Operational Group: Development and production of a fermented gorse-based substrate for the ornamental sector

This Task Force aims to develop various types of alternative and innovative substrates, replacing peat with gorse, obtained through different production processes, to give it the texture and grain size required for each type of plant.

To prepare the substrates, it is necessary to plant gorse, using managed forest land, scrubland and/or uncultivated land.

The sown gorse is harvested at different times and processed in different ways, and undergoes controlled fermentation to obtain the raw material that will replace peat in substrates.

Substrates will be developed and tested with different crops to adjust the percentages of the materials that make up the substrate. The advantages of this include the need for less chemical fertilizer, since gorse, being a legume, possesses high amounts of nitrogen that is easily assimilated by the plant once fermented; providing added value to the land where the plantations are planted by fixing the nitrogen from the legume and by diversifying the farms; and preventing forest fires, since the forest will be clean.