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This letter has been sent to the Daily Mail following an article on the use of peat in agriculture and gardening.
Sir, Bob Flowerdew should be congratulated for making some of the most sensible comments to be made about peat use in the press for decades (‘Peat and a very acid debate’, Daily Mail, December 16). There are loads of facts about how peat use impacts on the environment. However, anti-peat commentators rarely use these facts properly and cannot prove that peat alternatives are any less damaging to the environment than peat itself. Government targets to end peat use by gardeners by 2020 and by professional growers by 2030 are also misleading because they are not supported by evidence. This issue is not about a race to being peat-free at all costs. This issue is about providing British gardeners and growers with composts that are reliable and grow seeds and plants really well, and about making sure the ingredients in those composts are as sustainable and responsibly-sourced as possible. The obsessive pursuit of peat-free will lead to poor results and loss of confidence for gardeners and significant damage to growers’ businesses. Unless gardening commentators are prepared to personally pay the cost of this damage, they need to stop blindly demonising peat and start usefully guiding the public with factually correct information about composts that are good for the gardener and the environment. Dr Chris Hartfield
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