Don’t confuse sphagnum peat moss with sphagnum moss, which is made up of long, fibrous strands of plant material. Peat moss is sometimes called sphagnum peat moss because much of the dead material in a peat bog comes from sphagnum moss that grew on top of the bog. It must be mixed with other ingredients to make up between one-third to two-thirds of the total volume of the mix. Peat moss alone does not make a good potting medium. It also holds onto nutrients so that they aren’t rinsed out of the soil when you water the plant.

It holds several times its weight in moisture, and releases the moisture to the plants roots as needed. Peat moss is an important component of most potting soils and seed starting mediums. Peat moss doesn’t contain harmful microorganisms or weed seeds that you may find in poorly processed compost. Since it doesn’t compact or break down readily, one application of peat moss lasts for several years.

For plants that like a more alkaline soil, compost may be a better choice. It has an acid pH, so it’s ideal for acid loving plants, such as blueberries and camellias. Gardeners use peat moss mainly as a soil amendment or ingredient in potting soil. Even though the mining is regulated, and only 0.02 percent of the reserves are available for harvest, groups such as the International Peat Society point out that the mining process releases massive amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, and the bogs continue to exhale carbon long after the mining concludes. There is considerable controversy surrounding the mining of peat moss. Most of the peat moss used in the United States comes from remote bogs in Canada. Since the process is so slow, peat moss isn’t considered a renewable resource. It takes several millennia for peat moss to form, and peat bogs gain less than a millimeter in depth every year. The difference between peat moss and the compost gardeners make in their backyard is that peat moss is composed mostly of moss, and the decomposition happens without the presence of air, slowing the rate of decomposition. Peat moss is dead fibrous material that forms when mosses and other living material decompose in peat bogs. Keep reading to learn more about peat moss uses. While performing these amazing tasks, it also improves the texture and consistency of the soil. It has a remarkable ability to efficiently manage water and hold on to nutrients that would otherwise leach out of the soil. Peat moss first became available to gardeners in the mid-1900s, and since then it has revolutionized the way we grow plants.

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