Hello Friends! Today we will look into What is Sphagnum Peat Moss in gardening. What are
the uses and benefits of peat moss in your garden. Then How to and how much of peat moss
to use to make a potting mix or seed starter mix. All That�s coming up!
Welcome back! If you are a hobby gardener or interested in growing plants, Consider
subscribing to this channel. Also TURN ON the notification bell icon and so that you
won�t miss any updates. Well, All of us know that tha lot of your
gardening success mainly lies in your potting mix. Whether you grow conventionally in soil
or grow in containers, the soil or potting medium needs to provide the plant root systems
with: � Good aeration
� Good drainage � Enough moisture
� And the ability to absorb nutrients by roots.
So, Sphagnum Peat moss � whether you have heard about it or not, lets learn and gain
some important knowledge about this stuff and utilize its benefits in gardening.
So, For Home gardening Level, We will use Peat moss and Sphagnum peat moss synonymously.
The difference is simple. Peat moss is just dead Sphagnum moss and Sphagnum moss belongs
to a group of plants called Bryophytes. These plants produce only spores and no seeds or
flowers. � These are harvested and processed to use
as peat moss. The one you are seeing is unprocessed or partly processed form of peat moss. It
has an earthy smell. � If its fully dried and powdered, it looks
similar to coco-peat.
Benefits of Peat Moss in Gardening � It�s a Perfect Soil Conditioner: that
means it helps in loosening the compacted soil to improve aeration and increases the
water holding capacity and helps in nutrients and water binding which aids in absorption
of nutrients by the roots. � Peat moss also contains traces of vitamins,
polyphenols and humic acid. It has a slightly acidic pH. But the nutrients in it are only
in traces and not sufficient enough to call peat moss a fertilizer.
� The pH is slightly acidic which can increase nutrient absorption by roots and also very
useful for acid loving plants. � It loosens clay rich soils and compacted
soils, improving their porosity and makes your perfect well draining soil.
� Retains Moisture well in soil. It increases the Water holding capacity of soils.
� It is a sterile growing medium. Peat moss is weed and pathogen free. It has disease
suppressing qualities against certain root-rot pathogens, making it ideal as a component
in hydroponic gardening. � Used for propagating seeds and seedlings
and It is completely organic. � Its also useful in lawn dressing, In vegetable
gardens and raised beds or for seed starting. � Hanging baskets: Often the wire type hanging
baskets. It makes them light and also retains moisture.
� Specialized plants: Peat moss is the ideal medium for carnivorous plants.
� Its also used in air layering � the best plant propagation technique.
So, Now How To Use Peat Moss In Your Garden and How much to use
Peat moss is mostly not a stand alone growing medium except for some seed germinations and
cloning through stem cuttings. Peat moss to start with is a dry stuff, but once soaked
and allowed to absorb water it becomes a spongy. So make sure to pre-soak it for few minutes
and squeeze it before adding to your mix. Now we will look into some of the common practical
applications for peat moss and the question arising is: How much to mix in your potting
mix? Well it depends on the purpose you want to use it for. Mixing some peat moss with
your soil may not be helpful, because it get too compacted in heavy soil. Best is to make
a potting mix using various other media like cocopeat, vermicompost and so on. You can
really make a very light weight potting mix using peat moss, specially for teres gardening
and hanging baskets. Regarding the proportions for mixing it in
your soil, there is no fixed percentage. For your universal potting mix, you can mix this
in place of cocopeat or even mix with cocopeat! So using about 30 percent peat moss should
be fine for general potting mix. For seed starting mix and to insert your stem
cuttings for cloning and also for Air layering, you can use peat moss as stand alone medium
or mix with cocopeat, perlite and other stuff and again no fixed proportions. The general
concept is If you are not using garden soil the whole mix is generally sterile and gives
more success for seed germination and rooting cuttings.
So there we have it folks, that was our short episode on Using Sphagnum Peat Moss for your
plants. If you like the video, please give it a thumbs up, share the video and comment
below the video. Also Consider subscribing if you are new to the channel. Happy Gardening!