Home & Gardens

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OLD BYGONES & COLLECTABLES. Rural garden agricultural itmes bought & sold. Tim JEWELLERY, items of silver, designer clothes & cashmere wanted. also handbags, accessories etc... modern or vintage. 07702 254779 01725 517268 / 07311 478301 OLD TOOLS WANTED FOR CASH. Best price in UK. WANTED - Dave Vintage, collectable & good used buys all types of tools,boyshilltoolsandtreen.co.uk tools Tel 07977 298834 Call 01935 428975 danletts51@gmail.com

WANTED - Garden ornaments, garage clearance and also old tools wanted. Good prices paid, Mere 01747 860637

CLEANING & CLEARING

GUTTERS CLEARED Windows, fascias, soffits,gutters cleaned, repairs, free estimates 07788 376752

JACK'S HOUSE CLEARANCE Often without charge. Books also wanted for cash. 07542 389447 and website jackshouseclearance.co.uk

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Personal service – we know not everybody wants the same, we’re here to help you choose. Specialists who will work with you to design a kitchen that covers practicality, functionality and more. A kitchen that is beautiful not just to look at, but to be in.

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Shaftesbury: 01747 851 476 Longmead Industrial Estate, Shaftesbury, Dorset SP7 8PL Warminster: 01985 219 200 5-6 George Street, Warminster, Wiltshire BA12 8QA www.myhomemaker.co.uk

Home & Garden Gardening...

...with botanist Dr Dave Aplin For peat’s sake, it’s time to forego classic compost mix

For those of a certain age – and I include myself – the late Geoff Hamilton was the figurehead of BBC gardening. He was especially passionate about halting the use of peat-based products, for good reason. He felt it unnecessary for gardeners to endanger natural peatbogs to grow plants. Yet over quarter of a century later, peat remains a key constituent in most UK composts while the case against peat has escalated to focus on its contribution towards global warming. Why is the horticultural industry reluctant to switch to alternative products? Peat is undoubtedly a brilliant gardening product. It is a uniform, free from pests and diseases, gives good aeration at the roots while being able to retain large amounts of water. It is clean to handle and tactile, making it pleasant to work with. It is something gardeners have mastered the art of using to produce great-looking plants. It is naturally nutrient-poor, making it possible, by adding fertiliser (and lime), to produce a multitude of commercial compost mixes to suit any plant. No wonder peat is so popular, so what’s all the fuss about? Many of today’s peatlands were formed around 10,000 years ago. They comprise semi-decomposed plant and animal remains, that are very acidic and waterlogged. This produces a special environment for distinctive plants and animals, yet is inhospitable to most micro-organisms. This means rates of decay are slow and peat gradually accumulates. In so doing, the peatbog forms a massive deposit of thousands of years of the greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide. Globally, peatbogs cover 3% of the Earth’s surface, yet hold as much stored carbon as all the world’s forests combined. Critically, once peatlands are damaged, through drainage and extraction, decomposition rates accelerate and carbon dioxide is leaked into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change. Fortunately, peat-free alternatives make good replacements although unfortunately they are still hard to find. These comprise composted garden waste, pine bark, dried sewage sludge and coir. Coir is the leading product from the thick, fibrous husks that surround coconuts. Like peat, coir is very absorbent yet able to maintain a high air content. Westland’s ‘New Horizon’ compost is perhaps the most readily available peat-free compost, while MiracleGro, Levington and SylvaGrow all offer alternatives. In my experience, if the words ‘Peat-Free’ are not emblazoned on the front of the bag then it almost certainly contains peat. In 2011, the government set voluntary targets to end sales of peat-based compost for domestic use by 2020. This dramatically failed, leading to the current cohort of celebrity gardeners protesting loudly. It is certainly unacceptable that peat-alternative composts remain hard or impossible to find in garden outlets despite the ‘writing on the wall’ for horticultural peat, so if you can’t find any at your local store make sure you ask: ‘Why not?’ Next time, as spring advances we look at how frost damages plants and what we can do to reduce this happening. soilvalues.com Soil Testing Service Professional laboratory soil tests • gardeners • landscapers • small holders Wild昀ower meadows, veg, fruit, 昀ower, new & established gardens. Fast, accurate & easy to interpret soil report within 7 days www.soilvalues.com 07598 714 082 42 GARDEN SERVICES

GRASS & BRUSH CUTTING

Orchards, paddocks, plantations etc. ROTAVATING

Rough ground to seed bed MINI DIGGER/SLEW and high lift DUMPER MOSS PROBLEM

Scarifying, spiking & coring PATIO & PATH CLEANING etc. Call 01963 237890 24/7

Landscaping, Groundworks and Garden Maintenance, Specialists in Patios, Fencing, Driveways, Walling, Ponds, Turfing Free Quotations amralphlandscaping@gmail.com Tel: 01747 850544 www.ralphlandscaping.co.uk Mobile: 07921 637227

WELL ROTTED MANURE, £50 per load within 20 miles of Sherborne, 01963 210269

TOPSOIL Always available Barn stored, screened or as-dug Small or large amounts Tel: 01963 363208 07836 747895

GARDEN SERVICES Herbaceous borders, pruning, wildlife gardens Regular maintenance, RHS Quals, Insured, Ref available. Tel 07877 413676

LAWN SCARIFYING Moss and thatch removal Tel 01747 821 726

MAN WITH MICRO-DIGGER Garden clearance, patios, fencing, decking, landscaping, driveways. 30+ years’ experience. Contact Ken - 07882 441873 01963 32034