|
Post by lloyd on Jun 21, 2010 13:31:34 GMT -5
The real peat to make bogs out of is the dry powdery stuff that is compressed into bricks of various sizes at all the garden stores, hardware stores and big box home improvement stores. It is only dried peat from bogs and has various plant debris like twigs and some occasional shrivelled up leaves. The stuff you have may be peat-it does look like wetted peat mixed with sand. However is it real quartz sand? If it has limestone tailings it would be toxic and if they added fertilizer it could be bad too. Try mixing some with water to separate the sand and add vinegar to the sand: if it fizzes it has limestone and is bad.
I would go to the place where you bought it and ask specifically how they mix it. They should have the various ingredients and you can check the peat and sand and find out if there is fertilizer before you put it into the bog.
|
|
|
Post by Devon on Jun 21, 2010 13:47:57 GMT -5
alright, thanks. I'll get right on it.
|
|
|
Post by Devon on Jun 21, 2010 14:12:45 GMT -5
uuuhhh, how much fizz do you mean? because I'm dissapointed to say, but it fizzed a bit. some of the rocks in there fizzed noticibly too. here is what the sand looks like, although you can't see the fizz in this pic:
|
|
|
Post by renesis on Jun 21, 2010 14:30:40 GMT -5
The 'peat' you have, i suspect is actually 'peat loam'
It is higher in salts than peat, but doesn't have too much in it. I don't know how CPs would react to peat loam though...
Take a handful, and mix some water with it- does it get really slimy feeling?
|
|
|
Post by Devon on Jun 21, 2010 15:29:01 GMT -5
I did that and it does has a slimy feeling... so what now, do I complain to the place that supplied it to us and say they gave us the wrong stuff?
|
|
|
Post by Devon on Jun 21, 2010 15:54:07 GMT -5
okay, so we asked the people where they get their "peat moss" and how it's made and everything and they said it's directly from a bog and that they just take out the twigs and stuff with a sifter thing or something... so it shouldn't be bad for the plants... right?
|
|
|
Post by lloyd on Jun 21, 2010 21:10:17 GMT -5
It's hard to believe any small local company actually goes into bogs and harvests peat. I can't believe they could compete with the big companies and certainly not in an environmentally friendly way.
The peat you are looking for is the dried compacted stuff from decomposition of sphagnum from peat bogs. In Canada the cubes with the conservation symbol are harvested in a sustainable manner. As far as I know everybody gets their peat for bogs, pots, etc. from the cubes of various sizes at garden stores, hardware stores or big box stores. For a bog, look for the biggest cubes you can fit in your car. Mix it with perlite for the bog to increase aeration, wettability and water retention. I would be suspect of anything not in the plastic wrapped cubes especiallly anything mixed with anything else or moist.
I think you would be better off sending it back saying it is NOT peat moss. Then go buy big cubes of peat and industrial sized bags of perlite and go crazy mixing it with water (low TDS if you've got it). Whatever you have now may be toxic to CP's. The "sand" looks "dirty" sort of like limestone screenings. If it fizzes with vinegar that's bad. If you have any pure silica (quartz) sand, try the vinegar test and compare. It would be really bad if you used it and it ended up killing the plants and alll your work would be wasted and would have to be re-done.
|
|
|
Post by Devon on Jun 21, 2010 21:29:09 GMT -5
uh oh... my parents are gonna kill me. $300 worth of dirt in our yard and we have to send it. back. :x :/ I swear I'm gonna cry right now, lol. I'll poat an update on all this crap later.......
|
|
|
Post by lloyd on Jun 21, 2010 22:31:39 GMT -5
Hopefully they'll take it back without charge. They assumed you wanted a garden soil additive with peat moss but you wanted only peat moss. What they gave you is not peat moss so you are in the right. Also I hate to judge but $300 for that much of any soil or soil conditioner seems suspiciously high. We had some work done on our garden recently and the contractor said he could fill his truck with topsoil for $25 or so.
Does anybody else think that's a lot of money for that much whatever it is?
|
|
|
Post by H2O on Jun 22, 2010 13:53:55 GMT -5
lloyd, I agree that is way too much for that soil, no matter what kind of soil it is.
I also agree with pet, just buy a the cubes of peat moss, it might even be cheaper in the end
|
|
|
Post by petmantis on Jun 22, 2010 14:33:02 GMT -5
The 1 bale of peat moss I bought last year at Walmart (like 110 litres) was 5$. Can't really beat that...
|
|
|
Post by H2O on Jun 22, 2010 19:36:02 GMT -5
Very true pet, for 300 bucks you could buy over 50 (closer to 60) bales of that peat which is 5500L of peat haha I have a feeling your bog isn't quite that big right now lol I would suggest getting your money back from that place and just buying bales of peat and bags of sand. It takes longer to wet/mix but you know you’re doing it the right way eh?
|
|
|
Post by lloyd on Jun 22, 2010 20:56:40 GMT -5
Sand is probably cheaper but make sure you get the right sand. The super gritty Rona pure silica sand is ideal, a really heavy bag for $5-10 or so. The problem with sand is that it is super heavy. Perlite is easier to use because it's so much lighter. The perlite tends to float around a bit if the area gets totally flooded in a storm.
|
|