Peat free compost

For Peat's sake

Gardeners up and down the country improve their garden soil by buying and adding peat. Some argue that there is no alternative to this as a potting medium or for improving moisture retention and soil structure. It's ph is low as is the nutrients that it contains and so is suited to a wide range of plants.

Peat is made from the decaying remains of sphagnum mosses that grow in bogs.

Peat extraction and use: The effects of extraction are irreparable as peatlands take thousands of years to form. Reclamation schemes at previously worked sites have succeeded in creating attractive wetland areas, but they have not recreated peatlands. Peat forms at a rate of only 1mm per year, whilst peat extractors remove up to 22cm a year. A 10m deep peat reserve, which took around 10,000 years to form, will be cleared in less than 50 years. Bearing these timescales in mind, it is impossible to illustrate rehabilitated and restored peatlands. Even if peatlands could be restored, it is important to remember that preservation is cheaper than restoration.

It is estimated that Britain has lost 94% of it's peat bogs since the 19th century with only 6000 hectares remaining. This is a good reason not to use peat in the garden and I am going to look at why we should all be concerned about our peat bogs disappearing and how we can avoid it's use.

Peat bogs in Britain are beautiful, delicate ecosystems that support a wide range of plant and animal species. Sundew is an example of a plant that can only be found in bogs. There are also many dragonfly species that won't be found anywhere else and they are a natural haven for a a vast array of birds. They rely on the landscape to remain in it's natural state to survive. Extraction of peat results in the water being drained from the lowland bogs which dries the mosses out, allowing them to die, and other species of plants take the opportunity to invade, which changes the landscape forever. Dried out peat is also a fire risk and devastating if it does catch fire.

Our peat bogs are also a Carbon sink. This means that they lock up the harmful greenhouse gas, Carbon Dioxide, and stores it. At present it is estimated that they can absorb 20 years of industrial Carbon Dioxide emissions. They can potentially store this forever so long as they continue to be active and growing. Only when they dry out will they release the carbon. Because peat bogs are a natural water purifier they also provide a large amount of Britain's drinking water.

Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) estimate that 2.69 million m3 of peat is used in the UK annually, of which 99% is used as growing media and 63% of which is used by gardeners. Sixty two percent of all peat used in the United Kingdom is imported from other countries, including the Republic of Ireland and the Baltic states (Defra, 2008). This further adds to the environmental impact that gardening with peat has.

The alternatives:

• There are commercially available composts that don't contain peat. Make sure that the bag states "Peat -Free";
• Green compost from civic amenity sites, such as the county council's soil improver.
• Garden compost. A good, free option which has lots of positive environmental benefits.
• Leaf mould. Another free and beneficial matter that can be blended with your home grown compost to make a great growing media.
• Worm compost
• Manures
• Organic fertilisers: Bone meal, hoof and horn, seaweed meal and other organic fertilisers can be added to a mix to provide necessary plant nutrients. These are slow release materials so large amounts are not needed.

They are our rainforest equivalent that need to be protected. They are a vulnerable but essential link in our natural resources. The phrase: " Once they've gone, they've gone!" feels particularly relevant. So get composting and avoid buying peat. Kew Gardens and National trust gardens have been "peat free" for more than a decade now and are thriving.

Bokashi

Having covered the basics of home composting and how to use a wormery, you may be wondering what to do with the remaining food waste that you seemingly have to throw in the bin.

One answer is "Bokashi". It is a system developed in japan in 1982 and uses an anaerobic process to breakdown waste. It is made up of fermented plant material including wheat bran, sawdust and molasses together with the Effective Microorganisms.

 Bokashi means "fermented matter" and allows foods such as meat, fish and dairy to be treated and then either added to the compost heap or dug straight into the garden soil.

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It can be used to either complement your existing compost heaps or can be used as an alternative method of composting all kitchen scraps for gardens that may not be big enough for the conventional bins.

Bokashi is the biochemical breakdown of organic matter in an anaerobic environment. The "good" microbes out compete the "bad" microbes essentially killing them. The end result is "pickled" organic matter that may look the same but has been altered drastically.

Since it is the "bad " microbes that develop the compounds that emit the foul smell of decaying organic matter and are not present in a properly processed bokashi bucket, there is no foul odour connected with bokashi.

When you purchase a Bokashi system you will receive 2 bins and a quantity of the treated bran to sprinkle on the food waste. It also comes with a paddle to squash everything down with as anaerobic systems require the absence of air to work. Fill one of the bins over a couple of weeks, sprinkling bran as you go, and once full leave to ferment for 2 weeks. Start using the other bin whilst waiting for the magic to happen. A white mould will form over the waste indicating that the process is working and after the 2 weeks empty the contents into the compost bin.

Wormeries and Vermiculture

As promised, I would like to have a quick look at the composters friend and workforce, the worm.

Many composters and gardeners will know that worms will naturally find a compost heap and through their activities, greatly assist the breaking down of the material in the bin. We can manipulate this ability of the worms and create a separate system called a “Wormery”. This can also be known as Vermiculture or vermicomosting.

A wormery is ideal for small gardens where you get very little, or no, garden clippings, yet want to compost vegetable and fruit peelings from the kitchen. They are also a great addition to the larger gardens or established composter, as they produce a very rich type of compost as well as a liquid fertiliser beneficial as a plant feed.

In these systems, small red tiger worms (or Brandlings) break down the kitchen scraps and recycle it into rich, dark compost. It is important to feed them little and often as they can suffer from overfeeding. Keeping the conditions right for them is important too as they need an ideal temperature of between 19-25°C for the microbes that start the decomposition of the vegetable matter to work. If the temperature starts to fall too low and the microbe’s activity slows, the worms will detect a lack of food, as the microbes make up part of their diet, and slow their own metabolism to conserve energy. After a while the food will pile up and start to putrefy and turn their home acidic. This could be avoided by housing the wormery in an area that has a more consistent temperature such as a shed or even under the sink.  They can live outside but would benefit from being insulated all year. This would keep them cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

There are many different wormeries on the market and your local council probably offers subsidised ones. You can also make a wormery fairly easily which would reduce the cost.