Highlights from the Durstons panel at Four Oaks
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Simon Blackhurst (Growing Media Association/Durstons), Peter Burks (GCA) and Steve Carter (Fleurie Nurseries) spoke at the annual Four Oaks trade show in a HortWeek-chaired seminar sponsored by Durstons in Cheshire on 3 September about:
- Upcoming quality standard & mark: The Growing Media Association (GMA) has finalised a new quality standard. Manufacturers are submitting samples for batch testing, and consumers will soon see a standardised quality mark on bags to ensure products are fit for purpose.
- Legislation and future Outlook: While Government commitments to ban peat remain uncertain, manufacturers and organisations are proactively transitioning to peat-free solutions due to sustainability goals and market demand.
- Award recognition: Durston's was highlighted during the session for winning an award for their peat-free multipurpose product.
- Customer service: The panel agreed ot has to be better, when confronted with new HortWeek mystery shopper research at garden centres.
- State of the peat-free Industry: The panel agreed that while early peat-free products created a negative perception among consumers due to poor performance, manufacturing technology and formulation quality have significantly improved. Peat-free is now increasingly viewed as the "new normal."
- Challenges with quality and consistency: Despite progress, consistency remains a key concern. Recent trial samples purchased from garden centres showed mixed results, including products where plants failed to grow at all.
- Differing needs of growers vs. retailers: Commercial growers require tailored, crop-specific mixes and precise nutrition management, whereas retail consumers often rely on multipurpose products. Panelists noted that peat-free media requires different management techniques, such as watering "little and often" and applying early supplementary feeding (such as controlled-release fertilisers).
- Supply chain & sustainability: Future raw materials will predominantly rely on UK wood-based by-products, as well as responsibly sourced and audited imported materials like coir.
KEY QUOTES
Amount of Peat Being Used
"My personal feeling would be that the use of peat in retail has increased in the last couple of years as demand for, in my opinion, a cheaper 3-for-10-type product... There will always be peat producers who are able to produce a product at a certain cost point." - Simon Blackhurst
"I don't think peat should be being used in retail growing media. It should be reserved for professional growing where we haven't developed the R&D far enough yet to support the growers who are struggling in certain areas." - Simon Blackhurst
Growing it consistently and having a consistent supply for everyone that's using it—having the materials, a sufficient supply of the right quality—isn't yet there." - Steve Carter
"Ball Colegrave showed me they'd bought about 30 different products from garden centres. 26 of them grew okay; four of them, I think, grew nothing at all, which is a bit of a worry." - Peter Burks.
"There has been product in the past that has not been fit for purpose, and that has created a negativity towards just the term 'peat-free.'" - Simon Blackhurst
"When a product is engineered to a price point as opposed to a performance level, that's when we get problems." - Simon Blackhurst
"We keep going on about selling them a product that isn't fit for purpose... A lot of people are actually driving away from B&Q and away from Dobbies... to find some peat again because they don't want to touch peat-free." - Audience member Dave Andrews
"The misinformation and the misunderstanding out there is vast amongst our customers. People just do not understand it. And also, staff in the garden centres, I think, also don't understand it." - Peter Burks
"Are you really encouraging your staff, and particularly the ones who might be talking to customers about compost, are you encouraging them to do the training so they have the confidence and the knowledge to be able to talk to people about peat-free compost?" - Peter Burks
Quality Marks & Testing Standards
"Manufacturers are now submitting their samples to the test houses and doing the batch testing... and then as of next year, you'll start seeing the use of a quality mark... which will show that that manufacturer has gone through rigorous checks to ensure that the raw materials are correct in the first place [and] the product gets to you as a retailer in a fit-for-purpose state." Simon Blackhurst
"The Responsible Sourcing Scheme is basically working on a quality standard which the growing media manufacturers are signing up to... make sure there's a quality standard, that who you're buying from is following that standard, and test it yourself." Steve Carter
"The quality mark will allow the elevation of quality, obviously, and a minimum baseline of performance for products." Simon Blackhurst
Policy, Legislation & Government Bans
"The most significant thing is whether we get an announcement from government about whether peat is actually going to be banned or whether we still stay in this slightly in limbo state that we are at the moment... because if there is no legislation, I think we'll be in a similar situation in five years' time as we are today." - Peter Burks
"The commitment is still there, is the line that we're told from Defra. The commitment to ban is still there. The problem is... it's a very complicated issue, a peat ban." - Simon Blackhurst
"I've been on the journey since at least 2011... That's 15 years. I'm due to retire in 12 years' time... I'd be very surprised if in 12 years' time, when I retire, the government have actually made that policy change... So I think forget the government, quite frankly." - Steve Carter
#Duncan Dunlop MSP has asked the Scottish Government whether it has plans to introduce a ban on the sale of peat for use in horticulture in Scotland. Gillian Martin MSP replied: "The Scottish Government remains committed to our longstanding intention to ban the sale of peat for horticulture, as set out in our 2026 Climate Change Plan. Following discussion during passage of the Natural Environment Act 2026, and to overcome the challenges posed by the UK Internal Market Act, Scottish Ministers called on UK Ministers to support a collaborative cross-UK approach. We are now engaged in preparatory work with the other UK nations towards joint legislation to establish an effective ban."
