Compost and peat moss have long been well known collaborators in making a good garden bed. And although this may still be the case, I urge you to look for other alternatives if you care more about the earth than a quick fix for your garden.

The reasons are as follows: Peat extraction from the earth causes a tremendous amount of co2 to be released into the atmosphere. “Around half a million tonnes of carbon dioxide is emitted each year as a result of peat extraction from UK sites for horticultural use.” (source) And that’s just in the UK! “The destruction of peat bogs in Indonesia, partly to grow supposedly “green” bio-fuels, releases more carbon dioxide every year than all of India or Russia, and three times as much as Germany.” (source)

Another major reason is that peat-bogs are an ecosystem that is slowly being destroyed due to our harvesting. Many birds and wildlife live in these areas that after harvested turn into wastelands. This is causing a growing number of endangered species and turning these thriving locations into wastelands.

Peat moss is a non-renewable resource, and we know how we feel about those :)

Some alternatives: Leaf mould, when it’s old and falling apart, is a perfect alternatve, although do not use evergreen needles. Tree bark that has been shredded down. Look at your local urban gardener/farmer store for some peat-free alternatives, there are plenty of products out there.

Remember, peat is used to help aerate and retain moisture without need or worry of pesticides. It’s used to pot plants, as a mulch for garden beds, and to help seedlings grow. You can blend compost with many things to recreate these solutions

Who ever said you needed finish compost to do your gardening with? Surely not us here at Balconycompost.com! In fact we’d go as far as to say that concept is blasphemy. That’s right! Blasphemy. The most brilliant part about compost is that if it’s not done yet it will just keep on composting! Oh the wonders of nature.

So what are we getting at? If you’re still in your first few months of composting and perhaps don’t have any technically finished compost, aka humus, you can still do your gardening/re-potting/whatever. Of course it only makes sense (especially in potted plants) to use your most composted compost for it’s nutrients will be most readily available for your plants to dig their roots into.

Since we’re specializing in balconies and urban areas we are more concerned with how we utilize our compost in potted plants. To explain this in the best manner would be to utilize a drawing, (more…)