"Alys Fowler advocates for making ecology the primary consideration in all our ideas, discussing peat bogs and animism in the process."
In a world where gardening and environmental conservation intertwine, Alys Fowler, a renowned author, is set to publish her latest book, "Peatlands: A Journey Between Land and Water", published by Hodder Press for £20. The book is a love letter to bogs and a plea to the horticultural industry to care about them.
Fowler, currently researching and advocating for the adoption of peat-free gardening, takes readers on a journey to understand what a bog is and its greater role beyond being dug up. Bogs, wetland areas that store vast amounts of carbon, play a crucial role in our climate, history, and cultural identity.
The author argues that we need to move beyond saying "I'm peat free" and work together to ensure everyone can be peat free. Fowler's new garden is finding its rhythm and is characterized by edibles and a greater abundance of what others might consider weeds. She recognizes the importance of weeds in understanding the ecology of soil.
The book is not about how to garden without peat, but why one should care about gardening without peat. The main environmental reasons for adopting peat-free gardening are to protect peatland ecosystems, which are crucial carbon stores and biodiversity hotspots, and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions caused by peat extraction and degradation.
Peat extraction destroys rare and delicate ecosystems, many of which have already been severely degraded. In the UK, over 95% of peat bogs have been damaged or destroyed. Protecting peatlands is essential for retaining biodiversity and mitigating global warming.
Societally, the UK government has set targets for horticulture to become peat-free by 2024, with wholesale nurseries expected to stop using peat by 2030. Organizations like Meadow Croft Garden Centre and the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) are leading the transition by offering peat-free products and committing to peat-free production.
Alternative growing media such as coco coir, composted bark, and other organic materials provide similar benefits to peat—improving water retention, aeration, and soil structure—without the harmful environmental impacts. Using these alternatives helps maintain soil health while avoiding peatland destruction.
Fowler's PhD research, starting in October at Keele University, is interested in human and more-than-human relationships and how they coexist, and in the era of late-stage capitalism, how we talk about ecosystems, giving them agency in our system in terms of law and rights.
The book's ISBN is 978-1399727563. Fowler shares her experiences in the book, including her struggles to grow full-sized carrots due to issues with carrot fly, equidistant spacing, and light competition in a polyculture. However, she finds success in growing baby carrots in a polyculture.
In addition to her new book, Fowler is starting a small nursery in west Wales, focusing on growing perennial vegetables with low-nitrogen requirements. She is also starting a PhD in October, on the public understanding of peatland conservation at Keele University.
Fowler, an avid reader, finds inspiration in queer novels, scientific papers on horticulture, and sports writing about people who have achieved remarkable feats. Her passion for bogs and peat-free gardening shines through in her new book, making it a must-read for anyone interested in environmental conservation and sustainable gardening.
[1] Peatlands and Climate Change: An Overview. (2020). Retrieved from https://www.unep.org/resources/assessment/peatlands-and-climate-change-overview [2] The Environmental Impacts of Peat Extraction and Its Alternatives. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6640161/ [3] The Role of Peatland Conservation in Climate Change Mitigation. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0960148117311780 [4] The Importance of Peatlands in Biodiversity Conservation. (2015). Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312770997_The_importance_of_peatlands_in_biodiversity_conservation [5] The Benefits of Peat-Free Growing Media. (2021). Retrieved from https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=526
- Alys Fowler, an author who specializes in horticulture and environmental science, is delving into the importance of peatlands in her upcoming book, "Peatlands: A Journey Between Land and Water", published by Hodder Press.
- The book underscores the need for peat-free gardening to protect peatland ecosystems, which serve as crucial carbon stores, biodiversity hotspots, and integral parts of our climate and cultural identity.
- Fowler proposes that we shift from saying "I'm peat free" to collective action, aiming to ensure that everyone can embrace peat-free gardening for the betterment of our environment.
- In an era where late-stage capitalism influences our discourse on ecosystems, Fowler's research focuses on human and more-than-human relationships in the context of a peat-free lifestyle, both in her book and her upcoming PhD at Keele University.
