Peat, used properly, works fine in outdoor soils. Compost obviously is a great choice. Coir is prohibitively expensive for large amounts. It runs about 10x the price of peat.

The problem your friend has is the peat was layered rather than mixed with soil. Peat is a soil conditioner only when it is mixed into the soil. Have a pocket of it anywhere and you end up with a dry pocket eventually. Because it stays dry the soil critters don't eat it.

For those who ask, I would recommend that you recommend they buy bags of compost rather than bags of peat for lasagna type beds. Either that or just alternate leaves and grass unless the person doesn't have trees or the leaves haven't fallen yet. Then use compost.

These days if your city doesn't offer residents compost, inquire what they do with the yard waste. I was under the impression that most areas don't allow yard waste into landfills anymore so local governments had to find other ways to dispose of it. Making compost is a great way to dispose of it and my city seems to think it is cost effective even giving it away free.

Peat moss is hydrophobic and unless it is wet well before use and kept damp it will repel water even in the soil. Peat moss also has no nutrients to add to the soil so something needs to be added to supply the soil bacteria with nutrients to digest that peat moss.
Far better is to use is your yard waste, and any yard waste from your neighbors that you can get. Tree leaves, grass clippings, plant waste, kitchen waste, any waste you generate has nutrient value and should be recycled on your property.

Agree with Kimmsr. Skip the peat moss. It costs money, and is not nearly as good an ammendment as the free stuff that yards generate anyway.

So do you think over time it will get wet or can she speed up the process in some way? Just dig around to mix it in with all the other layers? I didn't know if that would hurt the plant roots or how many things are growing in it if it is really dry. Maybe by next spring it will be ok?
Thanks,
Kiki

Water well, then mix well, water again. I grow all my bush-veggies in 1/2 finished compost- so the layering of lasagna seems to not be a real requirement.

At some point the bed would be 1/2 finished compost anyway, so no biggie.

To get the peat wet again will require soaking it for awhile. Once wet it will likely dry again if it is not mixed with the soil or moved further down from the faster drying surface.

If there are plants growing in this then mixing it is probably not practical. In that case a long, slow soak from a sprinkler may help.

A soaker hose would be even better.

It *can* be rewet, it is just a matter of getting water to it over a long enough period of time.

The soil in our area is heavy clay, with a pH of about 8.2. I've amended with many things, but it was the peat in the end, that was able to keep the clay from re-clayifying :o) . In other words, the very fact that it doesn't break down easily, can be useful. I have been able to grow root crops as a result, which is very useful ... because in addition to soil issues, our community garden has rat and mice issues. The rodents tend to stay away from roots unless they are really, really hungry. So although I cannot grow tomatoes there, I can grow virtually any root crop.

Since peat is acidic, it helps (marginally) with our pH issues.

Perhaps a lasagna bed without peat, on top of the clay, would have been a better choice, but I am not at all regretful for using peat moss.

I haven't looked into the sustainablity of using peat. When I lived in Indiana, and in Wisconsin, I never used the stuff, but the soil was very, very different.

Differences in soil type may be one reason that there are a diversity of equally valid opinions on the use of peat. The man I bought the last bale from, called it "the worse junk you can put in your garden." The two men I spoke with later (a master gardener in the area and a nursery attendant) both recommended it. My experience has been good with peat.

As far as advice: I'd probably pull out the dry pockets altogether, bag them, and save them for use as needed down the road - say when your friend wants to put in a blueberry bush or something. Then mix in as suggested, so that it will not form dry pockets.

good points, Patty!

Thanks guys! I will pass on the info. I was worried about the beds I did, but everything is growing great.
Kiki