixture of both.

“Peat free is priced the same and is not a more expensive option to ensure that customers have the choice. We also do what we can to help educate customers through marketing on not only the benefits to the environment but also on how to get the best using peat free to encourage them to move towards peat free.

“We’re constantly focused on our sustainability journey and how we can work with our suppliers to introduce more sustainable options to our customers.”

Mike Ryan, Cherry Lane Garden

Centres, said: “We are seeing a strong increase on our 2021 peat free sales. Our own peat free multi-purpose compost is our number six overall bestseller at the start of May, which has been the trend for the last month. Generally experienced gardeners

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