Substrates and garden products for people who care for their plants

The three brands share the same Arber supply chain and the same laboratory, but they answer three different needs. Leader is the historic brand. It covers all four home gardening categories — substrates, plant care, natural defense, home pest control — with a recognizable green-yellow palette on shelf. Leader Bio is the certified organic line from Arber. It includes organic substrates (Bio Hortus for the vegetable garden, Bio Fruit for citrus and fruit trees) and organic natural defense products (Tripla Azione Plus, Aceto, Controller Funghi, Controller Lumaca), all compliant with EU Regulation 2018/848 on organic farming. Nathuro is the peat-reduced line — substrates only, with reduced peat content and increasing proportions of wood fiber and coconut fiber, for those who want a lighter environmental footprint.

For a container vegetable garden — tomatoes, courgettes, peppers, salad leaves — a quality universal substrate or a specific vegetable garden substrate is the safest choice. Look for a bag with a peat and wood fiber-based organic amendment, a base fertilizer included and a medium granulometry (particle size). Leader offers a universal substrate and a vegetable garden substrate. Leader Bio offers the same options in a certified organic formulation. Nathuro offers the peat-reduced substrate. All three perform well on a family vegetable garden — the choice is about positioning (heritage / organic / peat-reduced).

Leader Bio products are formulated with raw materials approved for organic farming and in compliance with EU Regulation 2018/848. Compliance is declared on the label of each individual SKU. For use on a certified organic farm — not only for a family vegetable garden — always check the label of the specific batch. If you need compliance documentation, request it through the contact page.

A peat-reduced substrate replaces part of the peat with other organic materials — wood fiber, coconut fiber, mature green compost. The peat content remains, but it is reduced to lower the environmental impact of extraction while maintaining cultivation performance. It is the natural choice for those who want a bag with a lower carbon footprint. The Arber peat-reduced line is called Nathuro and covers the most in-demand substrates: universal, vegetable garden and acid-loving plants.

You can find them at garden centers, agricultural suppliers, specialist gardening retailers and large distribution chains that carry the Arber brands. Distribution is widespread across Italy, with delivery across Italy. To find your nearest point of sale, use the map at the bottom of this page or write to us by email. We will reply the same day with retailer contacts in your area.

Peat is a non-renewable raw material on a human timescale, and it is honest to say so. The sustainability of the Arber range works on three levels: extraction regulated by concessions and sector plans at the selected origins in the Baltic countries and Germany, land restoration after use according to national schemes, and ongoing development of peat-reduced formulas (Nathuro) and organic formulas (Leader Bio) that progressively reduce the peat content while maintaining cultivation performance. The Sustainability page describes this journey and references the applicable sector certifications.