Peat moss can get wet then rehydrate quickly and doesnt compact or break down easily. As prevalent as peat moss may be, its not the only option for aerating and improving soil water retention in the soilin fact, its not even the simplest or most cost-effective! Many municipalities also offer free wood chips for residents to use. Peat moss is very helpful in growing vegetables and plants that love an acidic environment. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc, or its affiliates. Are they the same? Were talking, of course, about composta substance resplendent in beneficial microorganisms that add great nutritional value to your soil. of the Quebec Peat Moss Producers Association and the CSPMA, and as the science coordinator of the Canadian Peat Industry, what is the importance in properly managing our peat bogs from an ecological perspective? Sphagnum is a type of moss that's most notable for its amazing ability to absorb. Because peat is formed in the watery environment of an oxygen-free bog it decomposes into carbon. Use this new knowledge youve armed yourself with to improve your garden even more! The Granrosi kitchen compost bin is the perfect odorless storage container for organic and food waste in your home; the integrated non-smell charcoal filter blocks odor naturally and effectively, leaving your home smelling fresh. Buy It: Organic Mechanics Garden Center Potting Soil, $6, Espendshade's Garden Centers. She has a qualification from the Royal Horticultural Society. Daniel Moss. Pros & Cons of Peat Moss | Home Guides | SF Gate In 2018, Lucy took on the role of Global Editor in Chief for Realhomes.com, taking the site from a small magazine add-on to a global success. It is sold . However, sometimes this resistance to change can lead to curious outcomes, that I would argue not only get in the way of us becoming better gardeners, but ironically even hamper our connection with our gardening heritage. Apart from Agricultural and Gardening purposes peat is also used for different purposes such as a source of fuel (in some countries), water filtration, preservation, balneotherapy, etc. The peat problem and alternatives - Green Living Tips We are living in an insane world where CO2, the lifeblood of every plant and tree on the planet, is officially considered a pollutant. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Join UsSign up for all the latest garden and orchard tips! And unfortunately, they are being harvested at much the same rate. It's especially useful for growing flowers and food in containers, because it helps plants maintain the moisture they need. They form a dead, fibrous material over the course of millennia. So make sure the moss is wet properly. The answer has to do with what happens when it's harvested. Mother's Day: Facts, Folklore, Recipes, and Ideas, Father's Day: History and Celebration Ideas. When choosing your wood-based materials, be sure to use ones that come from untreated wood, Locally sourced is best if you can find it, as this will help ensure the health of your soil. its very helpful. They may instead contain other plant-based materials such as coconut coir (a fiber extracted from discarded coconut husks), recycled paper fibers, and compost. Her work for Homes & Gardens and Amateur Gardening, the world's oldest weekly gardening publication, involves matching gardening tasks with each season, covering everything from sowing and planting, to pruning, taking cuttings, dealing with pests and diseases and keeping houseplants healthy. A last word of caution if you want to use sphagnum peat, or use it regularly. Better Homes & Gardens - 100 years of powering your passions at home, The 11 Best Seed-Starting Soil Mixes of 2023, The 13 Best Potting Soils for Indoor and Outdoor Plants, How and When to Plant Pumpkins for Halloween, How to Use Compost: 9 Ways to Give Your Plants a Boost, This Eco-Friendly Alternative to Peat Moss Actually Stores Carbon, How No-Dig Gardening Leads to Healthier Soil and Thriving Plants, The 5 Best Soils for Succulents of 2023 for Thriving Plants, How Melissa Gilberts Lifestyle Brand Is Using the Home to Redefine Aging, The 11 Best Seed Starting Trays of 2023 to Help Kickstart Your Garden, How to Create Organic Soil for Your Healthiest Garden Ever, a horticulture professor at Washington State University, soil better able to absorb and hold water, Organic Mechanics Garden Center Potting Soil, $6, Espendshade's Garden Centers, make a conscious choice about what to use. Peat bogs, where this moss is located, are part of Nature's water purifiers. Green-waste compost contains a lot of nutrients, but they are released more slowly, especially nitrogen, so they may need an initial boost of feed.'. 'Some peat-free compost contains green waste, which may contain weeds, micro-plastics and fungal diseases. Sphagnum moss, on the other hand, is a plant that grows on the surface layer above the swamp. Maintain the ratio of 2 parts of existing soil to 1 part of new amendments. One such alternative that has become very popular nowadays is Coconut coir or coco coir. Peat moss: Good for plants but bad for the planet? | Environment The pH level provided by coco peat is also an ideal, balanced level. 3. When the demand outpaces natural production, there is a danger of over-farming. Ever heard of trench compositing? 26. Disrupted or desiccated peatlands, which is what happens when we harvest them. What makes the use of peat moss unsustainable? If you can't find a peat-free potting mix that you like, you can look for the logo of the CSPMA on bagged mixes. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. Some preservationists have likened the environmental importance of peat bogs to that of rainforests. In addition, while it is often used to aid in water retention, peat moss that is allowed to dry out can also hamper water absorption in the long term. 'Because of this, selling peat compost to amateur gardeners is being banned, and as a result, retailers are coming up with alternatives that are more eco-friendly. How To Pick A Christmas Tree What To Look For! And while peat moss is technically renewable, the rate of growth is extremely slow, taking centuries to fully develop. (modern). The debate rages over whether peat moss is truly bad for the environment. Its in a large number of potting mixes and soil bags. As the sphagnum moss dies in these bogs, it very slowly decays into what becomes the peat moss that's so popular for gardening. And if it helps to convince you, remember this is actually far more traditional than using peat. so using peat moss as mulch is not a good idea. Based on the decomposition state Peat moss can be of three types: Fibric peat moss: It is the least decomposed one among the three types and contains fibers in intact condition. But it hides some disturbing problems for the environment and our health. Canada supplies up to 80% of North Americas peat moss. Peat Moss: Benefits and Disadvantages - Sunday Gardener Peat is a naturally forming, organic substance which forms in anaerobic conditions (in the absence of oxygen) usually in the presence of stagnant water. Wetlands also support a wide range of goods and services, such as tourism, conservation parks and more. What Is Peat Moss? Pros and Cons of Using Peat Moss Here are the most important benefits of peat moss: Peat moss is a highly absorbent material. You need to pay the extra, choose a top brand, get to know it and understand how to make it work then stick with it.'. You may wonder, "Why is peat moss bad for my garden?" Our experts at A Garden Patch can help you understand the consequences of using peat moss as a soil additive. They have pretty similar rates of water retention, aeration, and soil drainageall of which are among the highest appeals of peat moss. It might lose its ability to absorb water and its acidity but you can recharge those features. To receive the magazine, become a member now. Sign up for our WEEKLY newsletters - and never miss out on the amazing news and comment articles we publish. 'Coir, or coconut fiber to give it its full name, is made from coconut husks and is very popular as an organic compost. What can I use instead of peat moss? Experts explain the pitfalls - MSN From this, it is easy to understand why peat moss harvesting is strictly controlled and its use has decreased significantly in much of Europe. The usage of Peat moss can be plenty, but here I will only focus on its use in agriculture and gardening. Remember, peat forms very, very slowly in cool wetlands as sphagnum moss decays. Peat is acidic (low pH) and limestone is usually added to the mix to neutralize the acidic reaction and balance the pH. This is made possible by the organic compounds and nutrient density in our suggested alternatives, which are absent from peat moss. We believe in the free flow of information LinkedIn Peat has been a staple ingredient of composts sold in British garden centres since the 1960s, even though it's not actually that nutritious for. The pH level in wood can be low, making the soil more acidic, which is good for acid-loving plants such as rhododendrons and azaleas, but not be the best option for plants that prefer a more alkaline environment. Even a small garden has room for a compost can and all you need to make wonderful, crumbly, garden-boosting compost is green kitchen peelings, grass clipping and chopped up woody prunings.'. Think of raw veggies, egg shells, citrus peelseven coffee grounds! Peat moss is a soil amendment that is a dark-brown fibrous material used as a planting medium for growing plants. Keep testing soil periodically with a simple soil tester like this. You can also try making your own mix from these alternatives. Its even sold by the bale in many places! We use affiliate links to run our site. Fresh manure is more acidic and has a higher concentration of nutrients, particularly nitrogen, which can be damaging to plants. What Is Peat Moss? The industry says it harvests less than 2% of the existing supply each year, and that this fairly low amount of collection keeps up with demand. To mine peat moss, you have to scrape off the top layer of living sphagnum moss. "Otherwise there wouldn't be any plants except right around peat bogs." These hulls are generally discarded, however, when preserved, they can be used as a beneficial soil additive. Black gold helps with drainage, attracts beneficial earthworms, and provides nutritional value. So in the absence of reliable industry-level sustainability statistics, I decided to take a look at the recent news surrounding peat mining in Canada. Thats before we get on to the fact that peat can become hydrophobic (water-repelling) quite quickly when it dries out. See some of Amazon's best composting buys below, including a wormery for compost. The amount of peat moss harvested from Canadian peat bogs every year is nearly 60 times less than the total annual accumulation of new peat moss. When you see it, you'll know that at least there's been an attempt to restore harvested bogs. The views expressed in the articles published on this site may not necessarily reflect those of the trust, its trustees or its staff. Though compost requires regular refreshing to continue serving your garden, the upside is that compost can be made from just about any organic substance you would otherwise throw away. The key is responsible management that sets aside areas for protection and conservation and puts in place management practices that ensure the retention of ecosystem goods and services following development. Always mix it with different other mediums before use. You may rely on peat moss to boost your plants' growth, particularly at this time of year, and be wondering why. You can mix other growing mediums like perlite, vermiculite, etc, to add aeration and adjust the PH of this medium. However, despite its gardening perks, our planet may not be singing the same praises. Peat moss is made up of many layers of partially decomposed plant remains. One thing that is for sure, though, is that local groups resent and resist further mining of peatlands. Feeling excited about some of these peat moss alternatives youve found? Why is peat moss bad? - Quora Before adding it to the soil make sure you do the. Areawise Russia has the largest peatland in the world. Wetlands such as peatlands are the home to a vast diversity of flora and fauna. It is a high quality horticultural peat product. Using compost helps to reduce landfill waste, while providing your soil with rich nutrients, reducing your need for chemical fertilizers. The gardening world can be slow to change and, as much as that can frustrate even infuriate me at times I love the reassuring familiarity and nostalgia. While not outrageously expensive, this non-sustainable compound will get pricey if you continue using it for all your gardening needs over time. Sphagnum Moss Vs. Peat Moss: What's the Difference? (& How to Use Each) If you remember, we measure soil pH on a 14-point scale from acid to alkaline, with neutral at 7.0. anything lower than 7 is acidic and anything that is more than 7 is alkaline. In the wild, peat moss is found in decomposing peat bogsa large majority of which can be found in Canadas wetland regions. So if you are planning to grow crops in peat moss you have to add nutrients from outside. So buyer beware. 'If this is the case with your container or basket you need to give it a light watering with extra plant food. This substance is made from the fibers of the coconut husk. Because of its ability to hold water and nutrients well, peat moss is a good choice for hydroponic gardens. Despite its benefits in the garden, the growing and harvesting practices of peat moss have come under scrutiny as environmentally unsound practices, deeming it an unsustainable option for gardeners. Such statements have appeared in books and magazines over the years and can be quite damaging to the peat moss industry. Most plants thrive between 6.0 and 6.5 because most plant nutrients are available in that range. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. Learn more about why coir is the best peat moss alternative in this article. When choosing a wood product, it is best to use ones that are made from byproducts of untreated, locally sourced wood and not products harvested from trees specifically for horticultural uses. You will often see it included in potting soil or lining hanging baskets, for example. I have planted perennials in coconut coir planters and placed those directly in the ground by the next year theyve decomposed nicely. They certainly help, but don't result in such forgiving soil: with peat moss, you can underwater or overwater your plants and they'll still be fine. This most often includes fruits like blueberries or flowers such as rhododendrons or azaleas. In our earlier article, we discussed different soilless growing mediums. The Best Glazed Carrots Recipe Youve Ever Tasted. Is it actually possible to extract peat moss sustainably? Peat moss is acidic. It is being harvested faster than we could ever grow it, essentially making it non-renewable. Both can be very easy to come by: simply piling up and turning rotting leaves occasionally in your own yard to compost over winter can ensure you have a good supply of a free, sustainable soil improver. Is there any difference between peat moss and potting, Read More Can you Grow Plants Only In Peat Moss? Both are used for horticultural purposes, specifically to aid in soil retention and amendment. Read More 5 Reasons Why You Should Be Growing Strawberries In Coco CoirContinue, We use affiliate links to run our site. In addition, coco peat has naturally occurring antifungal qualities, making it an even more nutrient-dense alternative to peat moss. Peat moss improves the quality of garden and potting soil. Luckily, there are better, more sustainable, and locally sourced alternatives you can use to amend your soil. We urge everyone to make their own if they can. Check out our guide on how to use moss poles for your climbing plants! You can reuse an old peat bale. Peatlands store nearly a third of all the worlds soil carbon. It contains little to no nutrients and requires constant work. Holly Crossley, our Senior Content Editor (Gardens), explains: 'Harvesting peat moss is very damaging for the environment. It wouldn't be very green-thumb of us not to acknowledge the environmental effects that peat moss can have on the planet, which is why we've also outlined some alternative options that are more eco-friendly and work just as well. So if your soil is too alkaline for your plant, and you want to lower the pH level, you can mix peat moss with the soil and produce a more acidic environment.