Peat ban won’t help the planet, says garden guru
Another influential gardening expert has spoken out in defence of using peat.
Nigel Colborn, gardening columnist for the Daily Mail, and chairman of the Royal Horticultural Society’s Trials Advisory Committee, said he would continue to use peat “sparingly and carefully,” despite pressure from campaigners.
His comments follow Alan Titchmarsh’s confession that he “sometimes uses peat” as alternatives such as coir had “used up too many air miles” (Amateur Gardening 30 April).
Following a furious spat with anti-peat warriors on chit-chat website Twitter, Nigel told AG he was calling for “calm, rational thought” on the peat debate. Green dictats to ban peat were “not helpful to the planet, or to gardeners,” he added.
Nigel wrote on his blog: “I use some peat-free growing medium and some peat-based. I always prefer peat-based because it is better in every respect.”
Nigel, who describes himself as a “passionate and active supporter of wildlife conservation” said his peat came from “non-sensitive habitats” and that he would never use peat as a soil improver.
Justifying why he continues to use peat, Nigel said: “Probably for the same reason I drive a car, eat meat, burn oil, and fail to grow all my own food: because it’s difficult to find convenient alternatives.
“And because I know that with modest consumption, all gardeners could continue to use peat without causing extensive environmental damage, and without excessive carbon emissions.”
Nigel, who pointed out that peat is still burnt in Irish power stations, summed up: “I could survive, just, without doing anything unsustainable. But in real life, as long as I watch TV, enjoy a lamb stew, go to a restaurant, buy grapes at Morrisons, take a hot bath or dine with friends, I’m leaving a footprint which, to an extent, is unsustainable.”
Other celebrities who still use peat include Bob Flowerdew, Christine Walkden, Charles Dowding and Peter Seabrook.
The Government has a target to ban gardeners’ peat use by 2020.
Picture credit N&R Colborn
· Join the debate on Nigel’s blog: www.silvertreedaze.blogspot.com
