The Woods family are leading the much-needed change to conserve our bogs for future generations Paul and Orla Woods of Kilmurry Nursery Rose bush Agapanthus The Woods family of Gorey in Co Wexford run Kilmurry Nursery and are renowned in the gardening industry for growing wonderful award-winning plants. Along with nearly all growers of ornamental plants, they used to use peat-based compost. Peat is a wonderful material for growing plants in.
It holds onto moisture and nutrients well, and it’s lightweight for transporting. The peat has, by and large, come from our bogs or those of some European neighbours. These bogs are an oasis of life, full of biodiversity, both floral and fauna.
They also act as carbon banks, holding onto it when they are wet but releasing it when they dry out and are cut for peat. And we’ve dried out a remarkable number of these bogs, often to burn the peat for heat in our homes or to fuel power stations.We’ve been slow to realise that it is important that these natural habitats are saved for future generations.
Realising the damage being done as a result of its mass extraction here and elsewhere, Kilmurry Nursery decided to innovate, to lead the way by going peat-free. And, recently, I visited to see how the change was going. Paul Woods told me the process hasn’t been straightforward or easy.
Known for producing quality plants, it was a challenge for the family to find an alternative growing medium which would produce the same excellent produ.