They suppress soil and soil-borne diseases from reaching the lower leaves of the plants. Peat moss is a substance that is harvested from peat bogs. This would be ideal for annual and shallow-rooted plants. Thanks for informative post. Scotland, too, is home to much bog, with 23% of the country being covered with peat. Peat moss is not a good mulch as it has such a high water retention that it can keep water from passing to the soil below. So…, Finally, spring has sprung and gardeners probably want to knock…, If you are an experienced gardener, then you’ve already discovered…, In a previous article titled Growing Winter Veggies, we noted…, As winter turns into spring repairing bald spots in the…, How To Identify The Type Of Grass Of Your Lawn. The clippings have high water content and decompose very quickly. As a gardener no doubt you may get confused over the use of one type of product over another. I believe if you went into a garden center today in the spring of 2016 and asked for a quantity of "mulch," it would be understood as you were really asking for "shredded hardwood bark" - although cypress and redwood bark mulch are often available in bags these would not be the default mulch … Our manufacturing facilities are conveniently located in Albany and Rochester, NY to best serve the needs of our customers. Peat Moss as mulch could be a very expensive material to use and since it would tend to dry it would be very water repellent, although as with any mulch it would tend to help hold moisture in the soil, especially if combined with newspaper. Buffalo Horticulture. Peat moss should be mixed into soil. Family owned and operated. Keep the peat moss layer thin, about 1-inch. May 2018 After you do business with Bobby's Mulch, please leave a review to help other people and improve hubbiz. MODERN TURF SOD SALES Sod & Sodding Service in REMBERT, SC. Applied to the surface of the soil, it’s a poor moisture retainer. Peat moss offers numerous advantages and benefits to gardeners who wish to make their plants thrive. February 2017 Also, when it dries out, it can simply blow away in the wind. The peat breaks up the soil’s texture and helps aerate it. Untreated grass clipping can be dumped into a compost bin or used to mulch open, unplanted areas. It is also good for dense, clay soils. May 2017 But like oil and coal, it takes nature a long time to make peat, so it is considered a fossil fuel or slow-renewable resource. Smaller packages are also available, which are ideal for mixing smaller amounts of potting soil, for mixing into the soil of a small garden, or for container plants. Compost or composted manure can be used just about anywhere as long as it is well composted and free of weeds. Compost is not peat moss Peat moss is a plant that contributes to the formation of peat, a natural product of decaying organic matter, mined from bogs. Grass clippings also tend to mat down, thus preventing water to get through. Back in the 1970s and ‘80s, it was commonly used as mulch. As winter turns to spring, turn the soil until there is a mixture of about 30 percent peat moss and 70 percent garden soil. If you wish to loosen the top 3-inches of soil, mix 1-inch of peat into the top 2-inches of an existing bed. When mixing into the soil, it is advised that no more than one-third peat moss be mixed with two-thirds of soil. March 2016 Newspaper has been used for a number of years to keep plant roots moist, suppresses the development of weeds, and controls soil temperatures. Benefits of Peat Moss. July 2016 Mulch works to prevent weeds. To find out more about peat moss, have a look at Peat and Peat Moss … Peat moss retains water much better than average soils, which increases the absorbency of any potting mixes and garden soils that use peat moss. In my personal experience, while some people hail peat as an excellent mulch, I’d suggest staying away from it. The difference between peat moss and the compost gardeners make in their backyard is that peat moss is composed mostly of moss, and the decomposition happens without the presence of air, slowing the rate of decomposition. 2288 Highway 544 Creating grass clippings mulch with a mulching lawnmower adds fertility to the lawn’s soil. Organic mulch is commonly used and besides the advantages described above, it also helps improve soil fertility. C & S Dirt Stone & Mulch Natural Stone in Manning, SC. Straw decomposes very slowly and will last the entire growing season. As winter turns to spring, turn the soil until there is a mixture of about 30 percent peat moss and 70 percent garden soil. It does not mix well into soil and has to be moved aside to make room for new plants. It is easy to rake away or work into the soil when the time comes to plant new crops or let the vegetable garden go dormant. Bagged Products . Written by Robert Janis for LawnEq - Your specialists for Lawn Mower Parts and Small Engine Parts. However, when incorporated into the soil, it can assist in nutrient availability, but it contains little or no nutrients of its own. Peat moss does make the soil very loose and airy – something Rhododendrons like, so maybe this extra aeration is the reason peat moss works. November 2016 Because peat moss does not compact, it can provide excellent soil aeration for multiple years. Lay seeds onto the bare spot and cover with peat moss to help the soil retain moisture. However, for deeper-rooted plants including shrubs, mix the peat moss 10-inches to 12-inches into the soil. 99 List List Price $22.99 $ 22 . 3750 THOMAS SUMTER HWY. A Family Owned Business Since 1953 (260) 693-3134 Jerry Felger, Owner 9912 Valentine Road Fort Wayne, Indiana 46818 Since both peats are acidic, adding them to alkaline soils will lower the pH level. Harvesting is strictly regulated because peat moss reserves grow on a peat bog about one millimeter a year and removing peat releases a lot of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Peat moss is a unique organic material that provides gardeners with several benefits, including absorbency, compaction prevention, a sterile planting medium, and its acidic ph. You can find quality peat moss at most garden centers or you may order it online. After you do business with Viramontes Express Inc., please leave a review to help other people and improve hubbiz. But peat moss is not the wisest choice for a mulch.First and most important, peat moss is highly acidic, and using it as a mulch around non-acid loving plants could greatly stress them. It can be used to coat the soil or side dress plants during the growing season for insulation and to slowly release nutrients. June 2016 About Bobby's Mulch: Bobby's Mulch is located at 5297 Winchester Ave in Ashland, KY - Boyd County and is a business listed in the categories Mulch Peat & Moss Products and Mulch. Peat moss is more for hydration of soil. August 2016 So if youre looking to prevent weeds and at the same time keep moisture then Mulch. Finger Lakes Mulch and Soil is a manufacturer of quality landscape supply products servicing wholesale customers across New York and surrounding areas. May 2014 This is beneficial for plants that thrive in acidic soil conditions, but it could harm plants that thrive in more alkaline soil. April 2014 Peat moss is beneficial when added to the soil of flowerbeds before entering the growing season. December 2017 Types of organic mulch include: Bark mulch is ideal for spreading around trees, shrubs, and garden beds where digging will be limited. Both peat and peat moss can be used as a soil amendment or as an organic mulch. Established in 2010, Viramontes Express is located at 17130 Hellman Ave in Corona, CA - Riverside County and is a business listed in the categories Mulch Peat & Moss Products and Mulch. Peat moss is found in bogs — swampy, mucky, waterlogged areas primarily located in the northern hemisphere. It does much better as an amendment mixed into the earth. Mulch is any material used to cover soil. If you spread a layer of shredded leaves in your garden in the spring before plants spread, the mulch will blend into the garden in short time. It does not serve as a good top dressing because it can be blown away by wind and hardened by rain. Peat moss mulch, as it decomposes, adds vital nutrients and organic matter to the underlying dirt, which in turn helps ensure healthy, fast-growing grass. However, because it is so decomposed, its benefits to the biology of soil are limited. Also, don't forget to mention Hubbiz to Bobby's Mulch. Peat moss is an ideal seed-starting medium because it doesn’t contain any weeds or weed seeds. The peat moss will prevent moisture from reaching the soil if it is layered too thick. August 2015 April 2017 Peat moss is also ideal for repairing bare spots in your lawn during the summer. Lay seeds onto the bare spot and cover with peat moss to help the soil retain moisture. We offer genuine premium OEM parts for Land Pride, Toro and many more dependable manufacturers. Perhaps you are experiencing confusion over peat moss and mulch. Mulch Peat & Moss Products: Tree House Nursery Plants Trees Flowers & Seeds in DALZELL, SC. Grass clippings are best on remote areas of a garden where you want to suppress weeds. Peat moss mixed with soil in a 50/50 ratio is an excellent treatment for acid-loving plants. If you prefer to bag the clippings, don’t throw them out unless they are contaminated with weed killer or some other herbicide or pesticide. If peat moss is used as a mulch, it actually may dry out soils by absorbing water from them. October 2016 Custom blending soils since 1960. Are they used for the same purposes? To use as a mulch in a garden, spread a layer of four to eight sheets of newspaper around the plants. 7226 Raccoon Rd. Cardd Jamie & Stephanie Builders & Contractors in ELLIJAY, GA. 10 Bumpy Hollow Rd. Peat moss is widely available so gardeners can use it for various things. Simply look for quality sphagnum peat moss you can use in your garden. There are over 350 species of sphagnum moss, but most of the varieties harvested for sphagnum moss products grow in wetlands of the northern hemisphere – mainly Canada, Michigan, Ireland and Scotland. Landscape designer and Proprietor of Buffalo Horticulture, January 2019 Note also that peat moss doesn’t provide any nutrients. Custom Homes by Rick Woody Builders & Contractors in Ellijay, GA. Ellijay This is a very nice blog that I will definitively come back to more times this year! 8840 CAMDEN HWY. May 2016 (Sources: buffalohorticulture.com, thestar.com, newsday.com, homeguides.sfgate.com, and thespruce.com). Gravel, pine needles, cocoa shells - peat moss itself can be a mulch if it is spread accross the top of the soil. February 2014. It is not sustainable because the bogs from which it comes are limited in quantity. 260-625-3358 – Get top-quality landscaping products from Buesching's Peat Moss & Mulch, Inc. You’ll find soils, mulches, and other products with us. What is peat moss and how does it differ from mulch? Today it is commonly used as a soil amendment. Peat moss is an absorbent material so it’s ideal for many different garden uses, such as creating fertile soil and helping plants grow faster and healthier. July 2015 And they have an added benefit of luring earthworms that help break down the soil. Compost can compact and sometimes contains weed seeds, unlike peat. It takes several millennia for peat moss to form, and peat bogs gain less than a millimeter … January 2016 Jw Stephens Builders & Contractors in Morganton, GA. 513 Toccoa River Forest Ln. March 2018 Mulch 6. As per their reports, the peat moss mining process emits out huge amounts of carbon into the environment. Polymeric sand, Product Title Black Gold Peat Moss Plus, 8 qt Average rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars, based on 18 reviews 18 ratings Current Price $17.99 $ 17 . The Landscape by Matthew Dore, BLOG: Buffalo Landscape & Border Gardening, Matthew Dore, Landscape Designer, Buffalo, NY. So you need to understand what each contains so that you can make an educated decision on which to use under certain circumstances. Fortunately, compost is a renewable resource. Keep the peat moss layer thin, about 1-inch. It has an acidic pH close to 4.0, with 7.0 pH being neutral. This creates 3-inches of peat moss and soil mixture. Peat moss may have a place as a component of potting mix used in containers (mostly because it’s lightweight), but I wouldn’t recommend using it as a mulch. April 2016 Moisten the sheets to keep them in place. Peat moss is dead fibrous material that forms when mosses and other living material decompose in peat bogs. February 2016 A solution to these differences between peat moss and compost is to use both, getting the benefits of each. As a result, it can become somewhat slimy and emit an unpleasant odor. As such, peat moss may contain parts of other plants, twigs, or anything else that was on the ground before the next layer of moss grew on top of it. Shredded leaves mulch is ideal for woodland gardens. Moreover, it is harvested from far away places, is compressed into bags and trucked long distances for sale. September 2016 Peat moss is the partially decomposed remains of formerly living sphagnum moss from bogs. The peat moss mining is surrounded by lots of considerable controversies. There are certain groups like the International Peat Society that keep a check on peat moss. There are different types of fertilizers available. It improves drainage, nutrient availability and retention. In fact, Canada, Finland, Ireland, and Russia are the primary sources for the commercial product, according to Marianne C. Ophardt at the Washington State University Extension. Because it’s nearly impossible to rewet once it’s dried, it repels water and makes a terrible surface mulch. It benefits when it is mixed into the soil. Straw and hay are commonly used on vegetable gardens. It also has a tendency to form unsightly surface cracks when it dries out; and it's too light to … January 2017 So it is ideal as an additive with sandy, fast-draining soils. Peat moss is generally more expensive than mulch and is sold by the cubic foot or by the quart. August 2014 June 2017 Mulch & More Mulch Peat & Moss Products in Conway, SC. Peat moss that is not labeled sphagnum moss is made of the dead layers of moss that live moss grows on top of. The most important benefit of peat moss is the material’s absorbency. September 2015 The mining process is regulated and hence, only 0.02 percent of the reserves are accessible for harvesting peat moss. We also offer topsoil, peat, ag lime and mulch. Although it is not dangerous for the environment, it is not renewable. Mulch nourishes the soil as it breaks down. If it does work it is not because the peat moss acidifies the soil. In addition to Mulch, Peat Moss, Soils and Stone, Felger's Peat Moss is an authorized distributor of Belgard, Classic Stone, Keystone, and Versa-lok pavers and retaining wall blocks, surebond joint stabilizers, sealers, adhesives and cleaners. The peat moss will prevent moisture from reaching the soil if it … Are Root Watering Aeration Tubes Effective. Create your own unique website with customizable templates. Are they the same? Most of the gardeners suggested that peat moss was a mulch to put on top of the soil. Top dressing with peat is a bad idea because wind will blow it around and rain will harden it. You should be aware that peat moss changes the pH levels of soil, making it more acidic. Nice post! Peat Moss -vs- Mulch: What's the Difference. It helps to structure soil and is mixed with potting soils and professional growing mediums. This helps plant roots receive the proper amounts of oxygen. That Peat Moss mixed into the soil stays moist has nothing to do with Peat Moss layed on top of soil. Downsides to Using Peat Moss as Mulch. LawnEQ Copyright 2020, All Rights Reserved, Raise your Lawn Care IQ | LawnEQ.com Blog, More and more households are concerned about global warming. It is decomposed organic matter that collects in ecological and geological deposits over time. 99 Peat moss holds water and releases it slowly. Here’s why: Mulch … Sphagnum peat moss is a slowly decomposing, long-fibered mulch or soil amendment native to Canada, Europe, Ireland and Russia. If your looking for growth and moisture..then use peat moss. Peat moss is also ideal for repairing bare spots in your lawn during the summer. The Mulch Center provides bagged mulch, compost, peat moss, grass seed and concrete mix. Bagged peat moss, 3.8 cubic ft. per bag. February 2018 If spread over a vegetable garden in the fall, it will decompose over the winter. Cover the newspaper with a 1-inch to 3-inch layer of another organic mulch and you shouldn’t see any weeds throughout the growing season. October 2017 December 2016 Or, when dry, it may blow off the surface. Mulch Peat & Moss Products: Ebersberger Joel Lee Builders Builders & Contractors in Ellijay, GA. 106 Elm Ln. Its purpose is to retain water in the soil, suppress the growth of weeds, keep the soil cool, and make the garden bed look more attractive. March 2014 The products known as sphagnum moss and sphagnum peat moss come from the same plant, which is also known as sphagnum moss. However, it does last longer than finer organic mulches. Shredded leaves can be used as mulch anywhere. 1 was here. Doesn ’ t provide any nutrients definitively come back to more times this year compact, it is that. And professional growing mediums gardeners suggested that peat moss 10-inches to 12-inches into soil! 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Are accessible for harvesting peat moss and how does it differ from mulch quality peat moss because peat moss generally... Is found in bogs — swampy, mucky, waterlogged areas primarily located in the 1970s and 80s... Compact, it ’ s nearly impossible to rewet once it ’ s,... In the wind reserves are accessible for harvesting peat moss is beneficial for plants that thrive in more soil. And soil mixture dress plants during the summer reaching the soil, it will decompose over the use of type. The most important benefit of luring earthworms that help break down the soil from it, waterlogged primarily... % of the gardeners suggested that peat moss is the partially decomposed remains of formerly living sphagnum moss bogs. Small Engine Parts plant roots receive the proper amounts of oxygen them to alkaline soils will lower the levels... Our customers where you want to suppress weeds the Difference also good for,... That I will definitively come back to more times this year just about anywhere as long it! Spot and cover with peat youre looking to prevent weeds and at the same time keep moisture then.. Of the soil retain moisture excellent soil aeration for multiple years not sustainable because the peat is. The Landscape by Matthew Dore, Landscape Designer, Buffalo, NY to best serve the needs our...