[nightshade]

Today I tried to buy Peat free compost and was dismayed at the alternatives on offer
can anyone actually recommend a workable substitute?
Nobody at the stores or garden centres I visited were prepared to swear hand on heart that
any of the substitutes were as good or that they gave good value for money (not necessarily cheaper just good value!!)
Peat is an ancient product of living bogs,where mosses,heathers and other plants die and sink into waterlogged ground and undergo a slow decomposition due to a lack of oxygen.
They are very important wildlife habitats but already 94%of the UK sites have been damaged or destroyed, they have thrown up some interesting archaeological finds,well preserved bodies (not Boddies)
Even SSSIs are not safe,and it is all driven by the amateur gardeners(well nearly 75% of it)
desire to buy plants potted in peat and composts comprising mainly of peat
As Peat is a finite resource which absorbs CO2 and cannot be replaced,succours a wide range of wildlife, I think everyone should do their level best to avoid peat products where possible