With all the attention on Ash Die Back, a piece of significant news has come and gone unnoticed despite the best efforts of Friends of the Earth and The Wildlife Trusts. It concerns the ban on further peat extraction at Chat Moss, a vast area stretching more than 30 miles from Salford to Liverpool. Extractors had already removed more than 60 per cent of the peat over the past century, so Salford City Council bravely refused permission for further extraction in June 2011. A public inquiry followed, but thankfully it upheld Salford City Council’s original decision in this important test case. These peat bogs take thousands of years to form. They lock up carbon, helping to prevent global warming, and they reduce the risk of local flooding. They also support a unique range of wild flora and fauna including the round-leaved sundew, the curlew, the Large heath butterfly, the White-faced dragonfly or darter, the Downy emerald dragonfly and the Bog bush-cricket and a large number of moths. These creatures are now rare as only one per cent of England’s lowland raised bog habitat still remains. Peat is an emotive issue among British growers who have to compete with Dutch and German suppliers who are free to use peat. The airy nature of peat allows plants to grow quickly, if watering is constant. However, most of my plant losses occur when the ball of peat round my plant’s roots dries out in hot summers. As a gardener I avoid peat if I can. I look for plants grown in loamy compost or knock off the peaty stuff.

Professional growers are not keen to abandon peat. In fairness, alternatives such as coir, wool-based composts and green waste have their downsides. Coir has to be shipped across the world and water seeps to the bottom of the pot, so RHS Wisley add expensive perlite to their coir when propagating. Spongy wool-based compost stays dark brown so it’s impossible to tell when it’s dry. Green waste is not an option for me either being completely organic. It also varies from batch to batch. Bags of compost vary greatly and there’s no list of ingredients on most, so it’s always pot luck. When I want good quality John Innes compost (which does contain some peat) I drive 50 miles to Ashwood Nurseries in the West Midlands and that’s not eco-friendly. Their generous high-quality bags are stored under cover. How many of you have lugged a sopping wet bag into the boot, minus its nutrients, this summer? The gardener pays too much for a poor product that’s badly handled. Hopefully, Chat Moss will signal a turning point for everyone and prompt growers to produce quality peat-free composts with clearly listed ingredients. Like the residents near Chat Moss, we gardeners may have to jump up and down to get our own way though!