The Environment

It is my job to grow with the planet, not against it.

My dream is to provide sustainable plants for the UK, so that we can all enjoy plants that don’t harm the environment when they are grown.

It is my mission to teach you all the importance of growing sustainably, whilst helping you bring your safe space to life, with beautiful plants.

  • WHY IS HARRIET’S PLANTS PEAT FREE?

    As a champion of the peat free movement #peatfreepeople, it is my aim to encourage everyone to grow peat free and buy peat free. Peat is a hugely beneficial resource in our fight against climate change.

    Harriet’s Plants is the first small scale, peat free, chemical free and 100% UK grown, planet friendly grower of houseplants. This means that I grow EVERYTHING within my glasshouse in Cornwall. The majority of growers are overseas and use peat as their main ingredients in their substrates.

    Peat is actually a fantastic medium, It holds water like nothing else and is a great resource for plants. However, when we extract peat from it’s natural habitat we irreparably damage the bog that it is being extracted from. This kills insects, birds, plants and habitats all in one go and this is something that at Harriet’s Plants, we are not ok with. In the UK, at least 80% of Peatland habitats have been lost or damaged.

    Another reason we are against using peat in horticulture is because when we extract and dig up peat we release all it’s stored Carbon Dioxide which then negatively affects climate change.

    Peat bogs are also wonderful at storing water, hence why peat bogs are quite literally, boggy. Yet again, when we extract the peat, the peat bog dries out and can lead to catastrophic events, such as flooding, in areas that wouldn’t normally flood. I have written a few blog posts on peat harvesting so will pop them here in case you want to read any further.

    1. Why the governments peat free policy is insufficient.

    2. Proud to be peat free: What it is and why we should avoid it.

    We have never and will never use peat in the growing of our plants.

  • Why is Harriet’s Plants chemical free?

    We choose to use biological control within the nursery because we believe that using chemicals should be a thing of the past. Harsh chemicals are not only harmful to the pests, they are also harmful to the people that spray them and any beneficial insects that are present within the greenhouse and it’s surrounding area.

    Working with plants means also working with pests. Biological control is the use of other living organisms to control pests. All plants will naturally attract pests and diseases. By introducing a natural enemy such as a parasite or predator into the environment, it is very effective in reducing the number of pests.

    I have written a blog on this topic to further delve in to our control measures within the Harriet’s Plants nursery.

    Bio control and Pesticides.

  • Why is Harriet’s Plants UK grown?

    When I started this business, I’ll admit that I imported plants to propagate from. I was addicted to the growing process and learning new skills but most importantly, I didn’t realise the detrimental effects of importing houseplants from abroad had on the environment. I quickly shifted my mind set and since 2021 the nursery plants have been grown 100% within the UK, but most importantly, in my glasshouse in Cornwall. Something I’m very proud of.

    I believe in supporting peat free UK growers in all horticultural sectors as it’s very important for our economy and also our environment.

    Here is a link to read further into this topic: Grown not flown: The problem with importing houseplants.

  • WHY HAVE I NEVER BOUGHT PLASTIC POTS FOR MY NURSERY?

    In order to reduce my businesses carbon footprint I have opted OUT of sending my plants in any form of virgin plastic. It is estimated that 500 million plant pots are used in Britain each year. This is a mind boggling number for me, especially because many of those pots cannot be recycled.

    Yes plastic is easier to grow in…This is why I do still grow predominately in recycled plastic pots from garden centres and nurseries throwing them out. All pots are sterilised when coming into the nursery and all pots are then used to grow on cuttings. Some plants are then transferred to coir pots once established roots have been formed which means I can keep that plastic for new plants that will be grown within the nursery.

    Plastic pollution is a HUGE strain on the world, both land and sea. This is why I do everything I can to ensure my business contributes as little as possible to this modern day environmental disaster.

    Read more: Plastic in Horticulture.

ALWAYS

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