The Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) and the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) have hosted a successful peat-free growing workshop at Hillier Nurseries in Hampshire.

This event is part of a broader series aimed at supporting growers through the transition to peat-free practices.

The day featured hands-on demonstrations from the HTA’s Horticulture Technical Manager, Wayne Brough, and the RHS's Raghavendra Prasad, a respected Post-Doctoral Fellow, with talks from Charles Carr, Head of Hillier Nurseries, and Geoff Caesar, Business Development Director at Allensmore Nurseries.

Attendees also enjoyed an informative tour of Hillier Nurseries with the team, which has a highly regarded reputation as a leading data-driven grower, with time for conversations and questions.

Wayne Brough, Horticulture Technical Manager, HTA, said: “Today's workshop has delivered advice and insights for our members with the practical objective to assist in the commercial adoption of peat-free growing. I hope many members can develop their ongoing on-site growing media management plans while maintaining quality and optimising their crops.”

Dr Raghavendra Prasad, Peat-free Fellow at the RHS, said: “The event once again showed that grower-to-grower knowledge sharing is essential for a successful and sustainable peat-free transition. One of the key takeaways is the importance of data collection at a nursery level and an understanding of the tools and equipment that can be deployed to capture this information. Used alongside growers' own expertise, it can drive better decision making, optimising results and driving efficiency in resource use, such as for water and nutrients.”

The HTA and RHS are committed to supporting growers with ongoing resources and workshops focused on sustainable growing practices.