I would think you would want some sort of solid structure around the peat for reasons of support as you mentioned.

I have heard of people growing tomatos in the 2 cubic foot bags of peat, but the plastic on these is fairly strong and the peat compressed. I would think a regular trash bag would not hold it firmly enough to provide plant support.

Just curious, but if you already have containers and want to use pure peat, why not just fill the container with the peat and plant?

Thanks Justaguy for your response,

I am also getting advice from the soil category. Some have said planting in peat just won't work.

Being the garden rule breaking person that I am, I am curious about trying it though. This will be my first time giving this method a go. I really like the idea because it saves water.

I have thought of what you mentioned, as well as using filler in the bottom half to take up space.

Since you know of tomatoes that have done well with peat moss, I will decide soon what to do. I still have a few weeks.

Thanks again!

SG

At my former nursery, we did something very similar, except the product used was not peat but an organically enriched planting (not potting) soil called "harvest blend" (included various well composted manures and other OM and was innoculated with beneficial microbes). The entire exercise was done to promote the soil product for vegetable growing. The product is moisture retentive but not overly so and because of the particle size and texture, quite freely draining as well.

The 2cf bag was laid flat and the X was cut into the top surface and was planted with a single tomato plant. A few small drainage cuts were made in the underside. No other support, like placing the bag of soil into another container, was provided although a cage support was provided for the plant. The tomato grew like gangbusters and always produced a huge crop several weeks to a month ahead of those planted inground.....the soil warms faster and stays at a more consistent temp in the bag - always a concern when growing toms in our very mild climate, plus the high availability of nutrients in the soil mix. Watering was done as needed, generally only once or twice a week and no other fertilizer was offered as the soil mix was sufficiently nutrient-rich.

Peat would not be my first choice for a similar exercise. It has an extremely low nutrient load - virtually nonexistant - so providing additional fertilizer would be required and once saturated, the peat will hold moisture too well, resulting in the strong possibility of root rots and other fungal issues. One doesn't need a huge amount of soil to pull this off with tomatoes for a single growing season so the weight issue is really not much of a factor. But the planting medium IS and 100% peat is not ideal for this purpose.

Growing in sphagnum with a pH less than 4 would create problems with the uptake of the macronutrients N,P,K,S,Mg,Ca,and Mo unless you lime heavily. Reed/sedge/Michigan peat (the stuff that usually comes in bags) turns to muck when wet, so you'd need to be EXTREMELY cautious about both how you irrigate & the amount of rain the soil is exposed to. Let us know how your experiment turns out? Good luck.

If you grow in the reed/sedge/Michigan peat, it would probably be very helpful to incorporate some kind of wicking arrangement or to be sure the containers/bags are setting directly on the soil so the earth can act as a giant wick & help to drain excess water.

Al

Thank you everyone for your advice!

I desperately need to keep my container project as simple as possible.

I got horribly behind last fall with clean up, and just now have that done. Additionally, I have tons of transplanting to do, not to mention mulching, amending soil and planting new grass, draining and cleaning my ponds, stacking wood and all of the other hectic things that must be done in the spring.

Thanks again,

SG

While peat can be a great amendment for soils that need it, I wouldn't use it alone as a planting medium... I would think the PH and nutrient levels would be all wrong for growing... plus, I would think it would remain too wet for too lengthy a time, thus promoting root rot and other fungus issues...

Why not just buy small bags of potting soil, and plant directly in them, using the method described in the first post... it would save a lot more time and energy, and be a lot better for the plant being grown.

Thanks for your suggestion Jodik,

I think I will do that!

SG