Haven't ever heard of it before so I went Googling and aside from all the "non-renewable resource" debate over it and all other peat products, I only found minimal info available. Even the company website isn't all that informative.

So apparently it has limited availability and isn't a commonly used item. What is supposed to be so special about it? From the info available it just sounds like compost. It's hard to beat good old compost but why is this stuff so expensive?

Dave

Hrmmmm... Apparently, I've been making "sweet peet" this whole time and didn't know it, lol.

There's a local horse farm near me and I got a shipment of manure w/ hay and shavings last year and have been composting it since... about the only difference between my compost and their "sweet peet" is that they color theirs with tannins and I'm guessing they lime it to make it neutral or possibly slightly alkaline (hence the "sweet"). I don't add lime since my PH is fine where it's at and I don't color it because I don't care, lol.

Like Dave said, based on the video - it's essentially compost, which makes a fine amendment and mulch. If you can get it at a competitive price - I see no reason not to use it; If, on the other hand, it's much more than regular compost - I wouldn't see any particular benefit.

I actually found it for 45.00 a yard/ 30 dollar delivery fee locally. I'm going to give it a shot this year. At that price its only a few bucks more expensive than the "compost" I have been buying and is backed by a brand name. I feel more comfortable with that as I know what is in it and that it is a neutral PH. Who knows what some of these local supply companies add to their "organic compost" - I will keep everyone posted! Make sure you search for "sweet peet" not "peat" There is actually a very informative video on sweetpeet.com about how they make it.

I spent quite a bit of money and driving time to get compost last year... it was good a very compost.... compared to the crap Lowes was selling at least.

This year I found out that I can get it free from our recycling center... up to 6 cubic yards per year. 6 cubic yards is a bit too much for me (I was thinking 2 tops), but I no longer own a pick up truck, and delivery fee was the same regardless... so this friday I get to spread 6 tons of compost around my yard... May share some with my neighbors >.>

I have never heard of it either. Sounds expensive though or I should say expensive compared to where I live. Compost is only $ 27.00 a yard here and if you order ten yards or more delivery is free.

"it was good a very compost..."

Meant to say "a very good compost" ofcourse... repotted 40 tomatoes today, and got at least as many to do tomorrow... coupled with a few beers... typing is a bit off to say the least. :P

Amen , Homegardenpa
I have also discovered a free sourve of sweet peat,ie, composted horse manure, free to load and haul.
I just got a load(about 1 cu-ft)yesterday. Today I will gage its PH. The stuff, even after being wet, is still floffy, better than peat, sweet or not.

I have been using sweet peet for a few years now to ammend clay soil and to me it is the very best on the market.Flowers love it and so do the worms. I would like to find it cheaper then $6.99 if you buy 10 bags though.

Yeah, I don't argue that it sounds like a good product. If I could get it cheaply, I wouldn't be adverse to using it, but I try to put as little money into my garden as possible - partly on budget and partly on principle.

If I can use fruit and vegetable scraps from the kitchen, manure from a local horse farm, grass clippings, leaves, spoiled hay bales from a farmer friend, and straw bales that people throw out after Halloween, then I have no need to buy anything and I've helped saved some "trash" from going to a landfill. Admittedly, I can only do this due to the land I have since it requires a some space to stockpile all the supplies needed for ample compost throughout the year - In smaller plots or condo / apartment gardens, branded / bagged compost is your only and safest bet.

All that being said, worms love any compost / manure / organic matter though. I layered some manure on the garden last fall and covered with grass clippings, leaves, and hay. I put on a new layer of hay in early April before planting.

The garden was so full of worms that I got a good laugh out of it. Apparently, the process of pressing my cages into the ground disturbs the worms enough that they literally climb out of the ground and crawl over the surface of the hay. I thought it was a coincidence at first, but with each cage I put in the ground, a handful of worms would pop up and crawl accross the hay, lol.

Jay,

Where did you end up getting it from? I am in Westchester and am looking for a good source.

Thanks,

Sweet Peet is not just manure piled in a corner and sold as a mulch. It has a patented formula and process that makes it "The Best Mulch on Earth" The process includes the killing of weed seeds and the adding of tanins to create a product that is not only 100% organic but is great to amend poor soils and to use as a mulch to keep weeds down and beautify your beds. It also has great a water retention value, great especially in the hot summers.
Unlike other mulches that can tend to clump up after a few month or loose there color Sweet Peet stays lose and keeps its rich dark color for ever. Once you try it you will never go back to conventional mulch even with the higher cost.

The post above me reeks of spam, but I'll reply anyway:

"Sweet Peet is not just manure piled in a corner and sold as a mulch..."

No one ever claimed it was manure piled in a corner... There were claims that it is compost, because that is essentially what it is. It is compost made from horse manure which is piled into a compost pile with hay and sawdust. It is monitored a fair bit, by the looks of things, but commercial hot compost facilities do just about the same.

"The process includes the killing of weed seeds and the adding of tanins to create a product that is not only 100% organic but is great to amend poor soils and to use as a mulch to keep weeds down and beautify your beds."

Hot composting does the following:
1.) Kills weed seeds.
2.) Creates compost which is a "great amendment for poor soils" that is made of 100% organic matter.
3.) Creates a material (compost) which is a great mulch.

The only difference from most compost and your compost product is that you add tannins, not for nutritive value, but for longer lasting coloring.

Once again, I don't argue that it's a good product - it's compost (albeit with branding and marketing attached, but what doesn't have that these days). If you do not have the time / land / means to create your own compost, then buy bagged / labelled compost - there's nothing wrong with it - if you do have the time and resources, then make your own.

As mentioned, the only thing I object to is the marketing and the hype... and now the spammers :P

I used some last year - got the left-overs from my brother's bulk delivery in CT - wish I could find it here in NJ. LOVED the stuff. Great look, texture, plants did very well, and for some strange reason, the squirrels stayed out of the beds that were mulched with this. Go figure!?!

This product is too expensive, so many other options out there for half the price. I personally use Coast of Main Products, they are fantastic. Another option if you're looking for a product similar to sweet peat is Green Envy, I think they are out of CT and NY. I used sweet peat and found it much to hot, it burned my plants, not a bad soil amendment but you have to be careful, just not worth the money, especially when the product is made from horse manure and these people that make it are probably getting it for free, actually I believe they use their own trucks to pick up the manure from local farms and charge the farm to take the manure, so they actually get paid for the crap they take and resell it as a mulch! At least that is what my neighbor tells me as he has his mulch picked up from a driver that actually told him all the mulch goes to the sweet peat facility in pawling NY.

coast of main were even more expensive than sweet peet - - $14 for a 2 cu ft bag vs $45 per cubic yard!

To amend clay soil, you can use pine bark mulch, which is crushed pine bark. They also sell something called "soil conditioner" which is made of pine bark.

Kellogg has a product for raised bed which I find it very good to amend soil. It is about 10 bucks for 3 cubic foot. I pay 2 bucks for pine bark mulch. I use it to make 5-1-1 an just to mulch the raised beds with it.