For Peat's Sake!

From left to right: Asparagus, rhubarb, salad, leek, carrot, red cabbage and broccoli

If you happen to have a seed and want to grow a plant from it you have two basic options. You can stick it in the soil, add water, and wait with fingers crossed.  Or you can choose the de luxe option of putting it in a tray or set of modules filled with “potting compost” (normally something you've bought in a big bag) and carefully nurture it indoors, eg on a window sill or in a greenhouse. This option obviously takes more effort as you (a) have to keep it watered because the rain isn't going to reach it, and (b) once the plant is big enough you have to transplant it, ie take it outside and plant it. The more delicate plants are supposed to need “hardening off” before planting outside which requires more molly-coddling, namely taking the seedling outside during the day and bringing in again at night for a week or so to get it acclimatised to the big wide world. All this takes time, and money for the compost, but the results should be better. More of the seeds should germinate (and not be eaten by slugs or mice), and be quicker to mature into nice big plants. 

A top of the range compost bin I have recently installed

I hedged my bets and tried both options for many of my types of veg. Broad beans, french beans and runner beans all definitely welcomed the head start that module sowing provides. So did the beetroot. Some, such as leeks, cabbages, broccoli and lettuces, I only sowed in modules but found that after the seedlings had reached an inch or two, they just stopped growing. I waited for weeks for them to get big enough to be transplanted (ie a few inches) but in the end gave up and put them outside as titchy things. Thankfully most of them have recovered and are growing nicely now, but no doubt they are still smaller than what they should be at this point.

My suspicion lies with the compost I'd bought, and I've met others with similar experiences who would back me up. “New Horizons” is the culprit, supposedly the compost of choice for the environmentally-concerned. It is certified organic and peat-free, winning a Which? magazine award back in 2011. We had been using it in Pilsdon with no problems at all. However it seems this year's batch is simply bad, just not providing enough nutrients for the seedlings. 

Peat is a type of soil that's extremely rich in dead organic matter and comes from peatlands of which Britain naturally has a finite amount (2.3 million hectares to be precise*) of which only 20% remain unharmed by human activity. We carry on digging it out because plants thrive best in compost made from it. Unfortunately peat is best left where it is, because apart from the wide diversity of wildlife it supports it also acts as a massive carbon-capture sink. Unlike any other kind of soil, when it is in a healthy boggy condition it can keep pulling carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere ad infinitum, for ever. As we all know by now, the less carbon dioxide in the air the better.

I've since discovered that Which? recently ran a comprehensive test on all peat-free composts and declared that none of them are worth buying.  Apparently they are just not reliable enough compared to peat composts. As the debate that their report sparked rages, those of us who give a damn for the planet are put in a quandary. To peat or not to peat? Having unreliable potting compost has a big impact when trying to grow sufficient produce for customers with a deadline.

My leaf mould in modules awaiting some lettuce seed

My solution is two-fold. Firstly I am sticking with peat-free compost (whilst trying out a different brand) but adding to it some organic 'blood, fish and bone' mix to boost the nitrogen and other nutrients.  Secondly I am trying out my own home-grown leaf mould which I collected last year from amongst the trees and deposited in a big enclosed pile to rot. Rather satisfyingly this latter zero-cost option, which also used no fuel to process or transport it, has so far also proved the most successful. Here's to the truly organic approach!

* Figures taken from the Zero Carbon Britain report (2013). 2.3m hectares is just under a tenth of the land area of the UK.

Lastly, for those of you for whom my flower quiz was just too easy, here's a slightly more challenging one with the latest flowers to grace my garden. Pictured below are : Courgette, borage, Cucumber, Pumpkin, two types of runner beans, mustard, komatsuna, tatsoi, french bean, pak choi. 

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