Why use peat moss

im trying to figure out what to mix with the standard soil thats already in the ground. i didnt know if peat moss would be all right...im not into the whole miracle grow stuff, i want this to be organic. any suggestions, and mixing ratios? thanks everyone

ps- it is an outdoor grow

i use 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 pearlite, 1/3 worm castings then a few trace things to even everything out

what is pearlite anyway.

im not sure what its composed of but its for drainage

The peat moss loosens the soil so that water can get to and drain away from roots. How much you need depends on the soil of your grow site. It's pretty much a learn by doing kinda thing, you'll figure it out, I did.

Peat moss, no longer referrs to only sphagnum moss from bogs.
Peat can encompass all sorts of soil types frpm bogs to lawn sod.

There has been an environmental issue in Europe regarding the destruction of many peat bogs, and Peat is not politically correct, anymore.
So, it is becoming hard if not impossibe, to get a quality product, at a reasonable price.
Often times the product is salty.

Outdoor there is the buffereing effect of the soil.
Indoor, hydroponically it was a disaster

Such a poor product cost a crop of 40 plants, recently.
A whole crop cycle is wicked to lose, but the plants grew so slowly and produced such poor looking tops, that many were planted outdoors.

Some were transplanted, but the loss in time was too great to furnish the damaged plants with valuble greenhouse space.

Clearing , and flushing with water, helps, but not enough.
Small buds, low yield, and the quality was not worth anything.

All in a foolish attempt to save a few bucks on the rooting medium , the loss was 100 times more costly.

I keep trying to escape from the "school of hard knocks", I would rather use my head, than to graduate the hard way.
I am working on my Masters in Dumb Moves.

Stick with what you know, for the bulk of your horticultural savvy
Experiment on a small scale, so you can keep everything flowing smoothly, if a major mess occurs.

The "Fox and the grapes" from Aesop's fables, does not apply here since I know that the grapes from the previoyus crop were not sour.
If your into Irony and Metaphorical tales.

check out my blog & pics for the answer.

underground1 said:

what is pearlite anyway.

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perlite -are tiny styro-looking bits that break up the soil, and hold some water. vermiculite is better, but they say it causes cancer. Idunno'....I'm not that worried about vermiculite, I come from the land of the 3-eyed carp!(that glows in ithe dark!)

underground1 said:

what is pearlite anyway.

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Perlite is a volcanic glass that when super heated expands & turns brite white,it's used in construction & for amending soil,using perlite in soil keeps the soil loose & light so the roots can grow faster without as much resistance from compact soil,it's also a huge help with the drainage of the soil,it will help to keep the soil from retaining too much water which will drown the plants root system by starving the roots of the oxygen they need to survive,perlite retains very little water.

If water retention is whats desired then Vermiculite the product to use,it's a mineral that when super heated expands & will hold alot of water without reverting back to it's natural form.

For an optimum soil mix, you would like the soil to do a good job of retaining water but at the same time be able to drain water efficiently. I wouldn't recommend mixing only peat moss with outdoor soil as you may not know the pH or even what type of outdoor soil you are planting in. If the soil is clay-based water will not drain efficiently and if you do not observe the proper soil pH you run the risk of nutrient lockout-where the chemical makeup of the soil does not allow roots to take in the nutrients to grow and prosper. I also like to add organic nutrients and minerals to my soil for a healthy mix and to promote positive growth.

That said, I mixed 35% Sphagnum peat moss, 30% Perlite, 15% worm castings, 10% Blood Meal, 10% Bone Meal.

The blood meal is a 12-0-0 organic fertilizer that I add to the soil for a nutrient base.
The bone meal is a 0-12-2 organic fertilizer that I add to the soil for a nutrient base.
Perlite is expanded volcanic rock that helps drain water from soil.
Worm castings is essentially worm compost that I add for nutrient and mineral value.

All these amenities are available at your local garden center/home depot (except worm castings, at least where I live)

The Dude 4552 said:

For an optimum soil mix, you would like the soil to do a good job of retaining water but at the same time be able to drain water efficiently. I wouldn't recommend mixing only peat moss with outdoor soil as you may not know the pH or even what type of outdoor soil you are planting in. If the soil is clay-based water will not drain efficiently and if you do not observe the proper soil pH you run the risk of nutrient lockout-where the chemical makeup of the soil does not allow roots to take in the nutrients to grow and prosper. I also like to add organic nutrients and minerals to my soil for a healthy mix and to promote positive growth.

That said, I mixed 35% Sphagnum peat moss, 30% Perlite, 15% worm castings, 10% Blood Meal, 10% Bone Meal.

The blood meal is a 12-0-0 organic fertilizer that I add to the soil for a nutrient base.
The bone meal is a 0-12-2 organic fertilizer that I add to the soil for a nutrient base.
Perlite is expanded volcanic rock that helps drain water from soil.
Worm castings is essentially worm compost that I add for nutrient and mineral value.

All these amenities are available at your local garden center/home depot (except worm castings, at least where I live)

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spot on, but i would have liked you to refer to the worm castings as worn poop

Duly noted.

The Dude 4552 said:

That said, I mixed 35% Sphagnum peat moss, 30% Perlite, 15% worm castings, 10% Blood Meal, 10% Bone Meal.

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that's crazy...so (for example ) if each %pt = 1 cubic feet then your saying your mix is:

35 cft of peat
30 cft of perlite
15 cft of ewc
10 cft of bone meal
10 cft of blood meal

that is an insane amount of blood/bone meal........ at 1 cup per cft (which is already a good amount) that would give you 100 cups.....since one cft = about 120 cups 1 cft of both bone/blood meal would be plenty if not on the heavy side....your suggesting 10 times what's needed and would likely kill whatever was planted in that mix.....not to mention bone meal needs atleast 2 weeks to cook before its even ready to plant in.....AND....the last thing i would use in an outdoor plot is blood or bone meal.....ever hear of animals??????????????? also forget about potash?????????

anyway its quite obvious your talking out of your ass....so unless there was a typo your a fucking idiot....

tusseltussel said:

spot on

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hhhhhmmmmmmmm??????????

you know after reading your journal and seeing this picture its clear you should not be giving advice......