peat moss Archives - gardenmyths.com

Does Peat Moss Acidify Soil?

Some very desirable plants like rhododendrons, azaleas and blueberries demand acidic soil and many gardeners have alkaline soil which is not suitable to grow these plants. The most common solution I’ve seen is to mix peat moss with the soil to produce an acidic environment.

Peat moss is acidic so it makes sense that if you add some to your soil, the resulting soil will also be more acidic. But is this really true? How long does the acidity last? Can gardeners with alkaline soil use peat moss to grow rhododendrons, azaleas and blueberries?

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Is Coir an Eco-friendly Substitute for Peat Moss?

In the search for a peat moss alternative, coir, also called coco coir, is the one that is most often discussed. Coir is made from the outer husk of coconuts and is a waste product from the coconut industry. Environmentalists are quick to point out that “since it is a waste product it’s use is more environmentally friendly than using peat moss.” How can such common sense logic be wrong?

Shipping coconut husks to a coir processing plant in Vietnam

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Peat and Peat Moss Alternatives

The horticulture industry is being blamed for depleting peat reserves and environmentalists are calling for a stop on using peat for growing plants. What are the peat moss alternatives? Is there a suitable substitute?

The horticulture industry would have no problems switching to another product instead of peat. After all, most gardeners are quite aware of the importance of preserving our environment. In this post, I will look at several peat moss alternatives to see if there is a viable option.

Peat and peat moss alternatives — Closeup of growing peat moss

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Peat and Peat Moss – The True Environmental Story

There is a lot of talk these days about the environmental impact of using peat and peat moss in horticulture. We are told to stop using it so that we can preserve the peatlands. This sounds like the responsible thing to do but is this really a problem? Are we running out of peat? Reports seem to indicate that Europe has used up all of theirs and now Canada is starting to do the same. Is horticulture really responsible for the loss of bogs and wetlands?

If we don’t use peat or peat moss, what alternatives are there? Coir gets mentioned a lot but is it a suitable substitute? Is it a better choice, environmentally?

Much of the information about peat moss is misunderstood and it’s time to weed through the myths.

86% of global peatlands remain undisturbed. This chart shows how the remaining 14% has been used.

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