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Discuss water requirements, "soil" (growing media) and suitable planting containers

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By Intheswamp
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Joined:  Wed May 04, 2022 2:28 pm
#415959
Ok, so hopefully some of ya'll will post some photos and reviews of *your* peat moss so we can all get an idea of what's out there. I don't have a lot of resources around here, it's kind of a rural setting. And, the stores around here have limited merchandise. Walmart & TSC are roughly 20-25 miles away, Lowe's probably 35 miles, Home Depot probably 65 miles. You get the idea. Anyhow...

Tractor Supply carries a "Greenmix" peat moss that is apparently produced by Waupaca Northwoods LLC. It was the only bale within 35 miles that I had found, so I bought it. $13 was cheap. I hadn't used it yet when I was in another town the next day (granddaughter doings :D ) so I stopped by another TSC and they, too, had a single bale. I figured "why not"? PT Barnum would be proud of TSC!!! :roll: I need to get a pH test kit...I'm not so sure of the peat moss, itself. Here's the photos of roughly 1/10th of the 2.2cuft bale. A quarter is thrown in for perspective. The end result was probably two gallons of sifted peat moss and over a quart of "junk". Maybe this is standard for different peat moss brands, I'm a newbie, but...I don't think it is. Btw, the mesh on the screen is 1/4"x3/8".

My personal rating: UGLY...I do not recommend it.
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By MikeB
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#415976
Wow - even the Premiere brand peat moss at Home Depot and Lowe's looks better than this, and I don't think it's particularly good.

The best that I've been able to find is SunGro Black Gold, at Ace Hardware. Good quality, very little debris.
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By NightRaider
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#415978
Pretty much how my bale of the same brand looks, unfortunately. I may have to check Ace though, I hadn't thought about it but I have 2 in town I could try. I actually got a bale once from the local farmer's co-op that in hindsight seemed reasonably clean, though that one just got dumped straight into some vegetable beds and I haven't seen any there since.
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By Intheswamp
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#415993
I really want to get a different peat moss than the Greensmix. I'm no gardening pro, but I'm a little iffy about using this peat even after I've sifted it and rinsed it. Probably nothing wrong with it then but, I dunno, it just seems trashy down at the macro-level. Lots of small short 1/4" to 1/2" long sticks, probably 1/16" to 1/8" thick go through the screen that I'm using. It's not nearly as trashy as before sifting, and they probably don't matter but I wonder if the little sticks might not be good for the plants. :?

So far I've found one bag of the Sungro Black Gold listed online and it's 60 miles from me.<sigh> If it's still there the next time I'm there I'll check in on it. If they don't have it I'll just go to Home Depot and try a bale of the Premier...someone on the forum said they got a good-looking bale of it the other day. Maybe I'll get a good bale...I doubt it will worse than TSC's Greensmix!
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By MikeB
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#416030
The nicest bag of peat moss that I've ever found was a 3-cubic-foot (85-liter) bale of Premiere at a local garden center. The bag had sat outside all summer and into the fall. Rain leaked in, and all of the peat moss was uniformly damp. The bale weighed a ton, but it was worth the effort. I took peat moss straight from the bag, mixed in some perlite and sand, and it was ready for use. Such a simple thing, but it really made my day. :D
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By Camden
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#416031
Ok, I know this isn’t peat moss but I had to put this somewhere (it is what most peat moss is made of though so there’s that)… If any of you guys get into LFSM, I would have to recommend “Better Gro, Premium Grade Orchid Moss™”. It’s about 0.45 lb. thing for 5$ at least at my LOWES™ so price may vary. Apparently that’s a really good deal but I wouldn’t know because this’s what I’ve always used (Petco™ has about the same size bale for 5x that price!). It’s fair for resurrecting it to live moss. There’s almost never any trash except for one or two long hay-like strands in there. I use it for literally everything and no problems so far!

I’d say: 💫💫💫💫💫
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By Panman
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#416033
I agree with this ^^^^^ 100%. And stay away from the stuff Home Depot sells. It doesn't even deserve to be rated as trash.
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By NightRaider
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#416034
I've posted it before in some other thread, and I know some people here like it, but I've been less happy with Better Gro though I still use it since its cheap and normally available. I usually end up with a decent pile of straw and roots and usually each bale is good for a few hard clumps of some plant mass that I pick out. And even then, when using it as a top-dressing it's always full of grass seed. I'm literally still picking grass out every couple days from some that's been in place for over a year. I got a pack of Besgrow off Etsy last year when Better Gro was out of stock all summer and the quality was miles ahead, though obviously it's more expensive and harder to come by. In peat moss terms, I'd say Better Gro is a lot closer to Greenmix or a bad bale of Premier than it is SunGro. And this judgement isn't off just a couple bales, I've probably been though around 8-10 bales over the last year and a half and it's been the same every time.
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By Intheswamp
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#416140
I killed some time last night and searched out different brands of peat moss. I have some sundew seeds that I'm itching to plant and some of the Greensmix peat sifted and rinsed a few times. I can't decide whether to wait 'til I get something different or go ahead now. What I have access to (with a 60+ mile one-way drive<sigh>) is:

Premier - $11.00 for 2.2cuft
Fafard - $18.00 for 3cuft
Majestic - $18.00 for 3cuft
Black Gold - $32.00 for 3.8cuft


I think lots of the brands are "regional" in that the producers only sell it in certain areas of the country. It looks like Sungro has *several* brands it sells. And Premier apparently has a few premium brands, too. An interesting thing I saw was that good ol' Greensmix by Waupaca Northwoods supposedly only distributes in the Midwest and west. I wonder if they shipped their trash over this way so as not to "hurt" their brand reputation at home. :x

Anyhow, this definitely isn't an all-inclusive list but it might be of interest to somebody.
Fafard by Sungro
Majestic by Sungro (listed at Lowe's as "Fafard" but picture shows "Majestic")
Blackgold by Sungro
Sunshine by Sungro
Lakeland by Sungro
Nature's by Sungro
Lambert Peat Moss by Lambert Peat Moss, Canada
Canadian Gold Peat Moss by Lambert Peat Moss, Canada
Lambert Premium Canadian Peat Moss by Lambert Peat Moss, Canada
Premier by Premier Tech (also makes the ProMix line of potting mixes and is diversified into some high-tech areas)
Greensmix by Waupaca Northwoods LLC, Wisconsin
Fertilome Canadian Peat by Fertilome(?)
Canadian Black Peat by Fertilome(?)
Premier Pro-Moss III Fine by Premier Tech (Under "ProMix label, select short-fibered blond sphagnum peat moss)
Premier Pro-Moss III TBK by Premier Tech (Under ProMix label, select long-fibered blond sphagnum peat moss)

FWIW. :) Ed
Last edited by Intheswamp on Sat Jul 09, 2022 1:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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By Carnies
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#416145
Got my bale of SunShine peat moss, I got a really good bale! Very little debris and the peat moss itself is pretty light in color (dried). I got it for about $13 for 3 cubic feet. Highly recommend if you have it near you!
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By Intheswamp
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Joined:  Wed May 04, 2022 2:28 pm
#416169
My nearest Home Depot said they had 50+ bales of it. I went by to get some (while I was nearby) and lo' and behold, in Home Depot language "Sunshine" translates to "Premier"...I felt sorry for young guy who I asked to check and see if they had the Sunshine in the back...he was running around looking at 8-quart bags of potting soil, perlite, cactus soil, etc.,. Really sad watching him. :roll: I've found some at an Ace Hardware...about 85 miles from me.<sigh>
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By Intheswamp
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Joined:  Wed May 04, 2022 2:28 pm
#416170
Carnies wrote: Wed Jul 06, 2022 10:16 pm Got my bale of SunShine peat moss, I got a really good bale! Very little debris and the peat moss itself is pretty light in color (dried). I got it for about $13 for 3 cubic feet. Highly recommend if you have it near you!
Btw, where did you score you bag from?
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By elaineo
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#416173
I use Sunshine brand from Home Depot. The last batch I got was full of twigs and debris, but I just pot it up, junk and all. Figure it's good for aeration :lol: Peat should be acidic enough to prevent fungus and rot.
Besides, plants in nature don't grow in sterile media. They gotta deal with tree litter, bird droppings, deceased neighbors, blackened leaves, etc. This is how I rationalize my laziness, see.
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