Using Peat Moss Instead of Bark in Rhododendron Soils
westes Zone 9b California SF Bay
6 years ago
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westes Zone 9b California SF Bay
6 years agoRelated Discussions
Using Peat Moss to amend soil?
Comments (46)I second Wayne's hands-on experience. I have rock-hard alkaline clay, pH 7.7, high in magnesium. The soil is so hard that it broke my large rototiller machine, and a shovel. My husband used a pick-ax to dig holes. 12 years ago I planted 6 rhodo. and azaleas. I brought down my pH by mixing 1/2 peatmoss. I never water those acid-loving plants, they are still alive. This year I used acid-fertilizer FOR THE FIRST TIME to increase the blooms and foliage - they have tons of buds now. I have a large rose garden with 42+ roses. Since roses are fussy, I move them around or dig them up to gargage them in my zone 5a winter. I made many holes: 1) pine mulch mixed with clay gave the fluffiest soil and best root-growth, thus most blooms. Pine bark is dry at first, but once decomposed, it retains water. A rosarian faxed me the ARS paper on field experiment on a large scale that documented dryness of pine bark at first, but once decomposed, it retains water. That's why the large Ball professional potting soil has 45% COMPOSTED fine pine mulch. Another hole with 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 pine park, 1/3 native clay .... Six months later I dug the rose up: the soil is fluffy, but rooth growth is less. Another hole with 1/3 coarse sand, 1/3 pine park, 1/3 clay, then topped with alfalfa meal. Six months later I dug up, and found tons of earthworms. Several holes with 1/2 peat moss and 1/2 clay. I dug the rose up: Root growth is restrained, soil is still compact. Another hole with 1/3 grass clipping, 1/4 peatmoss, 1/4 alfalfa meal, and native clay. This glued up badly, soil became more compact. The grass clipping is innocent, the culprit is the fine particles of peatmoss and alfalfa meal which binded with the high positive charge of magnesium in my clay soil. Alfalfa meal is high in calcium, and calcium precipitates in alkaline clay, making phosphorus unavailable for blooms. Why I do such experiments? I majored in chemistry for 2 years before getting my B.S. in Computer Science. It's fun to use my chemistry background to experiment in the garden. I second everything Wayne wrote. He's right, experience and ACTUAL TESTING over many months is the best teacher....See MorePeat moss good for soil?
Comments (138)I guess it's all a matter of perspective. If the active harvesting of peat for horticultural purposes of the .02% of the total Canadian peat reserves causes greater environmental alarm and concern than than the 15% that has been lost to development through deforestation, urbanization, industrialization and agriculture, then something is radically wrong with the underlying logic. This will continue to be a debate that will have little resolution. Diehard environmentalists will continue to insist that horticultural peat is a non-renewable resource despite all evidence to the contrary. And while they consider this evidence faulty simply because it is produced by those involved in the peat industry - for scientific as well as commercial interests - does not negate the fact that those involved are the only ones bothered to complile and produce the statistics that represent this evidence -- all the rest is merely suppostion and innuendo repeated ad nauseum. One doesn't often hear from these same folks about their boycotting of Canadian lumber and agricultural products that have a much greater impact on the demise of peat bogs - they pick their arguments to suit their case, as do most of the vast uninformed and uneducated. It's still a matter of personal choice. If for whatever reason - based on ill-formed logic or otherwise - one chooses not to use peat, that's fine. But to lambaste those who do based on the faulty logic they advocate that the use of horticultural Canadian peat is somehow radically and irretrievably altering the environment is to ignore their own personal impact that has a far greater adverse affect....See MoreAV Miracle Gro soil and Peat Moss
Comments (3)I use a 1-1-1 mix of peat moss-perlite-vermiculite like many others. It works great and it's not too expensive either. A small bag of each when mixed will make quite a lot of potting mix. Make sure to get the small bag of "peat moss" as this has been milled. The large bales of "sphagnum peat moss" often have not been milled and are too coarse for AV pots. Hope this helps....See MorePeat........Peat Moss.....Sphagnum Moss.?
Comments (7)Sphagnum peat, aka peat moss, is a common ingredient in many potting soils. Potting soils are really soil-less mixes of ingredients designed to accomodate the very specific needs of container grown plants. Peat moss tends to be very moisture retentive, generally of a very small particle size and quite acidic. For these reasons, it should be used sparingly in any potting/container mix. The primary concern of any potting mix is fast drainage and good aeration and too much peat in the mix compromises both of these issues. It is definitely NOT an ingredient I would include in a potting medium to be used for cacti or succulents. For the record, peat is the decomposed remains of various plant products - sedges, mosses (like sphagnum), reeds or assorted other bog loving plants. Sphagnum is a moss that is often used as a decorative item to top off planted containers or to line hanging baskets, etc. Sphagnum peat - or peat moss, as it is most commonly referred to - is the decomposed product, found widely in peat bogs in the upper northern hemisphere. Canada has the world's largest supply of sphagnum peat bogs....See Morewestes Zone 9b California SF Bay
6 years agowestes Zone 9b California SF Bay
6 years agowestes Zone 9b California SF Bay
6 years agowestes Zone 9b California SF Bay
6 years ago
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