Comments on: Peat Wars: Should Ancient Bogs Be Miracle Plant Food? Or Precious Carbon Sink?

By: Treset

Treset — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 09:02:09 +0000

In well drained sandy soil peat moss is at its best since it really helps hold water, allowing plants to make use of the water before it drains away.

By: Cyber

Cyber — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 08:01:24 +0000

Oh, this is “80beats” blog, not “80′s Beats”…my bad

By: Cyber

Cyber — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 07:57:27 +0000

Those who forget the past are doomed to de-Peat it…

Don’t Peat it! (peat it)
Don’t Peat it! (peat it)
Gardeners must be defeated
Coconut husks can
Do the job right
Compost is better
Plants will delight!

Don’t Peat it! (peat it peat it peat it)!
Don’t Peat it! (peat it peat it peat it)!

By: Cynthia

Cynthia — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 23:28:55 +0000

Brian Too,

Like the article says, peat bogs are created by rotted plant matter that has been decaying for MILLIONS OF YEARS. And it goes on to explain: ” Peat bogs decay so slowly because the oxygen-free environment of the wet bogs along with compounds in the moss’s cell walls deter microbes that would otherwise digest them.”

No oxygen = slow decay = peat bog
A lot of oxygen = FAST DECAY = NO PEAT BOG, you’d probably end up with something like compost

Because of the different chemical reactions in oxygen and no oxygen conditions, (oxydo-reduction reactions) carbon is stored when there is decomposition without oxygen. It doesn’t happen in aerobic (with oxygen) reactions.

By: Brian Too

Brian Too — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 23:26:27 +0000

Is there any good reason why peat isn’t a renewable resource??

By: Janice

Janice — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 14:03:42 +0000

I agree with Kaviani. Gardeners who hold to their outdated ideas of peat moss are not gardeners at all.

Peat just washes away in the rain, and if you are trying to use it to amend a clay-based soil, it will adhere to the clay and turn into concrete. Use coconut husk if you must, but a mixture of compost, sand and decaying leaves will do much more for your garden than peat, which is completely useless.

Leave the peat in the bog where it belongs. Peat mining is a travesty and is destroying entire watersheds and valuable ecosystems. I think it should be banned, and peat moss removed from the market.

By: Kaviani

Kaviani — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 20:51:03 +0000

There is absolutely nothing “nutritious” about peat. It is, in fact, devoid of most nutrients and its only redeeming value is to retain moisture in sandy soils.

Do you know what else does that? Renewable sources like compost (which is also high in soil flora and trace minerals) and coconut coir.

These gardeners are simply victims of their own dogma and stubbornness. They are an embarrassment.

http://gardenrant.com/2009/04/ken-druse-dishes-the-dirt-about-peat-moss.html