Growers are using less peat than a year ago, finds survey, but challenges remain around costs, crop losses and production system adaption
UK growers are using less peat than they were a year ago with some managing to cut out the growing media altogether, new figures show.
Peat accounted for 21.8 per cent of growing media used in 2025, down from 34.4 per cent in the prior year, according to the latest survey by the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA).
A third of growers say they are now entirely peat free, according to the survey of HTA members.
The findings reflect growing investment in peat free alternatives, by growers and growing media manufacturers, amid pressure to reduce environmental impact.
Peat has an extremely high carbon footprint as it stores millions of years’ worth of carbon, which is released when extracted and used in growing media.
“Levels of professional peat use have fallen year-on-year since 2021, and around one third of growers are now peat-free,” said HTA director of research and knowledge transfer, David Denny.
The HTA said survey results also indicate that the industry is now entering the most challenging phase of the transition, with a quarter of growers unable to identify a timeframe when they can go peat-free.
“The data also reinforces an important point: peat-free growing is not simply a case of swapping one material for another,” said Denny.
“There is no single, like-for-like alternative that works across the thousands of plant species grown commercially in the UK.
“Growers are having to learn how different growing media behave, and to invest in new approaches to irrigation that deliver both crop quality and resource efficiency,” he added.
Barriers to a peat-free transition include nutrient and fertiliser management, profitability, consistency of peat-free growing media and irrigation management.
Growers reported that fully peat-free growing media could cost around 10 per cent more overall, before accounting for trials, training and potential crop losses.
Peat-free growing media often requires different irrigation approaches and greater monitoring, meaning the transition can mean changing entire production systems rather than simply replacing one growing medium with another.
“Our member businesses need certainty, but they also need confidence that the remaining technical, commercial and supply chain challenges have been properly understood and addressed,” said Denny.
“Continued research, collaboration and knowledge-sharing, investment support and a favourable regulatory environment will be critical to achieving our shared environmental ambitions while expanding a resilient, productive and competitive UK growing sector.”
