Why do gardeners use peat?
Well as always it's about money. Peat was and still is a cheap way to make potting soil or compost. It comes from swampy areas and when plants die they don't decompose properly due to the lack of oxygen. So layers after layers of dead vegetation is build up during thousands of years. Peat can absorb water like the best especially when dry so it was ideal for making compost or potting mixes. Because it was widely available there was no need to search for alternatives.
But this all changed when scientists found out that peat bogs absorb humongous amounts of Carbon dioxide. To give an example: The equivalent of 20 years of industrial carbon is stored in UK bogs alone so it's a huge carbon sponge. The big problem is that when the peat gets removed and dried it releases the carbon back in the atmosphere and with the climate change clock ticking it's definitely a no go!
So countries like the UK and many EU countries invited the compost industry to switch to peat free materials and they gave them a limited time to do so. That's why we see peat free compost and potting soil popping up in our garden centers and online.
I started with peat free potting soil three years ago and at first I was pretty sceptical. It was more expensive (not that much but still) and it felt coarser. I use it for my potted roses and after one year I could honestly say that the peat free soil was better than the one with peat. My roses had bigger roots and had grown harder. A few days ago I read that peat free compost contains much more organic nutrients than peat making it more rich for our plants. Also the level of water absorption stayed the same so I didn't have to water more often and I noticed that the soil doesn't shrinks as quickly as compost containing peat.
So I really advise you all to switch to peat free as soon as possible. It has only advantages...
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