Hydrating Sphagnum Peat Moss

17 years ago

I'm new to SFGardening but I have prior experience working with baled Canadian Peat (dry) when my first in-laws operated greenhouse nurseries nearby. After reading through many old threads, I am not sure many newcomers to SFG understand that peat purchased this way must be hydrated before using. Buying the peat in bagged form is much easier to use but much more expensive. My husband and I just finished mixing Mel's recipe for our first bed, 4'x8'x10.5 using a 5.5 CF bale of Canadian Sphagnum peat moss at a cost of $17.00. We used a large wheelbarrow to hydrate the peat moss by filling the bottom with about 4 to 5" of water and then adding peat moss, first kneading with our hands and then with turning with a small shovel. Add more water as needed or more peat until the peat turns dark and moist & fluffy. As we finished with each wheelbarrow of moist peat, we moved it to some 25 gal landscape buckets, but I have used clean plastic trash cans before. We let the peat rest for a few days to let the peat continue to absorbed the moisture. I'm now in my sixies so this method was the easiest for us, younger people with stronger backs and more energy could probably come up with a quicker method. Once we had the peat fluffy and moist, it was easy to combine 5 gallon buckets of the three items, peat, vermiculite, and compost to make up Mel's mix. Mary

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Comments (6)

carolynp
17 years ago
I think your idea sounds great. I just mixed the peat with the other ingredients on a large tarp without hydrating it. We get so much rain in early spring that I just let it hydrate in the beds.
brandt_s
17 years ago
Thank you for this timely post! I gave my garden an overhaul this weekend and your tip was perfect for hydrating the moss. It made mixing a breeze. Well, turning that tarp full of mix was a chore...

Thank you for sharing. I can't imaging trying to hydrate it in the beds or on the mixing tarp.
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magnolias4ever
17 years ago
In my first raised bed I used the baled peat moss. Man, it was close to impossible to get that stuff to absorb water LOL Finally it did but it was after I had mixed it with the other ingredients.

For my next beds, I used the bagged kind from MiracleGro. it was so much easier.

Thanks for your tip on how to work the baled peat moss -- when I build more beds, I'll use it because it is so much cheaper than the bagged stuff!

Here is a link that might be useful: Judy's Square Foot Garden Blog
ajpa
17 years ago
Where can you buy baled peat moss?
sinfonian
17 years ago
I did exactly like Carolynp did. Worked perfectly, but I too am in the PNW. Can you imagine an extra step in the builfing of 6.5 c ft of Mel's Mix?

I have no doubt it is better to do it this way, but with the water retention properties of vermiculite and compost (mud), I'd hope it would work to hydrate the peat moss in place. I hope.
jbest123
17 years ago
The problem is, if you have a drought year and the moss starts to dry out, the problem of re-hydrating raises its ugly head.

John

Here is a link that might be useful: Johns Journal