To Peat, Or Not To Peat…No, No, That Wasn’t A Question.
Who’s Peat I hear you ask……Well, Peat is a phenomenal natural resource who’s presence on our fine Earth actually helps us to tackle climate change. Naturally occurring peatlands store more than twice as much carbon as all the world’s forests combined and lock it up tight, so that it does not contribute to the overall warming of the planet. Peat is created by waterlogged soils made of dead and decaying plant material. As peat naturally accumulates over time, it forms peatlands (wetland landscapes).
Many of us planty folk are doing our bit to help to protect our precious peatlands, either by reducing our use, or cutting out peat based soils as a growing medium completely from our gardening lives. But, the main issue around peat usage stems from the sources of our plants, as most of the global houseplant growers use a variety of peat based soils.
We all want to feel like we are doing out bit to help make positive changes, when it comes to environmental issues such as this. But, being a truly ethical consumer is extremely difficult when the supply chain is flawed from the get go. We’ve all heard of ‘Green Washing’ right? Well, this the horticulture industry is no stranger to this either……The irony!
Unsustainable practice in horticulture such as using virgin plastics, growing in peat and the import and export of plants seems rather contradictory when most plant parents actually want to make a difference to the world and support nature, rather than hinder it.
The biggest issue in the houseplant world is peat use as the bulk of the houseplants available in Europe are literally rooted in this carbon rich stuff.
So, What should I do?
No single person can tackle and change bigger industry practices alone, but if we take as many steps as we can mange and change our own small buying habits, producers will eventually start to realise that change is needed and that the money lies along a new and improved path.
OK, I Get That…But Seriously?
Over the last year, I partnered up with a pretty amazing team of people at Bury Lane Nurseries who are one of the very few growers leading the way in peat free Houseplant production. They are dedicated to sustainable growing and tackling the issues around the import of houseplants to the U.K. All of the houseplants that were available to buy in the Plants By There Shop were grown right here in the U.K. so, they were not travelling a fraction of the distance that Europe grown plants are before they even reached your door.
All of the houseplants at Bury Lane are grown in a 97% peat free soil and the team there are currently working on that pesky remaining 3%! And what’s more, this peat free soil is even recycled too! The plants are all watered via a high tech system that helps reduce waste water and the warmer temperatures needed to grow these tropical houseplant species is achieved with the use of a biomass boiler rather than the traditional gas set up you’d find in the huge commercial glasshouses elsewhere.
But what about after the plants have been grown?
Our efforts to be as sustainable as possible didn’t stop at the growing stage. All of the Plants By There houseplants ordered by you were packed up in FSC certified packaging that could be completely and easily recycled by you at home. We avoided all of the extra ‘bits and bobs’ and unnecessary box filler you get from other plant retailers as much as possible and kept any printed material to a bare minimum. Any printed material we included was always printed on recycled paper and kept as small as possible!
I need some peat free plants asap!
Unfortunately, the Plants By There online plant shop is currently closed. But keep coming back, as who knows if or when it might make a come back!
