tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8704984.post503131061163049238..comments2023-09-25T12:03:00.637+01:00Comments on Tom Morton's Beatcroft: To the peat hill! To the kayak! Warning - this blog contains shorts and red shoesUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8704984.post-2105820012278093502009-07-01T08:55:37.510+01:002009-07-01T08:55:37.510+01:00Thanks for the response Tom. Very interested in th...Thanks for the response Tom. Very interested in the "repair as you go" mentality. Sounds like good custodian-ship (is that even a word?)<br /><br />As you say, in Ireland it's a real mess. I remember heading through Connemara in the big yellow bus a couple of years back and seeing monster peat stack after monster peat stack, all cut and stakced far too uniformly to be hand cut. Though I must confess to purchasing the odd bale of compressed peat briquette in Strontian when we've run out of wood....Single Trackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12659569441973581784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8704984.post-62304098591151387482009-06-30T10:56:03.723+01:002009-06-30T10:56:03.723+01:00That's entirely fair, Bryan. I did say 'al...That's entirely fair, Bryan. I did say 'almost' and qualified it by adding 'if not extracted commercially'. Clearly the supply of peat is NOT infinite, but I see it a bit like fishing - on a small, local level, if not sustainable, it does minimal damage. Especially using traditional techniques of replacing (forget the dialect name) the top-turf (graef?) and repairing the ground as you go.<br /> As factory trawlers do all the damage, commercial peat extraction as in Ireland is horrendous. There's a real hatred even of small-scale tractor-mounted peat cutting machines in some parts of Shetland. I think that's because there's a recognition of how necessary the careful use of resources is.<br /> Have to say, there is a hell of a lot of the stuff here...Tom Mortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08221836843714189735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8704984.post-74067582120920639352009-06-30T10:38:05.912+01:002009-06-30T10:38:05.912+01:00Forgive my ignorance Tom, how is the supply infini...Forgive my ignorance Tom, how is the supply infinite or sustainable? Is the peat "laid down" at a relatively speedy rate in the Shetlandic climate? (sorry if that sounds cheeky, it's not meant to - there's often unwanted tone in emails/comments, I'm simply trying to understand how it works as I'm convinced peat MUST be better to use than the coal and oil)<br /><br />Phew.<br /><br />Cheers,<br /><br />BryanSingle Trackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12659569441973581784noreply@blogger.com