The new Wool Compost for Vegetables and Salads (launched at the 2016 RHS Chelsea Flower Show), is ideal whether you are growing herbs on your windowsill, spuds in a potato sack or beans in your back garden. Contains wool – like some of our other gardening products such as our garden felt and shillies, this compost contains WOOL! No need to feed – due to all the wonderful ingredients of the compost we mentioned above, you don’t need to add any extra feed to this compost or any water-retaining gels either. It can hold up to 20 times its own weight in water and according to the ONS, in the UK alone, peatland represents 27% of the UK ecosystem service accounts. Go peat-free with this Dalefoot Peat-Free Wool Compost is the compost of all composts made here in Cumbria.

Dalefoot are refining their compost mix all the time and now have a number of varieties suitable for a range of growing uses. Helps with water management – peat plays an important role in the hydrological cycle helping to maintain water quantity and quality.They support species such as carnivorous sundew plants and uncommon insects like large heath butterflies, four-spotted chaser dragonflies and picture-winged bog craneflies. Provides important habitats – peat bogs provide unique, natural habitats for many scare species as well as a wide range of nationally and internationally important flora and fauna.

Over the last century, the International Union for Conservation of Nature estimates 80% of the UK’s peatlands are in a damaged and deteriorating condition having been modified as a result of present and past land management activities, including extraction for horticulture and draining for agricultural improvement. Helps with water management – peat plays an important role in the hydrological cycle helping to maintain water quantity and quality. By retaining and establishing peat bogs we can not only help reduce our emissions but also start to capture the carbon that is being released into the environment in other forms. Dalefoot Wool Compost Double Strength 50ltr Bag offers a rich peat-free compost plus soil conditioner produced from bracken and sheep's wool. Includes bracken – bracken is FULL of potash (potassium) which is essential for fruiting and flowering.It can hold up to 20 times its own weight in water and according to the ONS, in the UK alone, peatland represents 27% of the UK ecosystem service accounts. Potash-rich bracken forms the base of the compost, which is blended with sheep’s wool for improved water retention and slow release nitrogen. For years there have been warnings about climate change, on what we need to do to protect and sustain this precious planet.

I couldn’t get my head around how a compost with sheeps’ wool in it was going to perform in my wet Cumbrian garden. Although I was disappointed that it is not grey, like the sheep, I am very pleased so far with the product being quite dry to feel, so less messy. Soil Association approvedDalefoot’s Wool Compost for Seeds has a fine texture with good drainage to provide a perfect start for seeds. For every purchase you make with us, 20% of the profit facilitates the planting of trees on agriculturally poor land in Cumbria.This excellent wool and bracken compost, fresh from the hills of the Lake District National Park, offer a superb alternative fertiliser and growing medium for all gardeners. It isn’t too rich and instead provides a gentle sustained feed to ensure strong germination rates and a healthy root growth. It is now added to the compost to boost the microbial diversity, increase trace minerals and boost the overall efficiency of the final product. Acts as a vital historic record of the land - peat contains vital and unique historical evidence of an area and its inhabitants. The texture of this compost is also similar to peat, which makes beautifully friable compost but is so much better for the environment.

The use of bracken in the Wool Compost is also beneficial because the spread of this aggressive, waist-high plant in the Lake District makes grazing difficult and impacts upon native species.

So, as you can see, peat is very important to protect, and as consumers, we can help to protect it by choosing peat-free gardening products. These have seen dwindling numbers due to the decrease in wet peatland areas which has a wider impact on our ecosystem. Grazing is an important part of maintaining this special landscape that is so treasured by the millions of visitors who come to the area.