Why use peat-free products in your garden?

Caledonian Horticulture was chosen as a case study for the IUCN UK Peatland Projects Demonstrating Success Booklet that was presented at COP26 in Glasgow. We were used to highlight how horticultural products can be developed for use by home gardeners through to a commercial scale without the need to use peat.

Peatlands are wetland landscapes that contain very carbon rich soil made from dead and decaying plant material under waterlogged conditions. They cover only 3% of the worlds surface but contain nearly 30% of all carbon stored in soil – that’s nearly double the amount of carbon stored in all of the worlds forest combined!

But why is it so important to use peat-free products?

When peatlands are in good condition they create new peat and actively remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in the soil, however when they are damaged they can become a source of CO2 and release it back into the atmosphere. Currently about 80% of peatland in the UK is in a degraded state due to decades of intensive land management practices such as peat extraction, drainage to create arable farmland, atmospheric pollution and overgrazing. 

At the moment UK peatlands are estimated to emit 23 million tons of carbon dioxide a year, which is why it is so important we restore degraded peatland back to full health as quickly as possible. As well as helping store carbon and reducing climate change, healthy peatlands can also help reduce flooding, and are an important habitat providing nesting and feeding grounds for wading birds and insect species. 

We are proud that all of our products are completely peat free and give our customers the option to buy horticultural products with the best environmental footprint – check out our shop to see the full range available.