1 YEAR OF COUNTRY SMALLHOLDING FOR £20 SUBSCRIBE TODAY

Appeal to go peat-free’

PUBLISHED: 12:55 12 March 2010 | UPDATED: 08:35 28 March 2014

MARCH 12, 2010: A new government campaign has been launched urging gardeners to go ‘peat-free’ when they buy compost and play their part in the fight against climate change.

Defra, which is spearheading the new initiative, says a recent survey showed two-thirds of garden owners were unaware of the environmental issues surrounding peat and its extraction for use in compost and growbags.

When peat is harvested for use in growing media like multi-purpose compost, it damages valuable habitats and releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, research has shown.

MORE:?www.direct.gov.uk/buyingcompost

Latest from the Country Smallholding

Win five bags of Mollichaff Original

Mollichaff Original is great for strong bones and healthy growth in horses. Photo credit: BiancaGrueneberg/Getty Images/iStockphoto

The Climate Change Garden book on the importance of trees

Trees help to provide essential shade in summer and valuable shelter from the wind, plus they slow water and reduce storm water run-off (photo: Kim Stoddart)

Tips for seed-saving on your smallholding

Seed saving can help to create plants that are perfectly adapted to the growing conditions where you live (photo: Kim Stoddart)

Organic growing on smallholdings: Eleventh hour sowings

Charles planting out winter salads and herbs in September (photo: Charles Dowding)

Sheep husbandry: Get the best from your flock

Selecting ewe lambs to keep is one of the most pleasurable tasks a smallholder can undertake (photo: Tim Tyne)