Peat Moss

Let me introduce you to a medium that is used a lot in Horticulture.

PEAT MOSS

The dark brown organic matter known as Peat is a unique organic material with several benefits for any gardener or horticulturist. 

To keep it very short and simple Peat is sterile, absorbent and prevents soil compaction. Peat Moss retains water much better than average soils. It can hold up to 20 times it's weight in water.

In addition it aerates and improves drainage of heavier soils, allowing roots to grow and take up nutrients. 

It also does not contain harmful pathogens or any weed seeds.

Therefore Peat Moss makes a great seed starting medium and is often added to potting mixes to improve the soil structure of the growing medium.

So what is Peat Moss and where does it come from?

Peat moss is a non-renewable resource that takes several millennia to form and grows less than a millimeter a year. It is formed out of the decomposed remains of sphagnum moss and other living things forming a dead and fibrous material. This process happens in so called peatlands or bogs/wetlands after deglaciation on poorly drained soils and the right conditions and environment where bacterial action is reduced resulting in a rate of plant production that exceeds the rate of decomposition. 

Peat lands provides habitat for a wide array of peatland plants, including orchids and carnivorous plants as well as sedges and other 'lime hating' plants such as Ericaceae (Heath or Heather)as well as many birds and Dragonflies for example. 

Sphagnum mosses occour mainly in the northern Hemisphere in peat bogs, conifer forests. Most Peat moss is mined in Canada and is a strictly regulated industry. The most northern occurrence is in the arctic in Svalbard, Norway. 

In the Southern Hemisphere part of the Magellanic moorland makes up the largest peat areas, but Peat was and still is found in New Zealand. Like other parts of the world New Zealand has lost large areas of peatland/wetland. Latest statistics say that it lost 90% in 150 years due to heavy farming. Nowadays the Department of Conservation in New Zealand ensures enough Sphagnum moss is left to allow regrowth, which can take up to 32 years to fully recover. 

Peatlands have an impact on our ecosystem as they reduce pollution levels in close by water ecosystems. And by storing and accumulation organic matter, peatlands play a significant role in reducing greenhouse emissions. The slow process of decomposition of organic material also results in preserving information about the earths past. Climate condition and evolution can be reconstructed by studying the depths of peatlands. 

Farming or mining peat moss is concerning as it is a carbon intensive process, and removing peat releases large amounts of Co2 into the atmosphere and reduces the ability of peatland ecosystems to act as a carbon sink. 

If you are now concerned using peat moss for your potting mix, I am with you on that. It doesn't feel great knowing some wetlands are destroyed and can not be regenerated. Make sure you know where your peat comes from and that it has been harvested under sustainable regulations. Otherwise find an alternative!

Compost for example offers similar benefits and is a renewable resource. By making your own compost you can even reduce the waste in your household and our landfills. 

More about compost on my next matter blog!

Another alternative is coconut fibre or Coir. It is a the outer husk of the cocnut and therefore a by product if not used for mats or brushes. Not sure if the Coconut Industry is any better, but worth looking into!?

thanks for reading :) 

If you want to know more about Peat Moss: I found this website quite interesting and helpful.

https://peatmoss.com