Digging into peat moss

Perhaps you've heard of or used Jiffy seed starting products in your home garden. Many are made of a natural substance called peat moss. In this article, we'll dig into the particulars of peat to share why and how it benefits your garden. Let's take a closer look.

What's peat moss?

Peat moss is a natural product harvested from wetlands called bogs, fens, or peatlands. While the term peat moss is commonly used, there's a difference between peat and moss—they're two different products from the same plant, Sphagnum. Let's learn more.

It's a bryophyte, and why that matters

Like all mosses, Sphagnum is a bryophyte—an ancient group of small, rootless plants that thrive in nutrient-poor conditions like rocks and walls and in cold, stagnant wetlands where vast Sphagnum is found.

Mosses capture water and nutrients through external surfaces, gradually releasing them into the environment, regulating moisture, and building soil. So, why does this matter?

Simply put, this fantastic quality persists through the harvesting and drying process, making peat moss a purposeful soil amendment for gardening.

Where does Sphagnum grow?

Sphagnum moss grows in wetlands all over the world. According to the Australian National Herbarium,

Sphagnum covers more of the world's land surface than any other single plant genus.

So, it's pretty abundant!

Canada is the world's largest producer and exporter of Sphagnum moss and the source of approximately 95 percent of peat moss sold in the U.S.

Peatlands cover roughly 13 percent of the surface area of Canada, where federal and provincial acts and regulations protect its use.

Peat derived for Jiffy products comes from Canada exclusively. But don't just take our word for it; learn more peat and peatland statistics. And here's a detailed explanation of the peat-harvesting process. There's good stuff there!

What are the benefits of peat?

Peat has the fantastic ability to retain moisture—up to 20 times its weight! The following paragraphs describe its other horticultural benefits.

Seed starting

Peat provides a sterile, pathogen-free substrate for starting seeds. Even better, it’s designed for one-step transplanting because peat products are intended to be buried directly in garden soil.

Cost savings

Jiffy products like peat pellets and peat pots allow home gardeners to achieve the cost savings of starting varieties at home instead of purchasing transplants or being limited to the small number of varieties available commercially.

Soil conditioning

Peat's super-absorbent quality translates to less watering, reducing the risk of drowning your seeds and seedlings. It also aerates the soil, facilitating gas exchange around roots, promoting robust growth and healthy soil structure.

Availability

This product is widely available wherever horticultural products are sold. It's already in many potting soils sold in the U.S., and you may purchase it inexpensively in large quantities as cube-shaped bales.

Using peat moss in the garden

In your garden, you can use peat moss in various ways. Let's learn about a few of them below.

Soil amendment

Peat moss is a crucial component of homemade planting media, often blended with equal parts compost and vermiculite.

Sandy soil

For sandy soil, amending soil with peat moss increases its capacity to retain water, beating out almost all other soil amendments for water retention. Just be careful not to amend with too much peat moss, as overapplication can prevent good drainage.

Mixed with compost

Compared to compost, peat moss does not contain weed seeds or pathogenic microbes and insects, which is excellent for starting seeds. Past the seedling stage, mix peat moss and compost because compost's nutrients (and other positive attributes) complement peat's unique qualities.

Acid-loving plants

Peat has an acidifying effect. So, it's often blended with lime to balance the pH.

However, it's excellent for acid-loving plants like blueberries, increasing their production. It also works well for azaleas, heathers, and carnivorous plants.

Soilless culture gardening

Soilless mixes are sterile, pathogen-free planting media that provide good drainage and moisture retention but are nutrient-poor. While peat moss offers many benefits, it does not add nutrients.

In a soilless culture garden, peat moss works well when combined with other materials to round it out as growing media.

In addition to perlite or vermiculite, combine it with other organic materials, such as rotted plants, rice hulls, coconut fiber (or coconut coir, coco coir), worm castings, animal manures, and whatever else you need to support your growing plants.

A soil test and pH meter can help you find the right combination to meet your plants' needs.

How to apply peat moss in the garden

A little bit of peat goes a long way because it does not require frequent applications to be effective. And the best part is that incorporating it into your garden soil and homemade planting mixes is super simple. Here's some expert advice.

Basic application

Per the University of Vermont Extension, Department of Plant and Soil Science, apply a bale of peat moss as follows:

If adding to a whole annual flower bed or vegetable garden before planting, you can figure that a 3.8 cubic foot bale spread one-half inch deep will cover about 180 square feet.  If spread one inch deep, this bale will cover about 90 square feet.  If adding to a whole bed or garden, make sure and test the soil afterwards.  The peat moss will acidify the soil, meaning some lime will be needed in many cases. Many gardeners spread compost on a garden or bed along with the peat moss, then rake or till in both at the same time.

Balanced growing mix

A good recipe for a balanced growing mix includes peat moss, vermiculite or perlite, clean sand, slow-release fertilizer, and lime to balance the soil pH introduced by the acidity of the peat moss. Consider using a pH meter to avoid an unbalanced pH low.

Acidic growing mix

For plants that thrive in low pH conditions, consider including pine bark, peat moss, and sand in your garden soil or potting mix, adjusting per your plants' preferred growing conditions.

Environmental concerns

Canadian peat is a responsibly-sourced, biodegradable, natural product. Nevertheless, many have expressed concerns about the impact peat harvesting has on the environment.

It's important to know that there are different kinds of peat, and not all are as sustainable as Sphagnum, such as sedge peat or mountain peat. To ensure your peat products are sustainably sourced, always check the label to make sure it's made of Sphagnum moss and from Canada.

And think about it this way; peat moss is used to grow things. It's not for making products that eventually end up in a landfill. Instead, in its role as a horticultural product, new life springs from it, making the world a better, greener place.

Garden confidently with the correct information

You can use peat products confidently because they are produced with clean, solar-dependent processing methods that rely on few fossil fuels without toxic by-products.

So, whether you use peat moss for seed starting, houseplants, gardening, or lawn work, know that your Canadian peat products are sustainably-sourced, organic, and natural.