Oldmainer
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Peat Moss

Hi Folks...I want to add some peat moss to my sandy soil to help loosen it up some and to help it hold water and fertilizer until I can make enough compost to help do the job. How much pm should I add to the surface of the bed to dig in...thanks for any info.

decam0
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Hi
You DO mean moss peat don't you? Not peat moss?
A couple of inches on the top would probable be okay. If you just leave it on the surface (unless, of course, you want to put plants in) the worms will do the work for you and pull the compost down into the ground. Moss peat doesn't have much in the way of fertilizer, so add some as you go.
Delia

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Grey
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It is called "peat moss" on this side of the pond ;)

We have a lot of threads deriding the use of peat, because it is harvested in peat bogs that never grow back and is therefore doing a lot of damage to the environment in those places.

The BEST thing for any soil, be it sandy or full of clay, is to add compost to it. Kitchen scraps, teabags, coffee grounds, eggshells, leaves, some horse or cow manure... let it all decompose together and you'll have the best soil you can ask for.

Oldmainer
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Hi Grey...peat moss will never run out from what I've read on the "Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association" web site.... :roll:...at least not in Canada. Interesting and informative.

decam0
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I agree that peat shouldn't be used as a soil conditioner. I found this on the web. It takes a little time to read, but it's interesting...

Peat is an organic material that forms in the waterlogged, sterile, acidic conditions of bogs and fens. These conditions favour the growth of mosses, especially sphagnum. As plants die, they do not decompose. Instead, the organic matter is laid down, and slowly accumulates as peat because of the lack of oxygen in the bog.

The importance of peatlands

A little over 3% of the earth's land surface is covered in peat, but not all peatlands are the same. Just as forests in Brazil, Canada and England are very different, so too are peatlands in Alaska, Indonesia and Europe, each supporting its own native plants and animals. Peat has the ability to preserve materials and this has led to some remarkable finds in peat bogs, including people buried thousands of years ago and wooden artefacts that have not survived elsewhere.

The importance of peatlands has been recognised by the European Union which has identified a number of bogs as priority habitats for conservation under the Habitats and Species Directive.

Peat bogs contribute to the welfare of all living things by 'locking up' carbon that would otherwise increase the greenhouse effect. Carbon, removed from the atmosphere over thousands of years, is released when bogs are drained and peat starts to decompose.

The threats to peatlands

Originally, lowland raised bog (the rarest type in the UK) covered nearly 95,000 ha. Now only 6,000 ha. remain in a near natural state and still laying down peat.

Agriculture and forestry have damaged large areas of peatland. But today, commercial peat extraction to supply gardeners and nursery growers is the major threat. Peat has been cut and used as a fuel for many centuries.

Hand-cutting of peat is a slow, labour-intensive process that can allow the bog partially to recover. It is very different from industrialised, mechanical extraction practised by peat companies, which drain and damage whole bogs. The companies deep-drain peatlands and strip all vegetation from vast expanses of bog surface. The Wildlife Trusts are active in attempting to stop this destruction and work to conserve and protect the few remaining areas.

Alternatives to peat

Gardeners have not always used peat. In fact, its use on a large scale started only in the late 1950s. Before then, a variety of composts was used instead, with coir (a product derived from coconuts) and loam (soil) based composts being the most popular. In those days, people felt that peat was of little use horticulturally, because of its lack of nutrients. It was only through strenuous marketing by peat producers, that sales began to increase.

Today, because peat is available in so many forms and is put to so many uses, no single product can replace it, yet many alternatives are cheaper (often free) and may work better. Garden debris and green kitchen wastes can be composted to make a soil improver that will contribute more nutrients than sterile peat. There are also composts to buy, which are made from animal manure - a traditional soil improver, and other materials like wood-waste and bark. For mulching, peat is poor because it dries out and blows around. Chipped bark, shredded prunings, cocoa shells, straw and blanket mulches such as plastic sheets all make more effective and durable mulches. As a growing medium, commercial nurseries are finding that alternatives work well and are better than peat in some circumstances.

What you can do to help save peat bogs Peat bogs desperately need your help. You can help save them by:

* Refusing to buy peat or plants grown in peat. If your garden centre doesn't stock them, ask why not. Details of where to buy peat-free products are available from The Wildlife Trusts.
* Stop using peat in your garden; start a compost heap that will provide an alter native.
* Find out if your local authority has signed the peatland protection charter (details from your local wildlife trust).
* Visit a peatland reserve near to you and see its wildlife. Your local wildlife trust can help you. Once you have, you'll never want to buy peat again.

Further reading

Out of the Mire (1992) RSPB and Plantlife, Sandy, Beds.

Growing Wiser: Case studies in the successful use of peat-free products. Available from The Wildlife Trusts.

Gardening Without Peat: The Friends of the Earth guide to peat alternatives. FoE London.

Oldmainer
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Hi decamO...an interesting bit of info...and I'm sure there are places in the world where peat moss has been harvested too much...but the "Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association" site will educate you in regard to PM in Canada. You can link off from that site to many other interesting bits of info if your interested....such as the "International Peat Society" site.

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Sorry Oldmainer, I must respectfully disagree. The Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association has a financial interest in promoting the idea that Peat Moss is a renewable resource. That association was formed to manipulate public opinion, it is a marketing tool. Because of this conflict of interest, is not a reliable source of information.
Founded in 1988 to promote the benefits of peat moss to horticulturists and home gardeners... the Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association is comprised of 18 peat moss producers and marketers representing 95 percent of Canada's total production...
Look at the source of information and judge it by it's motivation. ;) They stand to benefit from the studies they commission purporting to show that peat moss is a renewable resource. They proactively take control of the dialogue in order to promote the industry.

The fact is that according to independent studies, "On post-harvested peatlands there is very little natural recolonization by Sphagnum moss. In Quebec only 10% of the abandoned bogs have some Sphagnum regeneration."

https://horticulture.coafes.umn.edu/vd/h5015/99papers/mccue.htm
Last edited by webmaster on Sat Jul 01, 2006 5:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Oldmainer
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Hi webmaster...no problem...I see no point in further debate from my end anyway... :roll: Either the info provided by the various sites is a lie or it's the truth...one can read and make up their own mind... :shock: I plan on using PM as a soil additive along with compost as long as I am able to garden.

jstr12
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Yes what you read could easily have something in fine print saying it's not true. But I could still be wrong. I have not inspected what you read my self.


jstr :wink:

opabinia51
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Lots of discussion here... that's a good thing.

Just wanted to respond to Oldmainer:

Peat bogs are actually in a huge crisis right now, and looking at both peer reviewed, scientific literature and also at various non scientific sources, it is clear that Peat bogs are in huge danger of not only "running out" but, the flora and fauna contained therein, are in danger of becomming extinct.

For this reason, there are several alternatives to peat that people can use in the garden, one of which is cocunut husks, another in cocoa bean hulls and I'm sure that there are others.

Using peat is also not the best thing for the garden for another reason:

Peat is nearly impossible to get wet once it is dry and it contains few to no nutrients. Peat alternatives not only help with the peat bog problem currently affecting the world but, they also contain either the basic nutrients (NPK) needed by plants or the basics plus others.



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