Overview of peat/industry

Introduction to Growing Media

Growing media refers to the material or mixture in which plants are grown, typically in pots, trays, or bags rather than in the open soil. It provides roots with water, air, nutrients, and physical support, essentially acting as the soil in container gardening and commercial horticulture. This includes everyday garden compost, seed-starting mixes, potting soils, and soil improvers used to enrich beds and borders. High-quality growing media is crucial for healthy plant growth and underpins a significant horticultural sector. In fact, the UK uses over 3 million cubic metres of growing media each year, about one-quarter of which is used by professional growers (nurseries, commercial crop producers) and the rest by consumers in their gardens. The industry that produces and supplies these materials employs around 1,000 people in the UK and enables British growers to competitively produce approximately £1.3 billion worth of plants annually. In short, growing media matters both for thriving gardens and for the UK’s horticultural economy.

Peat in Growing Media – What is it and why is it used

Peat is a type of organic material formed over thousands of years in waterlogged bogs and fens. It consists of partially decomposed plant matter (like mosses) that accumulates in thick layers in peatlands. Peat has historically been the main ingredient in most bagged and professional growing mixes. Growers prized peat for its excellent properties: it is lightweight, holds water while still providing aeration to roots, has a stable structure, and is naturally low in nutrients and pests (making it a clean, neutral base to which fertilisers can be added). For decades, almost all the volume of growing media used in the UK was made up of peat – it was cheap, effective, and readily available. By the late 20th century, peat had become the standard growing medium for both home gardeners and commercial growers.

However, peat is essentially a finite resource on human timescales. Peat bogs accumulate incredibly slowly (only about 1 mm of peat depth per year in an active bog). The popularity of peat in horticulture led to intensive extraction from UK peatlands and also imports from Ireland and elsewhere. As we better understand peat’s environmental role, this once “go-to” growing medium is being reevaluated. Today, peat accounts for less than half of UK growing media volumes, a significant drop from near-100% twenty years ago. In the next sections, we explore why reliance on peat is falling and what is replacing it.

The Shift Away from Peat: Regulation and Industry Change

Although the UK Government announced in 2022 that it would ban the sale of peat for amateur use in England from 2024 (a move that 95% of consultation respondents supported), this pledge has not been enacted into law. The policy direction was widely anticipated and backed by environmental groups, but it has stalled, the promised 2024 peat ban never came into force, in part due to a change of government in 2024. With the new administration, a legislative ban on peat does not currently appear to be a priority. While a full phase-out for professional growers was also discussed (the government initially floated a 2030 deadline and later even suggested 2026), no legal commitments or firm timelines have been established for the commercial horticulture sector. In short, no outright ban has been legislated as of 2025, and peat usage in horticulture remains legal despite the earlier government intentions.

However, momentum within the industry has continued to shift away from peat through voluntary action. Many retailers and growing media manufacturers have proactively reduced or eliminated peat in their products, responding to sustainability goals and consumer demand. These voluntary efforts have already led to a significant drop in peat usage; for instance, the UK horticulture sector’s peat consumption was more than halved between 2020 and 2022. Several major retailers now offer only peat-free growing media, for example, B&Q removed peat from all its bagged growing media by 2023, and institutions like Kew Gardens and the Royal Horticultural Society have likewise virtually eliminated peat in their growing operations. This continued industry-led progress, even in the absence of new law, demonstrates a strong ongoing commitment to phasing out peat. Both consumers and industry professionals are maintaining the momentum toward peat-free alternatives, signalling that the shift away from peat is well underway, regardless of legislative delays.

The Growing Media Industry in the UK: Key Players and Products

The growing media industry in the UK is a broad network of manufacturers, suppliers, growers, and retailers working together to supply gardeners and horticulturists with the materials they need. At the production end are the growing media manufacturers, companies that source raw materials (like composted bark, coir, wood fibre, etc.) and blend them into consistent products. Many of these manufacturers are members of the Growing Media Association (GMA), under the umbrella of the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA). They range from large international firms to smaller local businesses, all adhering to quality standards and increasingly to sustainability criteria. These manufacturers supply products to retailers (for the consumer market) and directly to professional growers (for commercial use).

On the demand side, professional growers, such as ornamental plant nurseries, fruit and vegetable producers, are key players. They often buy growing media in bulk (loose or in large bales) or even create their own mixes on site. Professional horticulture in the UK relies on a steady supply of high-performance growing media; without it, far fewer plants could be grown competitively in-country. Meanwhile, retailers serve the consumer market: garden centres, DIY stores, supermarkets, and online retailers sell bagged growing media to millions of gardeners. Retailers not only stock products but increasingly influence the market by choosing to list peat-free or certified responsible products, thus shaping consumer choice.

Common Products: The range of growing media products on the market is diverse. The staple is the multi-purpose product, a general all-round potting mix suitable for many uses. There are also specialist growing medias formulated for specific needs: e.g. seed (finely textured for seed germination), ericaceous (acidic mix for acid-loving plants like azaleas), orchid bark mixes, etc.. For certain crops, pre-packaged growbags are popular; these are flat bags of media used directly as a growing bed for vegetables like tomatoes or cucumbers. Soil improvers and conditioners are another category: these are materials (often composted organic matter, manure, or soil conditioner mixes) added to garden soil to improve its structure and fertility. The industry also provides surface mulches (e.g. bark chips, wood chips, cocoa shells) which cover soil to suppress weeds and retain moisture. In short, whether a gardener is sowing seeds in trays, potting houseplants, top-dressing a lawn, or enriching a vegetable patch, there is a growing media product tailored for that purpose.

Materials Used: With peat use declining, today’s growing media are made from a variety of ingredients, each with pros and cons. Wood-based materials (such as wood fibre derived from wood chips) have surged to become the single largest component by volume in UK retail growing media, over one-third of the content on average. Wood fibres help provide structure and drainage. Composted bark is another widely used base, offering bulk and aeration. Coir, a fibrous by-product of coconut harvesting from abroad, is popular for water retention and consistency; it has largely replaced peat in many peat-free mixes. Green compost (recycled garden waste) and composted farm manures are used in soil improvers and some mixes to add organic matter. Inorganic additives like perlite and vermiculite (minerals that improve aeration and water holding) are common minor ingredients. Each of these materials must be sourced and processed, sometimes travelling long distances. Most of the peat alternatives are themselves by-products of other industries, for example, coir comes from coconut husks (a waste from coconut farms), and wood fibre comes from timber offcuts. This is positive from a circular economy perspective, but it also means availability can fluctuate with those industries. Given this complex mix of ingredients, it becomes essential to consider the sustainability of all components, not just peat. Sourcing any natural material at a large scale can have environmental impacts, whether it’s the energy used to produce and ship coir from overseas, or the effects on forests of using wood products, or the social conditions at the point of harvest. This is where the Responsible Sourcing Scheme comes into play.

The Industry’s Response: Responsible Sourcing Scheme

In response to these challenges, the horticultural industry has established the Responsible Sourcing Scheme (RSS) – an industry-led, independent, and forward-looking initiative. This scheme promotes sustainable sourcing of growing media and sets common standards, giving both consumers and professionals confidence that products meet high environmental and ethical standards. Learn more about the Responsible Sourcing Scheme.