Now I am not a specialist in making compost but my two compost bins are currently full to the brim with grass cuttings and the cardboard which I used to force my rhubarb, as well as the household vegetable waste which I collect every day. And I admit it: it feels good to be doing my bit at a personal level.

You can find specific instructions on how to make your own compost from many official websites. But I have found the Compost woman website to be an invaluable resource of information driven by personal experience and dedication. This blog does not only give you useful composting tips but also gives a good insight into what you can do as part of a more sustainable lifestyle.

And these days this encompasses growing your own vegetables, raising your own chickens (which I have would love to have time to do!!), getting involved with children and schools to raise awareness about protecting our environment to name just a few initiatives.

So last week I left my compost bin alone as I was busy pottering in my greenhouse. But I bought some organic peat free compost bags to fill the container in my greenhouse since I do not have any home made compost ready for use yet. The organic peat free compost was not that expensive (from New Horizon, the 3 bags of 50l cost me £12). The compost looked quite black and woodier than the usual general purpose compost with a slight smell of burnt wood (reminiscent of the free green waste compost available from the local council).

Hopefully this improved compost will show great results for growing most of my vegetables this year.

In particular, I am amazed that despite the fact that the government is aiming for peat free compost by 2010, it appears that most compost manufacturers do not seem to label the content of their products adequately. In fact only last Sunday I was visiting my friend who was potting some tomato plants in his greenhouse and I casually asked him if it was peat-free. He was adamant that it was because he assumed that peat free was the standard these days.

However, I took a closer look and told him that actually there was no indication of the content on the bag apart from the additional fertilizer added for extra growth (from a famous brand which I shall not mention here). I have since also noticed that there is limited information about peat free compost or the ability to buy it on the internet.

With regards to the environmental impact of peat extractions there still seemed to be some debate. As it appears that the peat beds, once refilled with water, may be able to ‘regenerate themselves’ in the long term. However there is little doubt that peat extraction is destroying a precious habitat as well as having detrimental effect to the potential for capturing C02 in the peat bogs.

One question which was left out in the programme was the question of price of the peat-free compost since I think that it is a strong factor in the decision. To me it poses the same dilemma as the free range chicken campaign. Personally I resolved that issue by paying a bit more for a smaller free-range chicken because at the end of the day I tend to eat too much meat, and I would rather have less meat but of a better quality.

For me the best way forward to reduce the amount of peat use would be:

Compost more of our own waste. I for one like to do my own compost and enjoy being able to recycle a lot of my household green refuse – I feel like I am doing my bit towards safeguarding our children’s future. Hopefully this may contribute towards offsetting some of the environmental impact which my lifestyle has on the planet. However, despite introducing a second compost bin back in November I do not produce enough compost for all my needs (sowing, potting, greenhouse containers, etc…).

Improve labeling on compost bags from all suppliers. Informed customers can make the decision as to whether they want to limit the environmental impact of peat extraction. If the government is to meet their peat free target then this is an obvious measure to enforce. A lot of gardeners would be prepared to swap to peat free if only they could identify it.

Use green compost. Local councils recycle green bin waste and in many areas of the country people get access to this free green compost which can be used in the garden. My personal experience is that the compost produced from green bins is very woody, of lower quality and I suspect that bind weed was introduced to my garden that way. However, it is still very useful for mulching wide areas of the garden and I would like to see more councils communicating about availability of free recycled green waste compost to more people.

Are you concerned about the environmental impact of peat extraction? Do you have any additional ideas to add to the above? Please leave a comment…