Guiding Gardeners: Training Staff to Support Peat-Free Compost Customer Success

Kate Turner is a trained horticulturalist who worked as Evergreen Garden Care’s Garden Guru for over 3 years. She has worked extensively within the world of peat free compost including in house training and garden centre staff training, as well as giving advice to a consumer careline on peat free problems for the past 4 years. Until recently, Kate was creating and presenting YouTube videos for RocketGro on how best to use peat free compost. Kate is co-host of the popular garden industry podcast, The Underground, the podcast partner for GLEE, and will be at GLEE all 3 days, recording live with the podcast.

 

Garden Centre staff are at the frontline when it comes to customers buying peat free compost so it makes sense that  staff are fully prepared and upskilled to not only answer any questions and queries posed by the customer, but also to offer great gardening advice on how to use peat free compost.

 

Many older gardeners who have been gardening with peat for many years are finding the transition tough. We need to help them understand that it needs to be treated differently. Good quality, peat free composts will perform just as well as peat -based ones but changes do need to be made.

 

One of the biggest complaints you will come across, is the ‘bitty’ texture of the compost. 

 

Re-assure customers that this texture is due to the different ingredients needed to produce peat free compost but that this doesn’t mean poorer quality.

 

 Many of these ingredients are wood based, so it can be common to find small pieces of bark and woodchip in the bags. These are nothing to worry about as they all have a job to do including helping with drainage and allowing air flow through the roots.

 

Practical tips you can pass on:

• Don't remove the ‘bits’ as they are an essential part of the recipe.
• For small seed sowing, always recommend purchasing a specialist bag of peat-free seed and cutting compost as this will have a finer texture, more suited for seed sowing.
• Advise that after opening, give the compost a mix as sometimes during transit  larger particles can rise to the top, It’s best to do this in a large pot or bucket and then you can be sure that the everything is well blended. This is especially important for a bag that’s been nearer the bottom of a pallet where they can become quite compacted.
• Some customers query the often lighter look of the compost, re assure them that this is due to the different ingredients used which can include; wood fibre, wood fines, bracken, sheep’s wool and coir. This may mean that the colour  might be lighter than expected but will still contain all the goodness.

 

Right plant, right compost

 

Try to move the customer away from always purchasing a multi -purpose compost by finding out what task they need it for:

• Ericaceous peat -free composts have come on in leaps and bounds so always advise this for acid lovers such as rhododendrons and azaleas.
• Tree and shrubs will prefer a peat -free John Innes No3 compost, so if you see customers buying trees and shrubs then try and steer them towards this  compost. The loam in a John Innes compost provides stability and reduces compost slumping in a container.
• For customers that love their bedding and hanging baskets,  persuade them to purchase a moisture retentive compost, many peat free compost makers will have a container and hanging basket recipe in their portfolio.

 

Watering

Watering has become one of the trickiest aspects of getting to grips with peat free growing. Here are some top tips you can pass on to your customers.

• The most important advice is that just because the compost looks dry on the top,  doesn’t mean its dry at the roots. Always check before watering, look at the sides, has the compost come away? Stick a thin bamboo cane down to the bottom, does it come back up wet?
• Get to know the weight of your plant if in a container. After watering it should feel heavy but as it dries out it will become much lighter.
• Advice that contradicts everything we have been told  is to water little but often. This helps the peat free take up the moisture slowly rather than giving it a drench when all the water comes out the sides and bottoms. This should also counteract soggy roots.
• Avoid standing pots in a saucer as this can lead to root rot if the plant isn’t draining so well. This year I have seen lots of Gro-Bags being stood in long trays which is causing the plants to become waterlogged.

 

Feeding

Many gardeners underestimate the importance of feeding plants in containers. The need to feed is crucial for plants that are totally reliant on the gardener for their health, and it gives you the option of selling in other products.

 

Feeding  plants in containers is just as important as watering properly. To get the best out of  plants they need three main nutrients,:

• nitrogen for good leafy growth. N
•  phosphorus for strong root growth. P
•  potassium for excellent flowering and fruiting. K

 

Customers will really benefit from your knowledge of the importance of feeding their plants and it is especially important, as some gardeners struggle with the watering aspect of peat free and consistently overwater, causing a leaching of the nutrients meaning the plants roots are finding it harder to uptake what they need. 

 

Even though most peat-free composts already contain the right nutrients, it has been found that  some plants do use up these nutrients more quickly when planted in peat free. This means that gardeners should start supplementary feeding their plants a little earlier than  stated on the bags.

 

Feeds to recommend

•  Like us, plants can get sick and be more prone to disease if they don’t get the right nutrients. Yellowing foliage, smaller flowers and slow growth can be key indicators that a plant needs feeding
•  For plants in containers, especially those filled with summer annuals you should recommend a liquid feed. This can be used weekly in a watering can.( another sell-in).
• If fruit and veg are being grown, then  recommend an organic all-purpose liquid feed and  tomato feed together.  Always advise the customer starts feeding with an all-purpose feed but then for  the hungrier plants such as tomatoes and squash, use a tomato feed, but alternate with the all-purpose every other week. The higher potassium levels in tomato feed will encourage stronger fruiting.
• For larger plants and for those in borders, a granular, long- lasting feed works well. These can be applied in the spring or just after planting.
• Always encourage the customer to read the BOP instructions.

 

 POS

Most compost companies work really hard at producing excellent activation material. As staff it’s really important to familiarise yourself with the information supplied and make sure it’s visible in store and in the right area. This will really help you signpost your customer to the right compost.

 

Ultimately, get to know the different brands and the different types of peat free compost and ideally persuade your managers to run in-house training sessions that help you get to know the product, so you will have happier customers!

 

Click here to listen to The Underground, Glee's official podcast partner