1. Newsletter: Peat exit activities in Switzerland (28.05.2018)

This newsletter from the Consumption and Products Section gives an update on the status of activities and cooperation with the relevant stakeholders in implementing the peat exit programme in Switzerland.


Memorandum of Understanding  for peat reduction in bagged soils

In the summer of 2017, representatives of the retail trade, horticulture sector, soil producers, JardinSuisse and the Confederation signed a voluntary Memorandum of Understanding: by 2020 they intend to reduce the proportion of peat in bagged soils to a maximum of five percent. Through this initial measure, the signatories are concretely targeting the third of the imported peat that is sold in retail outlets and garden centres through the medium of bagged soils. Further information can be found here (PDF, 120 kB, 29.06.2017).


New web dossier “Gardening without peat”

Springtime is gardening time: an up-to-date web dossier on the topic of “Gardening without peat: How plants can thrive in an environmentally friendly way without peat” can be found here:


Peat substitutes in  the ornamental plant sector: 1. Results

To ensure that viable peat substitutes are available for use in the ornamental plant sector in the future, the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) is providing financial support for a three-year research project by JardinSuisse and the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBl. The focus will be on practical testing and the necessary adjustments in the cultivation of ornamental plants. You can find out how promising the initial results of this research are under Organic Eprint


Peat substitutes in the berry sector: 1. Results 

The project being carried out in the area of berry cultivation for the development and testing of growing mediums from native, renewable raw materials ended its first season with very balanced results and yields which are entirely comparable to those obtained using peat substrates. This project, which is funded by the Commission for Technology and Innovation CTI and involves the cooperation of Ökohum, FiBL and the wool processing company fiwo, has already demonstrated that it is possible to work without peat in the berries sector today. Some of the same substrates will also be tested in the coming year, and greater attention will be focused on coconut as a substitute. The first practical experiments on organic farms will also be launched in cooperation with the FiBL. 


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Last modification 28.05.2018

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