Improving and re-nutrifying my clay based soil with PeatFree mulches

Peat based composts will be banned for domestic markets from 2027 although trade growers can use peat based products until 2030, if they so wish. This is good news for peat bogs and the wildlife they support but would have been even better if UK's government had kept to their original deadline of banning peat products from 2024. Thankfully, there is now quite a range of good peat-free composts available to buy and I've been privileged to use several of them. A few years ago, peat-free composts were no contest for more traditional peat based ones but a lot of research has gone into improving peat-free and I've found they're now pretty good.  

Some of the top names to look out for are Melcourt/Sylvagrow, Dalefoot, RocketGro - all of which I've used in my own gardens and in client gardens.  Two more that I found this year are from Newleaf composts (in Northern Ireland) and Brontë. I smiled at the name when chatting to one of the founders of Brontë ... were they from Yorkshire, I wondered? No, they're both from Lancashire - Colne and Darwen, both of which I've visited - and adopted the Brontë name due to their relative proximity to Haworth, the Brontë family's historic home village. Memorable. 

But I digress.

Mulching ...

Earlier this year I used SylvaGrow Farmyard soil improver as a mulch over the veg patch beds; last year I used home made compost from my Hotbin composter and in the years before, Dalefoot Lakeland Gold.  All are 100% peat free and I can already see the positive difference these additions have made to my soil.  

A word of caution: I look out for 100% peat free products as it's important not to fall for 'peat reduced' or 'organic' composts. Products are not guaranteed peat free unless specifically stated!

Mulching is not something I bothered with in the very early veg patch days as we used raised beds over the hard clay soil; those early raised beds have mostly been removed now in favour of maximising space and planting straight into improved soil. 

Which is where mulching comes in ... vegetables are hungry plants and it makes a huge difference to keep the soil healthy by boosting the soil's eco-system by adding living organisms and micronutrients.  Good natural mulches will do that so now I consider it an essential task in spring and late autumn, for both my gardens and for clients. 

Peat-free products I've used for mulching and seed sowing ...

The Melcourt SylvaGrow Farmyard is a new one to me, although certainly not new on the market. I'm particularly interested in seeing how it performs over the year as the company claims the product will help with water retention (remember I have to water by hand), with soil structure and will renutrify the soil.  Plus, being made from anaerobic digestate rather than the more traditional straw and horse poo, there should be no herbicides ruining my crops. Sounds like a winner to me! I'm also a big fan of the Melcourt Sylvagrow products just because they're high quality. 

Somerset-based RocketGro is another company whose products I've embraced this season. I intend to use their Magic Mulch soil improver in the herbaceous borders of my flower garden as well as around my fruit trees ... especially the plum trees. I think it will help enormously. Their composts are all 100% organic and peat free, made with a clever process inspired by the way cows digest their food.  You had me at cow. I love it.

Dalefoot composts are an old favourite that I've used where possible for many years.  They have a range of composts tailored to different uses, all of which are made to an old 'recipe' using bracken from the Cumbrian hills mixed with sheep's wool from their farm. The company is also actively involved in restoration of peatland bogs; read more about this on their website via this link: Saving Peat Bogs

Seed sowing ...

This year I was given a bag of  RocketGro's Peat Free Seed and Cutting compost which I've been using for most of my seed sowing. It feels like beautiful stuff but, to keep things fair, I've sown half my seeds into Dalefoot Seed and Cuttings compost to see if the two composts produce equal results.  

Reducing plastic ...

From pots to potted ...
© Images from Wool Pots

While writing about seed sowing, I should also mention Wool Pots as I'm using these for my larger seeds like squash, pumpkins and courgettes.  I spotted these at the Garden Press Event in February this year and was allowed to take a sample away with me. 

The company was founded when the owners leapt into action to think up an alternative option to the plastic plant pots that would otherwise end up in landfill; they created knitted tubes of unwashed raw British sheep wool from unwanted excess that would otherwise have been burnt.   

The website gives several very logical (to my mind) reasons to use their wool pots - growing plants in the pots will allow the roots to be air pruned for stronger growth; there's no need for transplanting as the wool pot can be planted (as in the above image); the wool acts as a slug and snail deterrent (hopefully!); the wool will break down in 6-7 weeks to add nutrients to the soil. By watering the pots from underneath, the water is drawn towards the roots. 

It all makes a lot of sense but there's one drawback ... the wool pots have a one time use and although I hate the idea of overwhelming amounts of plastic being chucked away, if you've already got plastic pots, use them.  I take care of my sturdy plastic pots and have reused them for many years now.  So there's a financial argument against using wool pots but let's see how the seedlings fare as I won't have to disturb the roots when planting them out.

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Has anyone reading this had success with peat free?  And what do you think about any alternatives to plastic pots?  I'd love to know what has worked for you!

Some more information (if you want 😉) ... links open in a new window

New Leaf's guide to mulching - here

Wool Pots - website here

RocketGro - website here

Dalefoot - website here

Melcourt SylvaGrow - website here

New Leaf - website here

Brontë Heritage - website here

GardenWatch: April in the Veg Patch

After a winter that seemed to go on for ever, I've barely started sowing and it already feels like the summer solstice is drawing near! Let's see what's happening in the garden...

Yep, it's blossom time again. The pear trees never fail.

Now that we're half way through the spring months, the air temperature is warmer making it a real pleasure to potter around the garden as the plants put on some very vigorous growth.  I have two garden spaces that I look after here in my urban Eden - the veg garden which is languishing while waiting for sowing and planting to begin, while the car park garden is verdant with colour and greenery from the hedges, perennials, bi-annuals and spring bulbs. 

Pretty little spring veg patch

But it's not quite true to say that the veg garden languishes ... flowers to encourage early pollinators have been blooming - daffodils, violets, forget-me-nots, tulips ... while on the food front, late summer planted purple sprouting broccoli is doing me proud with regular pickings of delicious sprouts and there's also some chard that has stood over the winter.  The PSB was planted out so late that I honestly didn't expect the plants to produce anything. They didn't have time to grow to their full stature before winter so to see heads forming and sprouts shooting up this month was genuinely and unexpectedly thrilling. 

And then there's my expanding patch of wild garlic leaves - so delicious in a risotto or used to make pesto.  I bought one plant almost a decade ago from Jekka McVicar's herb farm that now covers a metre and a half under the fruit trees. As it's away from pollution and organically grown, I can harvest without worry.  Am I concerned about it taking over? No. Besides, is there such a thing as Too Much Wild Garlic?  For now, there's little landing space for any seeds as the wild garlic is growing through Cerinthe (Honeywort), Ajuga and leaves of Hemerocallis (Day lilies). 

PSB, rhubarb, gooseberry flowering;
Sweet Cicely, Wild Garlic, Sweet Woodruff (all edible!)

A rare week of warm weather interspersed with heavy rain has done the garden (and me) the world of good; the fruit trees are a riot of blossom (until spring storms blow it all away), rivers of Sweet Woodruff and Sweet Cicely are about to flower, ever dependable rhubarb has appeared, honeyberry and gooseberry bushes are flowering. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for plums, as usual. 

Where I'm at with seed sowing ...

So while there are a few plants to pick from, I have to confess that I neglected to grow many other veg that could be filling the hungry gap at the moment. To remedy that, I've just sown kales, butternut squashes, leeks and Chioggia pumpkins indoors.  

As ever, I long for a greenhouse. It wouldn't be empty for long if my tiny balcony is anything to go by.  Currently filling every nook and cranny are trays of beetroots,  nasturtiums, courgettes, spring onions, salad leaves, tomatoes, lamb's lettuce, beans, and pollinator friendly annuals of cosmos, calendula, gypsophila, verbena, sweet peas and echinacea.  If I can find space for them, I also want to grow Bunny Tail grass for some winter wreaths. 

I'm keeping veg sown into modules in the shelter of my balcony for now but outside the soil is warm enough to sow some veg (and flowers!) direct ... at least in the south of the UK. In the past week, broad beans have gone into the soil, garlic and onions that were overwintered in modules have been planted, the Jerusalem artichoke hedge is in, and peas, radishes and carrots will be next. 

Spring has truly arrived with all its thrilling moments!