May I ask why you say peat is politically incorrect?

I guess my garden isn't into politics.

Granny

i don't understand what you mean by that "politically incorrect" politics has nothing to do with my food! thats for sure, well except for the fact that the prices of food and stuff are going up. but other than that, it has no place in my garden, i'm not coming down on you, i'm trying to understand your word usage, i'm very bad at words, so that's why i'm asking! LOL **big grinn** ~Medo :') hoping you had a great christmas
p.s. Granny you are so bad!! we forgot to answer the question, ok, lets see, no on the second question as far as i've been told. and on the first one, i "think" you can use like coffee grounds, leaves, but what would "REALLY" be awesome is if you used compost in your garden, and it is free, its from your own yard and kitchen, i have a friend from gw who blends up her kitchen stuff, in the processor and then takes it out and puts it in her flower beds uses the little hand rake and kinda rakes it in. she has the MOST gorgeous gardens!
but if you do the composting, it will be like the peat in a way, i "think" sinfonian and jbest or eg could answer that if they are done holidaying!! Hee Hee!! i hope i helped in any way and not confuse you any more!! **huge grinn** ~Medo

Here is a link that might be useful: Barehanded Totally Nutso Gardener!! **Big Grinn**

It's a natural resource, but one whose harvest threatens the bog environment in which it thrives. Its use has become frowned upon by environmental conservationists.

If using straight peat moss bothers you, try sphagnum moss. It's a bit tougher and I'm not sure if it has the same qualities, but it's more "politically correct" if that's what you're going for.

i was reading a thing in the canadian blog, this guy has peat bog on his land, or something about it, anyhow he'd go down to it and get bucket fulls of it and put it in his garden, well his sister would get really ticked, he said the thing is, it always stayed full, the peat was always filling, well duh, as long as there are tree's it will stay full. that's where the peat came from, and it just decomposed down there. so when he went back the next year, there was even more decomposed stuff. so ended up being that he had to show his sister and they resolved their differences. PEOPLE!! LOL but with all these people cutting down the tree's it makes it difficult to keep the peat. something like that. also that coco coix. ~Medo

Here is a link that might be useful: Barehanded Totally Nutso Gardener!! **Big Grinn**

WARNING: Pretty wordy
Peat is non-renewable. That's the concern that many eco-types are worried about. There are many different positions on this in terms of Canada's peat, because, in theory anyway, Canada has outlawed the sale of non-renewable peat from their bogs, so (again, in theory only) peat from Canada would be acceptable. The thing many conservationists are suggesting is that coir (which is made from coconut hairs) is a good substitude. The guy at my local hydroponics place says it works pretty well, but you have to pre-soak it, AND it is completely ph neutral, where as apparently peat is slightly acidic.
Angela and I had this discusssion a bit ago and we decided you also have to consider the gas it takes to bring the stuff to your place. In my area, I can practically walk to grab peat moss. In your area, getting coir would probably be less gas intensive. Also, at least out here, coir is about twice the cost of peat. Remember that this is a one time only expense. When you pull out your harvest, you'll just add more compost to the boxes.
So, it depends on your goals. If you're worried about bog conservation, go with coir. If you're worried about your budget, buy Canadian moss or spaghnum. If you think both defeat the purpose of growing your own veggies, we have a couple of folks who grow in compost only with great success.
In my area perlite was far more costly than vermiculite, so I can't really answer that question.

I would like to reply to this post but I think I would sound like a broken record. Do a search on this and other forums and you will get more information than you want. One question is where does Mother Nature use it and what does she grow there.

John

Here is a link that might be useful: Johns Journal

Buy Canadian, it's renewable by regulation. But if cost is an issue, do without. Sure you will be missing the water retention and other properties that Mel talks about in his book, but then again, you can grow veggies just fine with just compost.

Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: Sinfonian's garden adventure

Peat is a one time investment, as the others stated. I bought sphagnum peat moss at Walmart, and the way I look at it - somebody is gonna buy it, whether it's frowned upon, or not.

As far as perlite, I think mel stated in his book, that the biggest reason he didn't use it, was because he didn't like the way it felt in his hand, or something.....

EG

I figure when I use peat (and I do use sphagnum) I'm simply moving it from one place to another. It can either sit in a bog and do *whatever it does* or it can sit in my garden and help produce lovely blueberries that are good for our health as well as the environment.

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

Actually EG, perilite wasn't used because it disintegrates over time, and migrates to the surface, unlike vermiculite. Frankly, that was good enough for me to buy vermiculite.

Lastly, in Europe, where they still use peat as a fuel source, its in danger of going away. In Canada, they've worked it out to only harvest what regrows. Sounds enlightened to me.

Why would I add material from this area?
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When I am trying to do this.
{{gwi:1289339}}

John

Here is a link that might be useful: Johns Journal

John, some of us live in areas with very alkaline, sandy soil. Peat is an excellent amendment to our soils for added acidity as well as water retention.

Granny

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

Granny, You can do the same thing with compost and garden sulphur and have a few coins left in your pocket.

John

Here is a link that might be useful: Johns Journal

Sinfonian - if you have Mel's new book, read the top of page 100. That's the reference I was using.

EG

Hehe, leave it to EG to quote chapter and verse. Sure enough, many people do use it because it's cheaper. Unfortunately it is not as good at moisture retention and migrates to the top rather than staying in place. Other than that, it's fine. Oh yeah, and it makes Mel sneeze. That can't be good. hehe

Thanks EG!

Ha! I saw that part also!

EG

The current issue of Mother Earth News has a lengthy article about making potting soil, which discusses why you shouldn't use peat, and the excellent alternatives available. I guess you could call peat a renewable resource, just like there is new oil being created. When you consider the resources required to mine and ship it, using leaf mold and compost is far more earth friendly.