Wet bags of Ocean Forest

[obijohn]

I have several bags of Ocean Forest that got soaked yesterday, things are so heavy I can barely move them. I heard this can ruin the soil, although I'm not sure why that would be. Should I leave the bags in the sun with an opening? Not needing to use them for a few weeks. Should i not worry about it and just use when I am ready to?

What I read basically said lots of moisture would break down a few things and the soil would be"used up" and have issues absorbing moisture. Isn't moist soil the whole point of using it, it's normally moist when used if you water normally, or is it the closed up in bag thing that's an issue?

 

[hotrodharley]

Just use it. Now. Wait for it to dry and you’re inviting molds and fungus. Mix with perlite for faster drying but just plant into it. No worse than some idiot flushing it.

 

[ComfortCreator]

I would spread out the bags and open them up on the top side to let them dry

 

[LeastExpectedGrower]

I wet all the soil I use before putting it in a pot/bag and planting in it anyway.

Congratulations on figuring out how to have that happen without any work whatsoever.

 

[hotrodharley]

Trying to dry in the bag is going to bring disappointment. It’s peat eh? It’s used to being wet.

 

[MAGpie81]

As hotrod said- the main issue is mold.
Of course some of the material would start to break down but that’s just what soil is- broken down organic matter. Besides being hard to move it’s fine- just get some fresh air in there.
If it has a lot of peat or coco, you just did yourself a favor.
Edit: It’s Ocean Forest, so yeah, good amount of peat- keep moist, methinks, but I only used it once a long time ago

 

[MAGpie81]

Trying to dry in the bag is going to bring disappointment. It’s peat eh? It’s used to being wet.

…and don’t let it dry out! Found that out with my first bag of pure peat. Becomes extremely hydrophobic when dry.

 

[LeastExpectedGrower]

Trying to dry in the bag is going to bring disappointment. It’s peat eh? It’s used to being wet.

Great for comfy napping too! if you don't mind soggy pajamas.

 

[hotrodharley]

Great for comfy napping too! if you don't mind soggy pajamas.

I’m surrounded by peat bogs. Most still wet. The rivers and streams here and in Yukon etc are brown. Lakes too. Clear like beer but mos def brown from all the tannin in peat. It grows in round clumps in very large areas. Boreal forest and tundra. Overlies permafrost.

 

[hotrodharley]

…and don’t let it dry out! Found that out with my first bag of pure peat. Becomes extremely hydrophobic when dry.

I’ll say!!!!

 

[LeastExpectedGrower]

I’m surrounded by peat bogs. Most still wet. The rivers and streams here and in Yukon etc are brown. Lakes too. Clear like beer but mos def brown from all the tannin in peat. It grows in round clumps in very large areas. Boreal forest and tundra. Overlies permafrost.

How's your area doing for permafrost these days? Its not so perma in large parts of the world anymore.

We should call a ritual and do a bog sacrifice if you wanna host. I have a stone knife around here somewhere...

 

[MAGpie81]

How's your area doing for permafrost these days? Its not so perma in large parts of the world anymore.

We should call a ritual and do a bog sacrifice if you wanna host. I have a stone knife around here somewhere...

I knew there was a dark origin for gathering peat moss…

 

[LeastExpectedGrower]

I knew there was a dark origin for gathering peat moss…

Well, there's lots of mystical connotations. In many places the peat was what people cooked on, heated their homes with, etc. It also preserved bodies due to the high level of tannins in the peat/water. So yeah, people used peat for human sacrifices (as well as animal and other ritual deposits). It gave life and preserved life.

 

[Jjgrow420]

Well, there's lots of mystical connotations. In many places the peat was what people cooked on, heated their homes with, etc. It also preserved bodies due to the high level of tannins in the peat/water. So yeah, people used peat for human sacrifices (as well as animal and other ritual deposits). It gave life and preserved life.

Guinness too. Mmmm

 

[hotrodharley]

How's your area doing for permafrost these days? Its not so perma in large parts of the world anymore.

We should call a ritual and do a bog sacrifice if you wanna host. I have a stone knife around here somewhere...

It’s melting actually. Not melted but it’s definitely going deep. We opened a ground freezer in 2016 and it was flooded. Never before. You could store stuff in it year round. Not anymore. It was the only way to store cold stuff at the homestead. I live with electricity now.

 

[obijohn]

So what I had read was, the peat breaks down after being wet. But IMO that's kind of the point for a plant. Past few years I did have an issue with the soil being hydrophobic, pretty sure it was damp and sitting in the bag for months, and it did not absorb water well. I probably overcompensated with the watering, roots didn't develop well so I basically had several little bonsai plants. This time I am not keeping the plants wet, letting them dry before watering.

For context I grow outdoors in pots, these are clones that may be ready to transfer into a bit larger container, the ones they are in are pretty small

 

[LeastExpectedGrower]

It’s melting actually. Not melted but it’s definitely going deep. We opened a ground freezer in 2016 and it was flooded. Never before. You could store stuff in it year round. Not anymore. It was the only way to store cold stuff at the homestead. I live with electricity now.

This makes me really sad. Thousands of years if not hundreds of thousands and it's all falling apart.

 

[hotrodharley]

This makes me really sad. Thousands of years if not hundreds of thousands and it's all falling apart.

Did you see where the methane is exploding in Siberia and leaving huge craters?

 

[Jjgrow420]

So what I had read was, the peat breaks down after being wet. But IMO that's kind of the point for a plant. Past few years I did have an issue with the soil being hydrophobic, pretty sure it was damp and sitting in the bag for months, and it did not absorb water well. I probably overcompensated with the watering, roots didn't develop well so I basically had several little bonsai plants. This time I am not keeping the plants wet, letting them dry before watering.

For context I grow outdoors in pots, these are clones that may be ready to transfer into a bit larger container, the ones they are in are pretty small

Use yucca extract to help peat absorb water

 

[PadawanWarrior]

Use yucca extract to help peat absorb water

Yep. Yucca works great for hydrophobic peat.

I have several bags of Ocean Forest that got soaked yesterday, things are so heavy I can barely move them. I heard this can ruin the soil, although I'm not sure why that would be. Should I leave the bags in the sun with an opening? Not needing to use them for a few weeks. Should i not worry about it and just use when I am ready to?

What I read basically said lots of moisture would break down a few things and the soil would be"used up" and have issues absorbing moisture. Isn't moist soil the whole point of using it, it's normally moist when used if you water normally, or is it the closed up in bag thing that's an issue?

If it's soaking wet just mix it often to mix air in so the bacteria stays mainly aerobic. You could also mix in some more perlite or pumice/lava rock to add more aeration to the mix.

The soil won't be used up at all just from being wet. That will just make the soil more active and the nutrients more broken down and usable immediately. But if you have runoff more nutrients will get washed away. I don't know if that makes sense, I just smoked.