In a saturated marketplace, suppliers are constantly vying for the attention of retailers (and consumers). Whilst peat-free is the order of the day, there are still significant gaps in knowledge and misunderstanding around the provenance of growing media. Recognising this, The Real Soil Company – the brand behind organic SuperSoil – is on a mission to create complete visibility surrounding its products and hopefully offers retailers important peace of mind.
Waste soil = gold for garden retailers
One of the many reasons for a move away from peat is that the harvesting process is continually removing a natural finite resource which cannot be replaced. With every bag of growing media contributing to this issue, suppliers from across the market have had no choice but to look to more sustainable solutions. In the case of The Real Soil Company, they turned to the legacy of its parent company, Boughton.
From Boughton’s headquarters in rural Northamptonshire the company has been creating organic ‘as dug’ topsoils for decades and from this science the The Real Soil Company’s garden retail offering was born.
The material used in all The Real Soil Company’s topsoil products is typically sourced from pre-construction and construction sites from the counties surrounding Northamptonshire. Not only are these topsoils completely natural, organic and peat-free but they are, in theory, a waste product and not drawn from finite sources. So, whilst surplus to requirements on the construction site, these repurposed soils are a golden opportunity for brands such as The Real Soil Company.
Once removed from site, The Real Soil Company’s soil scientists closely inspect and screen the material before use. It is important to note that recycled soils are never used as they cannot be relied on to be of a consistent quality.
Simon Hedley, Managing Director The Real Soil Company said: “There certainly is not enough awareness about the provenance of our product and why its origins should make a difference when choosing a topsoil supplier. We work hard to protect the world around us and are proud to be repurposing so-called waste material from construction sites. It is, however, important to reiterate that our products suffer no detrimental impact from using this material. In fact, all our products utilise ‘single source’ or ‘as dug’ soils which provide us with greater consistency and complete traceability, as well as ensuring that we always use 100% organic and nutrient rich peat-free soils.”