What might a gardener write about in February, excluding the obvious theme of “Valentine’s Day” plants?  Checking out seed catalogues? How about the easy-peasy use of “peat pellets” for starting seeds?  Here’s a surprising, and rather alarming, catch phrase: “For peat’s sake, don’t use peat!” 

February 2nd marks “World Wetlands Day”.  The “Convention on Wetlands”, supported by 172 countries, was adopted in 1971. Our BC Council of Garden Clubs recently had a timely review on a new book, “The Gardener’s Guide to Saving the Planet”, published by and purchasable from the Peatlands Protection Society (affiliated with the West Coast Climate Network), which started me investigating the question of whether using peat, a common garden purchase, is not as benign as we thought.

What are Peatlands?  The International Peatland Society defines them as terrestrial wetland ecosystems. When waterlogged plant matter is unable to fully decompose, the resulting material is peat. Sphagnum mosses and shrubs are the predominant vegetation in cool climates, and graminoids (mostly grasses) and woody vegetation are in warmer climates. Eliza Olson (Peatland Protection Society) states that some peatlands are up to 50,000 years old. Dr. Maria Strack, University of Waterloo, estimates it takes 1,000 years to get a damaged/extracted peatland back to its original state and at least 100 years to get it fully functioning.
Peatlands (almost half of the world’s wetlands) store twice as much carbon as all the world’s forests and yet cover only 3% of the planet’s land, according to the UN Environmental Program.  When drained or burned, they go from being carbon sinks to carbon sources. They take centuries to redevelop, and they also are a unique ecosystem supporting numerous wildlife. UN Environment Peatlands experts claim that since 1970, we have lost 35 percent of them.

Peat is still used for heat and power in some countries, notably Ireland, Finland, and Sweden, but environmental concerns have now been raised. For example, only about 20% of Ireland’s peatlands remain intact! They have now put in restrictions preventing the burning of peat and some extracting has been curtailed.

It may seem that our little gardens don’t make much of a difference, but, for example, the UK has recently ended the sale of peat for gardening. The famous Kew Gardens are already 98% peat free! The International Peatlands Society states that Canada and Germany account for about half of the world’s horticultural peat extraction. Most of the peat moss used in the USA comes from Canada’s sphagnum bogs! (Ouch!)  SunGro Horticulture, a leading exporter of Canadian peatmoss, claims to only harvest from bogs which are suitable for restoration.  Research on restoration is being done by the Peatland Ecology Research Group to “re-establish a plant cover typical of sphagnum peat bogs, which will allow the long-term peat accumulation function to be re-established”. Hmmm… but after this plant cover grows, doesn’t creating the peat layer (which actually absorbs the carbon) still take hundreds of years? (That’s just my personal understanding of this complex subject!)

There are peat-free compost alternatives, but you must check carefully. “Organic” does not mean peat-free.  Farmers Almanac suggests 7 alternatives: Coconut Coir, Wood-based materials, Compost, Pine Needles, Rice Hulls, Leaf Mold, Composted Manure. Other websites additionally list: Sand, Bentonite Clay, Expanded Clay, Perlite, Xylit. (My note: Some websites warn that Coconut Coir is not the “perfect solution” as it may have additional issues of its own.)
The World Wetlands Day 2025 theme is “Protecting Wetlands for Our Common Future”.  It seems we are losing wetlands three times faster than forests. On February 2nd, check the labels on your own supplies and see if your next purchases can be peat-free.

Please check out Part 2
"Peatlands Protection Society" - our BC experts!

Here are just a few (!) websites on this complex subject!

World Wetlands Day

World Wetlands Day
https://www.worldwetlandsday.org/about
Convention on Wetlands (supported by 172 countries)
https://www.ramsar.org/about/our-mission/importance-wetlands

Book Review and purchasing info
“The Gardener’s Guide to Saving the Planet”

BC Council of Garden Clubs – December Bulletin with the book review and information on purchasing “The Gardener’s Guide to Saving the Planet”
BCCGC December 2024 Newsletter PDF3

Information on Peat, Peatlands, and Climate Change

International Peatland Society – What is peat? Wath are peatlands?
What is peat? - International Peatland Society
https://peatlands.org/peatlands/
Wikipedia – general information on Peat
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peat#Formation
IPS – International Peatland Society
https://peatlands.org/peatlands/
West Coast Climate Action Network
Position Statements | West Coast Climate Action Network
Note: the Peatlands Protection Society is currently developing its own website
UN Environmental Programme
https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/peatlands-store-twice-much-carbon-all-worlds-forests
EPA Environmental Protection Agency  
https://www.epa.ie/publications/research/climate-change/research-401-peatland-properties-influencing-greenhouse-gas-emissions-and-removal.php
SunGro Horticultural – a leading exporter of Canadian peatmoss
(promoting the sale of peat as it considers itself a responsible peatland harvester )
https://www.sungro.com/about-us/sustainable-practices/
https://www.sungro.com/wp-content/uploads/SG-Bog-to-Bag-Download-PDF_061820.pdf

Alternatives to Peat

Farmers’ Almanac – 7 Peat Moss Alternatives
https://www.farmersalmanac.com/peat-moss-alternatives
Niab is a leading UK crop science organization 
https://www.niab.com/news-views/blogs/alternatives-peat-horticulture
Gardender (a community-based blog) – 11 alternatives to Peat
https://gardender.com/peat-substitutes/
Plantura Magazine – 11 alternatives to Peat
https://plantura.garden/uk/gardening-tips/soil/peat-alternatives
Food Gardening Network – Peat-Free vs Peat-Based Compost
https://foodgardening.mequoda.com/daily/composting/peat-free-vs-peat-based-compost-which-is-better/
The Fertile Fiber  
https://www.fertilefibre.com/blogs/blog/peat-compost-alternatives
Coco Coir Global 
https://cococoirglobal.com/coco-coir-global-sustainability/
PlantBest (a Canadian company)
https://www.plantbest.com/why-coconut-coir

Garden Myths – I just discovered this very interesting website!

Excerpt from the website https://www.gardenmyths.com/
”The author of most posts, Robert Pavlis, has 50 years of gardening experience, is an award winning author of 11 gardening books, holds an M.Sc. in chemistry and biochemistry, teaches numerous gardening courses and has written articles for many popular magazines such as Mother Earth News.
Robert has just won the Independent Publisher Book Award for Science with his book, Plant Science for Gardeners.
 Our Guarantee:
* The information on this site is more accurate than most other gardening sites. If you find an error and let us know in the comments, we’ll correct it immediately.
* None of the information is created by AI – we prefer real people.
* All of the information is science based.
https://www.gardenmyths.com/coir-ecofriendly-substitute-peat-moss/
https://www.gardenmyths.com/peat-peatmoss-true-story/
https://www.gardenmyths.com/peat-moss-alternatives/

A Few Specific Peatlands

Burns Bog Information
https://www.burnsbog.ca/about-burns-bog/unique-ecosystem
Inside Climate News – Virginia’s Peatlands
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/19012025/virginia-great-dismal-swamp-peatland-restoration-carbon-sinks/
Irish Peatland Conservation Society
https://www.ipcc.ie/
BBC – How Ireland is Abandoning its Dirty Fuel
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20201203-peat-the-decline-of-the-worlds-dirtiest-fuel
NASA – Irelands Cutaway Peatlands
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/150780/irelands-cutaway-peatlands
SunGro Horticultural – a leading exporter of Canadian peatmoss
https://www.sungro.com/about-us/sustainable-practices/
https://www.sungro.com/wp-content/uploads/SG-Bog-to-Bag-Download-PDF_061820.pdf