Is leaf mould a better growing medium than bog peat ?

Question

I like to grow a wide variety of plants and I have been finding that a lot of different types prefer pure leaf mould to peat such as: feverfew, sunflowers, pumpkins, etc. I found that sunflowers grown in peat based soil rotted because it holds too much water and the same happened with pumpkins. So the question is Why in every Garden centre is every plant grown in peat when better results are obviously obtainable with leaf mould and garden soil mixtures ?

Answer 1

Peat is cheaper and more available.  It's pressed into pots and so forth which makes for ease of use.  Commercial avenues do not always do what is best for the plant, just what helps their profits.  And if you don't know better and the plant dies, chances are you'll come back and buy another one!