Want to raise peat free compost awareness? Writing a letter to your local newspaper can help spread the word on why we have to stop using peat for our gardens. Also there's an online petition to ask for a debate in the UK Parliament about introducing a peat compost ban.

Why do we need to write our local newspapers?

There's a lot of brilliant debate on Twitter under the hashtag #peatfree. However it's not the converted who need convincing. It's the occasional gardener who grabs a bag of compost at the supermarket or garden centre. With domestic gardeners accounting for 60% of all peat compost sales, that occasional bag or two soon mounts up.

The inspiration

Mike from Mike's Burbage Garden Twitter account posted this:

This is my letter in today's @hinckleytimes, helping to get the #peatfree message out! pic.twitter.com/PPjoy7NFx4

"” Mike's Burbage Garden 🌻🐝🦋🐞 (@MikesBurbageGdn) May 29, 2019

We were so impressed, we asked Mike if we could feature his letter in a way that people could copy and paste to their local papers too. He very kindly given his permission.

Peat free compost awareness letter template

Dear Editor It's that time of year when we all get bitten by the gardening bug. Sunny days are here again, racks of plants and stacks of compost are displayed outside supermarkets. We want to add life and colour to our gardens and patios by filling beds, baskets and tubs with beautiful flowers. But nearly all those bags of compost contain peat. And when we use peat we destroy a unique natural habitat as well as contributing to climate change. That's why Monty Don said recently on Twitter: "If you are a gardener or nursery do not use peat. Ever. If you are a garden centre - stop selling peat products right now!" Peat takes millions of years to form. It consists of part-decayed plants and locks in enormous amounts of carbon. Peatland habitats support bog mosses and carnivourous plants as well as rare insects and birds. They also help absorb excess rainfall and prevent flooding. If you worry about how well your plants will grow - don't. All National Trust gardens are peat-free. Peat-free Japanese maple grower Hippopottering Nurseries won a gold medal at 2019's Chelsea Flower Show. Even the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew don't use peat. So please ditch the peat this year. Some supermarkets and DIY stores sell own brand peat-free compost. You can find quality brands in garden centres and online too. To find out more search online for #peatfree.

Sign the online petition to ban peat compost

You can also sign this online petition to ban peat compost set up by environmentalist Mark Binnersley: UK Government and Parliament - ban peat compost petition At 100,000 signatures, this petition will be considered for debate in Parliament. So please share and ask others to sign it too!

Want more facts and figures?

• Our article How Bad is Peat Compost For the Environment?
• The need for faster action on peat-free gardening by Plantlife, the British conservation charity
• International Union for Conservation of Nature Programme of Peatland Restoration
• End peat extraction - Scottish Wildlife Trust
• Monty Don calls for a complete boycott on peat compost

Peat-cutting machines in action

This may be an old video, but the aerial view of the ravaged peat uplands of Yorkshire speaks for itself:

Thank you!

Thank you for helping raise the peat free compost awareness in your local community. The more people ask for it in their local garden centre, the more likely they will stock more. With more demand, and the economies of scale, the price will come down. Then everyone can garden without harming the planet.

Buy our award-winning peat free compost online

We've been producing peat free compost since 1992. Please check out our range on our website:

• peat free multipurpose compost
• peat free seed compost
• peat free potting compost

We also produce vegan-friendly compost, biodynamic compost and offer trade discounts for orders of 55 bags or more. This has proved popular in the past with gardening clubs and allotmenteers. Neighbours have even banded together!