tom wrote:
Hi All,

I have just bought a plant & it says that it likes peat soil. I havnt
seen PEAT for sale lately & guess its nolonger available to
gardeners.

What is the best thing to use instead of PEAT for PEAT loving plants?


Well, a lot of quite well respected people have been campaigning
against the depletion of wetlands and the sale of Peat, so it's a good
and sensible question.

Snag is, there is no ready answer. Rotted pine needles or bark
chippings are available, but seem quite expensive.

If you take the environmental problems of the planet seriously enough -
and I think we should - then we should be doing more than just protect
wetlands. The fuel cost of shipping ('compost-miles'?) and the
environmental impact of the roads used and your own trip to the garden
centre can't be ignored. Some of the most widely advised peat
substitutes (Coir and "agrowaste") are shipped from India, for heaven's
sake. The aussies are composting eucylptus trimmings, but have to add
huge amounts of nitrogen fertiliser to get them to compost at all.

So the lowest impact answer seems to be 'compost made on your own land
from your own plant materials'. And if it's not acid enough for your
plants, pick different plants...
(http://www.hdra.org.uk/factsheets/gg35.htm)
(http://www.theorganiccentre.ie/peatfree.html)

In the end everyone makes thier own compromises and value judgements.
I'd ask the plantsman at the local garden centre, take what they offer,
and balance off the benefits that way.