Why Peat Free?

I have always loved our natural world.  I have always wished to protect every important habitat for plants, animals, and nature, all over the world.  I am passionate about protecting the rainforests and the many other wonderful, precious environments and habitats that exist on Earth, including peat bogs.  Peat bogs are amazing environments, covering just 2-3% of the planet’s surface.  Many of the special, rare, and interesting plants which are found growing in peat bogs can only be grown in the specific conditions found at these sites, and consequently if the conditions change, or the habitat is destroyed, the plants and the ecosystem that had evolved in that area is also lost.

Sadly many peat bogs have been destroyed, and many of those that do remain are in a bad condition, and require ongoing restoration.  Peat bogs are incredibly fragile – being built up and produced at a tiny rate of just one millimeter per year, if the optimum conditions are present.  If the necessary conditions are not available, the peat bog will not develop.

Peat bogs are valuable stores of sequestered carbon, locking up carbon dioxide and preventing it from being released back into the atmosphere, where it would contribute to global warming.  Currently peat bogs are being destroyed at a furious rate, part of this destruction is due to the continued use of peat in the horticultural industry and the horticultural retail market.

In order to prevent further destruction of peat bogs, it’s important for consumers to find top quality, effective, peat free, sustainable replacements, for all products that were traditionally formulated with peat.  There are many types of peat free compost available, although it’s worth noting that many of the compost formulations undergo frequent changes, which can be very frustrating if you find a particular peat free compost formula that works well for your needs, and then you’re unable to find the same compost again when you next wish to make a purchase.

The names of the composts offered for sale can also be confusing, and at times misleading – it’s often not clear which composts contain peat.  If you’re looking to purchase peat free compost, look for composts that are clearly and explicitly labelled as ‘peat free’.

Peat free composts can vary enormously, some peat-free composts I have purchased have only been suitable to use as a mulch to top dress plants, other composts I have reluctantly added to my compost heap, as they haven’t been of good enough quality to use from the bag, while some peat free composts I have used are of great quality, and consequently first rate, exhibition, and prize winning plants can be grown using these top quality growing medias.

I have undertaken this Peat Free Compost Trial to test out the peat free composts on the market, and see how they perform when trialled alongside each other, under the same conditions.

2016 Peat Free Compost Trial

I started my 2016 Peat Free Compost Trial on the 21st June 2016.

Nine of the same sized containers were used, these containers were each filled with one of the peat free compost mixes that are listed below.  Eight dwarf French Bean ‘Ferrari’ seeds were sown in each pot of compost.  Each container of compost experienced the same conditions.  The bean plants were observed as they grew, and the results were monitored and recorded.

Peat Free Composts

Each of the composts I chose for this trial were purchased at the same time, so as to avoid using old composts, which might have been depleted of nutrients, and to ensure a fair trial of every compost.

I chose the following peat free composts and compost blends for my trial:

• Carbon Gold All Purpose Compost
• Dalefoot Composts Double Strength Wool Compost
• Dalefoot Composts Wool Potting Compost
• Dalefoot Wool Compost for Vegetables and Salads
• Dalefoot Composts 50/50 Double Strength Wool Compost and Dalefoot Composts Wool Potting Compost
• Dalefoot Composts 50/50 Double Strength Wool Compost and Dalefoot Composts Wool Compost for Vegetables and Salads
• Miracle-Gro Peat Free All Purpose Enriched Compost
• Sylva Grow Sustainable Growing Medium
• Westland Gro-Sure Peat Free All Purpose Compost

Dwarf French Bean Seeds

For my 2016 Peat Free Compost Trial, I chose to sow a dwarf French bean called ‘Ferrari’ that I purchased from Franchi Seeds of Italy.  I chose this particular dwarf French bean cultivar to grow in the composts used for this trial, as plants of this bean variety tend to produce their entire harvest of beans all within a very short time frame – usually within a couple of weeks.

The French bean ‘Ferrari’ that was grown for my 2016 Peat Free Compost Trial, tends to produce its harvest of beans all at once, or within a very short time period.  If you’re looking for a regular harvest of beans, and are keen to try this variety of dwarf French bean, remember to sow your bean seeds in succession, making small, regular sowings every couple of weeks, or every month if you prefer, sowing seeds from April to July, which will ensure you have a regular, or continuous supply of French beans.

Dwarf French Bean Plant growth

On the packet of my Franchi Seeds of Italy dwarf French bean ‘Ferrari’ it states that the plants will grow to 50 – 60cm (20 – 24 inches) in height.  The dwarf French Bean ‘Ferrari’ plants grown for my 2016 Peat Free Compost Trial grew to varying heights, depending as to which compost they were grown in.  The shortest bean plants were grown in Westland Gro-Sure Compost, these plants reached just 23cm in height.  The tallest bean plants produced in my 2016 Peat Free Compost Trial, were grown in Dalefoot Salad and Vegetable Compost, these beans reached 47cm in height.

Pests and disease

No measures or precautions were taken to protect the seeds, seedlings, plants, or the beans themselves from pests and diseases during any stage of the 2016 Peat Free Compost Trial.  No sprays, pellets, or any other form of pest deterrents were used at any time during the 2016 Peat Free Compost Trial.

Black Bean Aphid

The black bean aphid, also known by its scientific name of Aphis fabae, is a sap sucking insect which is quick to reproduce, and consequently lives in large colonies, which are usually found feeding on the new growth of beans, peas, and garden plants.  Due to the black bean aphid’s dark colouring, and because this aphid is usually seen in large numbers, it is easy to spot.

Black bean aphids are usually farmed by ants, who enjoy the honeydew that the black bean aphids excrete as they are feeding.  Ants value this sweet, sugary, honeydew so highly, that the ants effectively farm and manage the aphids, the ants guard the aphids, protecting the aphid colony they are farming from any predators.

Black bean aphids weaken the plants they colonise, they pierce the shoots, stems, beans, or leaves they are feeding on with their specially developed mouthpieces, and feed on the plant’s sap.  Black bean aphids take sugars and nutrients from the plants they are feeding on, which can cause the plant to become stunted or to produce distorted growth, consequently lessening the plant’s harvest.  Aphids are virus vectors – they pass viruses from one plant to another as they feed.

During my 2016 Peat Free Compost Trial, I found black bean aphid present on a few of the bean plants grown for the trial.  I first noticed black bean aphid on the 27th August 2016, where I found a small colony of black bean aphids establishing themselves on the bean plants grown in the Carbon Gold All Purpose Compost.  The black bean aphids I found were being farmed by ants.  At this time, I examined all of the bean plants, grown in every compost mix, I found that none of the other bean plants grown in the other composts had any signs of black bean aphid.  No steps were taken at any stage of the trial to either remove or control the black bean aphid, the plants were simply observed and the observations were recorded.

By the 1st September 2016, small colonies of black bean aphids were found on bean plants grown in Carbon Gold All Purpose Compost, and on the bean plants growing in Miracle Gro Peat Free All Purpose Enriched Compost, by the end of the trial, I noticed that the black bean colonies were established on the plants grown in Carbon Gold All Purpose Compost, the Miracle Gro Peat Free All Purpose Enriched Compost and a new colony had formed on the plants grown in Dalefoot Double Strength and Wool Potting Composts mix.

Sap sucking insects, like aphids, excrete honeydew, a sugary substance, which, when there are large infestations of aphids, can quickly cover the leaves and stems of the affected plant.  Usually, a black sooty mould will then develop rather rapidly on these honeydew excretions.  Sooty mould often appears within a very short space of time, the black colour of the fungal growth looks quite alarming, and can often be mistaken for a disease.

Sooty moulds can entirely cover the affected plant’s leaves, which prevents or hampers the plant from photosynthesising.  Sooty mould fungi live only on the leaf surface, they don’t penetrate the leaf itself, so sooty mould can be washed off after heavy rainfall, or with lukewarm water and a cloth if you wish to remove it manually.  Naturally, if the aphids, scale insect, mealy bug, or other sap sucking insects, are still present on the plant, it’s likely that the sooty mould will reappear.

In the case of black bean aphids, because ants are quick to farm these aphids, and an unmanaged black bean aphid colony is rarely seen, sooty mould is rarely a problem.  The ants manage the aphids so well, milking them for the honeydew they produce, without leaving a trace of honeydew on the leaves or the plant.  This was the case for the bean plants grown for my 2016 Peat Free Compost Trial – no sooty mould was seen on any of the plants.

Slugs and snails

Slugs and snails, but particularly snails, were a problem during my 2016 Peat Free Compost Trial.  Snails arrived at the containers that the dwarf French bean ‘Ferrari’ seeds were sown in on the very first day this trial started, and both slugs and snails were found throughout the course of the trial, both on the containers and on the bean plants themselves.

Seedling survival rates

Although none of the containers or bean plants grown for my 2016 Peat Free Compost Trial received any protection from slugs and snails, some of the plants were more susceptible to damage from slugs and snails than others.

The dwarf French bean ‘Ferrari’ plants grown in Sylva Grow Growing Medium survived the slugs and snails better than the other dwarf French bean ‘Ferrari’ plants grown in the other composts used for this Peat Free Compost Trial, with all eight dwarf French bean ‘Ferrari’ plants surviving the full course of the trial.

Four out of the eight dwarf French bean ‘Ferrari’ plants grown in Dalefoot Double Strength Wool Compost survived the trial, and the same number – four out of the eight dwarf French bean ‘Ferrari’ plants survived growing in Carbon Gold All Purpose Compost.  The dwarf French bean ‘Ferrari’ plants grown in these two composts had the lowest survival rate of all the composts in my 2016 Peat Free Compost Trial. The dwarf French bean ‘Ferrari’ plants grown in these two composts for this trial were most susceptible to slug and snail damage, and consequently these two composts sustained the fewest plants of all the composts featured in my 2016 Peat Free Compost Trial.

Having said this, the dwarf French bean ‘Ferrari’ plants grown in the Dalefoot Double Strength Wool Compost achieved a fantastic harvest, with the four dwarf French bean ‘Ferrari’ plants grown in Dalefoot Double Strength Wool Compost producing a total of 100 beans, weighing 285g, which equates to each bean plant grown in this compost, producing 25 beans, weighing 71g.  This was by far the largest harvest per dwarf French bean ‘Ferrari’ plant, out of all of the dwarf French bean ‘Ferrari’ plants featured in my 2016 Peat Free Compost Trial, with the next best placed competitor, Dalefoot Double Strength Wool Compost combined 50/50 with Dalefoot Wool Compost for Vegetables and Salads, producing 5 dwarf French bean ‘Ferrari’ plants, with each plant producing 22 beans, which weighed 60g.

The four dwarf French bean ‘Ferrari’ plants growing in Carbon Gold All Purpose Compost, produced a total of 75 beans, weighing 185g, which equated to each bean plant producing 19 beans, weighing 46g.  These results placed the dwarf French bean plants grown in this compost as fourth, in my 2016 Peat Free Compost Trial, in terms of the harvest per plant.

If you’re looking for natural ways to protect your plants from slugs and snails you may be interested to read the results of my Slug and Snail Trial where I trialled methods of protecting plants from slugs and snails, to see the results of this trial, please click here.

Harvesting the French beans – The Results

Total number of French beans harvested

Number of French beans harvested at each harvest time

Total harvest of French beans for each compost in grams

Total weight in grams of the French beans produced by the plants grown in each compost

Total harvest of French beans produced by each bean plant

2016 Peat Free Compost Trial Conclusions

Dalefoot Composts

The top three best-performers of the peat-free composts I trialled during my 2016 Peat Free Compost Trial were all composts produced by Dalefoot Composts –

• Dalefoot Wool Compost for Vegetables and Salads
• A 50/50 mix of Dalefoot Wool Compost for Vegetables and Salads and Dalefoot Double Strength Wool Compost
• Dalefoot Double Strength Wool Compost used neat by itself

The Dalefoot Wool Compost for Vegetables and Salads – either used neat or mixed with Dalefoot Double Strength Wool Compost – produced a harvest 50% larger than the nearest non-Dalefoot competitor.  Dalefoot Double Strength Wool Compost – produced a great harvest when used with Dalefoot Wool Compost for Vegetables and Salads, or when used neat by itself.

Dalefoot Composts Wool Compost for Vegetables and Salads

Dalefoot Wool Compost for Vegetables and Salads has been specially formulated for the growing of vegetables and salads, and in the results from my 2016 Peat Free Compost Trial it shows – this compost produced the greatest harvest of French beans out of all of the compost trialled during this Compost Trial.  Dalefoot Composts Wool Compost for Vegetables and Salads produced a harvest 50% larger than the harvest produced by the nearest non-Dalefoot competitor.

This is a fantastic compost to use for growing vegetables and salads!

Dalefoot Composts Double Strength Wool Compost

Dalefoot Double Strength Wool Compost – produced a great harvest of French beans both when this compost was blended with Dalefoot Wool Compost for Vegetables and Salads to create a 50:50 blend of the two composts, or when used neat by itself.  Dalefoot Composts Double Strength Wool Compost is is a fantastic compost!  This compost is a concentrated compost, which is not designed to be used neat as I have used it in this trial, this compost was designed to be added to spent compost to revive it, adding nutrients and organic materials to enable the resulting compost blend to offer a nutritious compost with better water retention.

Dalefoot Composts Wool Potting Compost

The dwarf French bean ‘Ferrari’ plants grown in Dalefoot Wool Potting Compost produced a good harvest of beans, and healthy, attractive looking plants.

Carbon Gold All Purpose Compost

Carbon Gold All Purpose Compost produced the fourth-best harvest when measuring by average yield per plant, but this compost ranked further down the field in the overall harvest because four of the eight seedlings were completely destroyed by slug and snail damage.  This indicates that the slug resistance of the plants grown in Carbon Gold All Purpose Compost may not be as good as that of some of the other composts in the trial.

The French Bean ‘Ferrari’ plants grown in the Carbon Gold All Purpose Compost were also the first plants to succumb to the black bean aphid.

Sylva Grow Sustainable Growing Medium

Sylva Grow Sustainable Growing Medium was the only compost in my 2016 Peat Free Compost Trial that sustained all eight bean plants to fruition.  The French bean plants grown in this growing media produced a good harvest, but the harvest per plant was less than many of the competitors in this trial.

Miracle-Gro Peat Free All Purpose Enriched Compost

The French bean plants grown in Miracle-Gro Peat Free All Purpose Enriched Compost provided a reasonable  harvest, but I noted that this compost from Miracle-Gro appeared to have poor water-holding properties, it was frequently found to be dusty and dry, at times when the other composts featured in the trial did not require watering.  All the containers of compost in this trial received the same amount of water, given at the same time, usually the containers were watered when it rained.

Westland Gro-Sure Peat Free All Purpose Compost

The most disappointing results of the trial were from the Westland Gro-Sure Peat Free All Purpose Compost.  The dwarf French bean ‘Ferrari’ plants grown in this compost were short, stubby plants, with small leaves, they produced very few flowers, and as a consequence the harvest of beans they produced was small.  The dwarf French bean ‘Ferrari’ plants grown in the Westland Gro-Sure Peat Free All Purpose Compost were unhealthy looking – the plants produced leaves which were mottled, and featured necrosis to the leaves’ midribs.

In the photographs below, you can see the bean plants grown in Westland Gro-Sure Peat Free All Purpose Compost, compared to the bean plants grown in three of the other composts which featured in the 2016 Peat Free Compost Trial.  The bean plants below are all pictured on the 1st September 2016.

All of these plants were grown in identical conditions.  All of the bean plants received the same amount of water, given at the same time, the only difference the plants experienced was the compost the plants were grown in.  The bean plants grown in the Westland Gro-Sure Peat Free All Purpose Compost were much shorter, stubbier plants, with significantly less foliage than the other bean plants grown in this trial.  The bean plants grown in Westland Gro-Sure Peat Free All Purpose Compost produced the lowest harvest of beans, of all of the bean plants grown in my 2016 Peat Free Compost Trial.

The Westland brand is very prevalent across Garden Centres, and as such Westland is likely to be one of the most common peat-free composts that gardeners will encounter, should they choose to make the transition away from peat-based composts and look for an alternative peat free compost.

If you’ve been unfortunate and have had poor results using a peat free compost, I’d like to encourage you to try an alternative peat free compost.

Top 3 Composts by Overall Yield

Dalefoot Composts were extremely dominant in this trial, with the Dalefoot Wool Compost for Vegetables and Salads, a 50/50 mix of Dalefoot Wool Compost for Vegetables and Salads and Dalefoot Double Strength Wool Compost, and Dalefoot Double Strength Wool Compost used neat by itself, producing the largest overall bean harvests in this trial.

The Final Compost Rankings

Harvest per Plant

For the final ranking, I have ordered the composts by average harvest weight per seedling, which will normalise for any lost plants caused by slug and snail damage.  This rank shows the productivity of the plants themselves.

Rank	Compost Type	Conclusions
1		In first place, Dalefoot Composts Double Strength Wool Compost consistently performed well across the entire trial, producing the best harvest by some margin (25% more than the next-best compost). This compost also acts as a booster – increasing the harvest of other composts with which it was mixed.
2		Coming a close second, the Dalefoot Wool Compost for Vegetables and Salads.  A great all-rounder, this compost held moisture well, producing strong plants and a good harvest. Mixing 50:50 with Dalefoot Double Strength Wool Compost gave an extra boost and increased the yield.
3		In third place, Carbon Gold All Purpose Compost produced the same weight of harvest per-plant as Dalefoot’s Wool Compost for Vegetables and Salads, but the number of beans was smaller, and the overall harvest was smaller due to half the seedlings being lost to slugs and snails.
4		In fourth place, Dalefoot Composts Wool Potting Compost was close on the heels of Carbon Gold All Purpose Compost in yield per plant.
5		In fifth place, Miracle-Gro Peat Free All Purpose Enriched Compost performed adequately, but the harvest was 25% less than the fourth best compost, and 50% less than that of the trial winner.
6		In sixth place, Sylva Grow Sustainable Growing Medium.  All eight seedlings grown in this compost survived the slug and snail attacks and the plants remained intact throughout the trial.  This may indicate better slug resistance than the other composts on trial.  However, the harvest per plant was low – less half the yield per plant of the trial winner.
7		Finally, in seventh place, Westland Gro-Sure Peat Free All Purpose Compost‘s results were dismal – the plants grown in this compost were short, stunted, unhealthy looking plants, that featured necrosis at the leaves’ midribs.  Consequently the bean plants grown in this compost produced a small harvest.  For one of the largest retail brands on the market, this is extremely disappointing.

Further Trials

You may be interested in some of the other trials I have conducted.

Compost Trial Reports

To read the results of my 2017 Compost Trial Report: Growing Carrots, please click here.

To read the results of my 2017 Compost Trial Report: Growing Broad Beans, please click here.

To read the results of my 2017 Compost Trial Report: Growing Calendula, please click here.

To read advice on planting up containers, please click here.

Sweet Pea Trial Reports

To read the results of my 2017 Sweet Pea Trial, please click here.

To read the results of my 2016 Sweet Pea Trial, please click here.

To read the results of my 2015 Sweet Pea Trial, please click here.

Scented Daffodil Trial Reports

To read the results of my 2017 Scented Daffodil Trial, please click here.

Terrarium, Vivarium, and Orchidarium Trials

To see how my Orchidarium was created, please click here.

To read the first part of my White Orchid BiOrbAir Terrarium Trial, please click here.

To read the first part of my Madagascar BiOrbAir Terrarium Trial, please click here.

To read the first part of my Miniature Orchid BiOrbAir Terrarium Trial, please click here.

To read about the general care I give to my orchids and terrarium plants, and the general maintenance I give to my BiOrbAir terrariums, please click here.

To read how I track the temperature, humidity, and light conditions inside my terrariums, please click here.

Other articles that may interest you…………………..

For information about buying beautiful, British grown flowers for Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day, or any other lovely occasion, please click here.

To read about winter flowering plants, please click here.

For tips on natural ways to protect your plants from slugs and snails, please click here.

To read tips and advice for growing Sweet Peas, please click here.

To read about growing mushrooms indoors, please click here.

For gardening advice, tips, and lovely ideas of what you could do in your garden, or at your allotment, in February, please click here.

For gardening advice, tips, and lovely ideas of what you could do in your garden, or at your allotment, from mid-February to mid-March, please click here.