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Of course it is possible to raise Nepenthes seedlings without peat.  Live spagh works, coco peat can work or forest moss etc can be used.  It just isnt as convenient.

As a point of interest, the sight of a local ordnance factory was turned back into a peat bog in the late 1970's.  Bogs can be regenerated.  

It would be good to here what these 'pragmatic' reasons are.

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The point i was trying to make is things can be turned round by "the little people".The leading economists and elite scientist can and have be proved wrong in the past.They will be wrong again,normal everyday ordinary people have a say too,their voice is just as important.

Just because it is easier to carry on as we are or believe someone who thinks they are better than you or us doesn't make it right.

ada

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The main pragmatic reason is that the peat ban seems very likely to happen, regardless of whether or not the CPS opposes it, so it is probably in the best interests of growers if the CPS promotes peat-free growing so that, as far as possible, people are not caught out if and when peat is no longer available. Interestingly, there has been a recent discussion on this topic on Facebook. In particular, Stephen Morley, who is based in the North, swears by peat-free substrates (although I do not know about the economic implications of switching to his preferred substrates).

On ‎17‎/‎04‎/‎2017 at 10:01 AM, ada said:

The point i was trying to make is things can be turned round by "the little people".The leading economists and elite scientist can and have be proved wrong in the past.They will be wrong again,normal everyday ordinary people have a say too,their voice is just as important.

Just because it is easier to carry on as we are or believe someone who thinks they are better than you or us doesn't make it right.

ada

Of course experts are sometimes wrong. On balance, however, it is unlikely in any given instance that an expert (or expert consensus) will be proven wrong by an ignoramus. The view that everybody's opinion carries equal weight, or that 'common sense' somehow trumps expertise, is, in my opinion, terribly dangerous. Universal adult suffrage, for all its flaws, seems to me to be by far the best protection against tyranny, but a representative democracy depends, essentially (and in theory), upon electing people who have the time, intellectual capacity and access to expert advice which is necessary to make important decisions. This is why the referendum was such bad idea. People with little clue as to important matters such as the nature and powers of EU institutions, the legal framework in which the EU operates, the violent history of Western Europe and the likely long-term economic implications of leaving were given the opportunity to vote on a matter of the utmost significance. Needless to say, such people were susceptible to being manipulated by cunning chancers such as Farage and Gove, as well as to leaping to conclusions based on 'common sense' without feeling the need to equip themselves with the knowledge necessary to reach an informed position.

It is also notable that 'populist' leaders or demagogues who prey on the ignorant by persuading them to ignore well-founded conventional wisdom in order to promote their own interests seem rarely to be drawn from the ranks of the 'little people' about whose needs they profess to care so much. In fact, once in power, such predators generally seem to trample over the rights and interests of the 'little people' who propelled them into high office. One only has to cast an eye across the Atlantic to apprehend the appalling consequences of allowing pig-ignorance and misinformation to triumph over informed thinking and evidence-based knowledge.

 

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who's ranting moronic political views now?

It was the little people who fought wars in the past,our grandparents and their friends,who's guts and bravery made this country what it was.

It is the greed and easy life these peoople that rise to political elite crave.It is well documented the corruptness of EU officals.

We need to step back from being goverened by germany and france,keep our money at home and sort our country out,for people that live and work here.

when that is done we can start to look further afield at what we can do to help others,we need to help our own first.

the world is a bigger place then europe and there are far more oppertunities out there than just europe.

get over losing a vote and get on with helping put our country right before everyone else.People and countries will still trade with us or we can go elsewhere,they can't afford to lose our custom.

ada

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10 hours ago, Greg Allan said:

The main pragmatic reason is that the peat ban seems very likely to happen, regardless of whether or not the CPS opposes it, so it is probably in the best interests of growers if the CPS promotes peat-free growing so that, as far as possible, people are not caught out if and when peat is no longer available. Interestingly, there has been a recent discussion on this topic on Facebook. In particular, Stephen Morley, who is based in the North, swears by peat-free substrates (although I do not know about the economic implications of switching to his preferred substrates).

That doesnt seem like a likely explanation.  As allready discussed, a peat ban was unlikely under EU law.  No other country in the EU wants a peat ban and a unilateral uk peat ban wouldn't probably have been possible without EU approval. (According to Defra, and they should know).

Far more likely the CPS just went allong with the flow and didn't want to get pilloried by the general public or anybody else for being un-green.  Essentially a political decision i suspect.

A pragmatic approach surely would have been lobbying of peat use for specialised nurseries using sustainably managed peat?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by manders
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One thing i will say about the 'EU', is it is essentially corrupt, undemocratic and heading more in that direction.  

If you only consider economics, i would have preferred to stay in.

if you consider corruption and lack of democracy, i would have preferred to exit.

Nobody really knows if staying in or leaving was economically the right thing to do.  Experts are just over-educated idiots with an opinion most of the time.  Even more so when you are dealing with economics.

I do think its time we stopped moaning about it and just got on with it.

 

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On 3/22/2017 at 11:08 AM, danl82 said:

Sadly my last bale of shamrock is running low, so i need to try and source some more moss peat. Any help as to where i might get some, I'm in cambridgeshire if anyone happens know a local garden centre.

why not try your local or neareres poundland..if you wanna try coco core fibre you can get some for 1 pound which expands to 10 litres..ive done a tds test my self..mix sum up with my dehumifer water and come to around 50ppm which is well below the 100 recommended really cant go wrong with a few packets

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On 4/9/2017 at 7:53 PM, David Ahrens said:

The coir that I have used is from Garden Direct, never had any problems. I put most of my other houseplants in coir and it is fine. You need to specify the unfertilised stuff.

Interesting about the peat ban. I am only saying what I have heard.

How much did you pay for your core.. if you have a poundland nearby .you can get 100 litres or £10 .. expanded 10 ltrs for a quid  cant go wrong with that 

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8 hours ago, manders said:

That doesnt seem like a likely explanation.  As allready discussed, a peat ban was unlikely under EU law.  No other country in the EU wants a peat ban and a unilateral uk peat ban wouldn't probably have been possible without EU approval. (According to Defra, and they should know).

Far more likely the CPS just went allong with the flow and didn't want to get pilloried by the general public or anybody else for being un-green.  Essentially a political decision i suspect.

A pragmatic approach surely would have been lobbying of peat use for specialised nurseries using sustainably managed peat?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Possibly, yes, although, as you said in an earlier post, the CPS is utterly unlikely to alter government policy, so it may well be that the most expedient solution for a society such as the CPS is to bow to the inevitable rather than waste time and resources flogging a dead horse. I didn't say that this is actually what motivated the CPS to adopt its stance, just that it was a pragmatic reason why such a position could be adopted.

As for the Brexit stuff, in (admittedly way overdue) deference to those who want to use this thread to discuss the use of peat, I will write a response in the open forum so that people can read or ignore as they see fit!

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  • 1 month later...

Just picked up the last 3 bags of J A Bowers peat from one of my local independents as he said it would be the last he bought in.  The other local independent had already stopped selling peat!  Supplies are drying up....  Will be like garden chemicals - stock up via a chunnel run:vinsent:

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Suppose I'll have to start milling the pine bark we get in ;) 60 litre sacks should sell well :tu: it would be good if we go peat reduced but cant ever see them banning it all together 

Edited by danthecpman
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We aught to be able to recycle the peat we already have. The problem with re-using it is the build up of salts in the peat from the constant evaporation, this could be leached out by leaving it outside in the rain in a plastic crate for a year.

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10 hours ago, Trev said:

We aught to be able to recycle the peat we already have. The problem with re-using it is the build up of salts in the peat from the constant evaporation, this could be leached out by leaving it outside in the rain in a plastic crate for a year.

I recycle mine as best I can, but you have to do more than remove a build up of salts.

In my bogs I don't suffer from the build up of salts as the bogs get occasional innundations and are drained. However when the peat starts to deteriorate as the acidity level falls, (I measure the PH twice a year) the peat starts to release nutrients as it decomposes and it breaks down into the smaller, fine particulate. This finer substrate also reduces oxygen exchange to the roots, so needs its texture opening up.

When I see this happening, I dig the bog roughly, mix in sulphur chips for quick lowering of PH, pine bark, pine needles or shavings for longer term acidity and tannin release. As I tend to grow outside I don't have specimen plants as such, but I have  done this for a number of years with good results with Sarracenia.

Cheers 

Steve

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  • 1 month later...

Finally tracked down a Clover peat stockist after trawling around a batch of garden centres who only stocked Westland rubbish (my usual garden centre is in the middle of becoming a new housing estate).

I've also got a bag of Melcourt Grow Bark Pine so I'm going to do a number of trials with the 30 or so spare plants I have (plus some seedling tests and 50:50 pine/peat experiments).

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We found a garden centre near chester selling shamrock, the trusty prius was creaking a bit by the time we finished loading up, should last us another few years!  (That said i might be making another trip back there just to make sure!!).

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Tried Melcourt mix with Sarries this year, seems OK. 4 parts Melcourt, 2 parts perlite, 1 sand.

I'm still not totally convinced about VFT's with Melcourt. Mine aren't brilliant  this year. It may have been the hot weather or the deep water when I went on holiday.

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I do not think your melcourt mix is correct last time I spoke with Mike he told he had changed the mix to 1 part melcourt 1 part perlite 1 part small granite grit.

I used his first receipe (cannot remember the mix) which several sarracenia died and dionaea looked really rough, he said it was too heavy for the dionaea and I needed to pot them lightly.

I have done small trial and the sarracenia are growing fine. I have not tied dionaea in the revised version I have been told to try.

so David is this the mix you are using Mike has advised to use? 

 

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I just used the normal VFT mix but I swapped the peat for Melcourt.  It is slightly annoying because people tell you that they are using Melcourt but won't say what their actual mix is. Some people are not very scientific about their mixes. 

My flytraps seem to be doing better now.

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