Building Peat-Free Soil for a Sustainable Garden

Many sustainable gardeners believe potting soil should be peat free. I've heard several arguments on both sides, and while peat is an organic substance, there are several good reasons for building a peat-free garden.  Let’s discuss why you might want to go peat free and what you can use instead.

What is Peat?

Peat is a collection of partially decayed vegetation matter, which forms a soft, spongy mass which is light, yet holds water well.  This rich matter forms in wetlands and bogs and really is a rich soil additive that’s good for plants.  However, there are three big drawbacks to peat.

Bog at Derryloughan The peat is being harvested for garden compost. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)1. The first drawback to peat is that in order to make it to your garden or houseplants in most areas it has to travel thousands of miles.  When there are so many other alternatives to fertilize your garden and enrich your soil, there’s really no reason to ship something by airplane and truck thousands of miles across the globe.  That wastes fuel, as well as wasting resources harvesting the peat - thus defeating the purpose of sustainable gardening to begin with. 

2. Additionally, when peat breaks down, it emits carbon.  Yep, that matter contributes to greenhouse gases and it sucks up the oxygen around your plants, thus decreasing their environmental value. 

3. Finally, to harvest the peat, the world’s wetlands are being destroyed.  Inside these bogs, moors and marshes, valuable wildlife lives and thrives.  Take away their wetlands and they suffer.  Harvesting peat is an environmental disaster - although in some areas of Canada, I've heard they are starting to use more sustainable practices now.

Alternatives to Peat

With those three important drawbacks, many sustainable gardeners have opted to utilize peat-free alternatives. They include composting your own soil and soil fertilizers. 

Composting at home doesn’t need to be a large production.  If you try vermiposting, you can create wonderful fertilizers with just a small box in your laundry room or under a sink in the kitchen. Or for a more traditional compost, many of the newer compost tumblers are very space-efficient and easy to use. (We've got a lot of good compost articles on this blog, so just browse the archive if you need to brush up on this topic.)

Another idea is to enrich your soil with worm tea (or compost tea).  Worm tea is made by adding water to worm compost.  You can also buy it at your local farmer’s market or at your local nursery.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)If composting and worm tea aren’t your thing, you can buy peat-free organic potting soil at your nursery.  Many of these are made from a larger scale composting operation and are rich and sustainable products - often made locally - just ask the nursery to be sure.

While there are still people who believe peat is an okay product for gardens and plants, many are beginning to become more conscious of sustainability practices.  To make your garden and houseplants thrive you don’t need to use potting soil harvested from a bog in Russia.  You can make it yourself or buy it from a local operation, thus reducing carbon emissions and improving the health of the planet - and your garden.


A Few Resources For Making Your Own Compost: