Most gardeners want to do what’s best for the environment, but there is so much information out there that it can feel overwhelming to try to work out what’s worth spending time on. Luckily, one thing that’s easy to do to help reverse climate change is to go peat-free. We caught up with Ally from @theduckpatch who tells us her story of how she got into gardening and why she decided to keep peat out of her patch.

Gardening has been a huge part of Ally’s life from a very young age.

“Like many gardeners, I love a garden show, and I attended my first one tucked up in a buggy admiring all the flowers at RHS Hampton Court. From then on, I spent lots of time going to garden centres and shows and learning lots from my mum and auntie. They taught me so much about the world of gardening – I wouldn’t say everything though, as I like to think I have taught them a few things too!”

But for Ally, her gardening life accelerated when she bought her house and had her own garden to make her mark on.

“I had always wanted to grow my own fruit and veg so I started out converting a part of our garden into a vegetable patch. I quickly realised I had a huge love of pumpkins and my garden could never provide the level of squash I wanted to grow! So the other half suggested we got a plot and from then, my love of growing has continued.”

Ally is a big believer in passing the love of gardening down the generations and thinks it’s important that children understand the benefits to the environment as well as our wellbeing.

“My very own Little Duck has gone from one veg bed last year to wanting more and more, so I think my love of plants has worn off on her!”

Ally is incredibly passionate about looking after the environment and reducing her family’s carbon footprint. She’s made many changes around her home and in her everyday life, but she wanted to make sure that her family’s growing life was as sustainable as possible too. For them, that meant making the swap to peat-free compost. Watch Ally’s short video to find out more.

Why should you use peat-free compost?

In Ally’s video, she explains why going peat-free is so beneficial to the environment. Peat does three important things for us, so we want to keep it in the ground.

Peat stores carbon

Peatlands are the largest natural carbon store. They cover less than 5% of the earth’s surface, but store more carbon than any other vegetation, including forests. By removing peat for compost, we’re releasing huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Protects wildlife

Peatlands are home to so many British wildlife species. By destroying peatlands, we’re putting many of our own much-loved birds, insects and plants at risk of extinction.

Reduces flooding

Flooding is becoming a bigger and bigger problem in the UK, and part of this is down to destroying our peatlands. They soak up large amounts of rainwater and helps to act as a barrier to flooding, slowing the flow of water and reducing the risk to our towns and villages.

Ally stresses that everyone can do their part to make their gardening practices more environmentally friendly.

“The most important thing to me as a gardener is to ensure that anything I do is not just sustainable, but is also beneficial to our wildlife, hopefully helping to preserve the planet for future generations.”

It’s easy to make the switch to peat-free compost – simply check the packaging before you buy. We’re proud that all PlantGrow products are peat free, ensuring that we keep peat in the ground to help store carbon dioxide and keep our planet happy.