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Peat Substitute for Utrics

Greetings,

Recently I have been plauged with an infestation of moss, and I have it from very good authority that my peat is to blame. I took a suggestion from Tamlin to purchase a TDS meter, and discovered that my peat is extremely high in dissolved solids
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I'm now faced with the problem of re-potting my entire utric collection. Unfortunately, I don't have the space or time to age peat outdoors nor do I have enough R.O. water (I buy mine) to suffeceintly leach the peat. I've come up with a few cost and time effective options but I am unsure as which is best...so I'll posit them to you good folks:

1. Use milled New Zealand or Chilean sphagnum as a peat substitute. I don't know how to mill sphagnum, nor do I know how well sphagnum holds up in a waterlogged environment.

2. Use a mixture of ground osmunda fiber/spagnum and shredded orchid bark. Not quite sure of the pH or reactivity of osmunda or orchid bark.

3. Take utrics off tray system completely and water overhead using a bucket to collect excess runoff. The problem with this is that I really don't like moving my plants too much. I have butterfingers.

4. Chemically treating the peat with somekind of solvent. Something cheaper than R.O. water.

So, at this point I'm pretty much open to anything.

Peace,

Damon
 
how many utrics do you have? if you dont have THAT many, you could just buy a ton of good peat and replant them over about a week. you can buy pre-milled sphagnum moss, too.
 
I would go with LFS too. It's a great medium, plus it has antifungal properties. I can't see anything wrong with LFS, though some would say it has too little trace nutrients.

I vote (if you have the time, resources and patience) for a repotting.

SF
 
I would go with lfs. also...The only problem with it is that it is rather expensive.lol:p
 
Well Damon if you are having problems with the peat, you might try a different batch. I am having good results with milled sphagnum as well. There is a product in Europe called Supersphagnum that comes in super compressed chunks that feel like balsa wood. This is made from only the heads of LFS (New Zealand I believe). It was sent by a friend in England, but I don't have a source. When I get a min. I'll see what I can find out. My friend swears by this stuff and likes it better than beer.

To mill your own, just moisten it and whirr it up in a blender or food processor. Put a little in and buzz it, remove, and repeat.

There is some contrary opinion on what constitutes the TDS in peat over on the UK Forum. I still go my my gut feelings that the stuff should be well rinsed though: rather safe than sorry is my opinion.
 
Supersphag is also a great shipping medium. I had an N. lowii "Mt. Trus Madi" arrive completely dried....it's thriving in thr greenhouse despite the sphag was dry....I called the supplier and he said it's a great failsafe. It must be true, I woulda thought surely the plant was done for. I personally don't like it as a medium alone, seems to get very wet too quickly.
 
This "wetness factor" is what makes it so ideal for Utricularia, along with the fact that it is easily penetrated by the thinnest of stolons. I haven't experimented with it until now, but I trust my "nose" on this.
 
Greetings,

The sphagnum sounds like a good alternative. I am concerned about how it will hold up using the tray system. I'd hate to do all that work only to end up with a stinky stagnant mess.

As to the TDS in peat...I read that post pertaining to organic acids in peat and whether that would influence the readings. I don't think so. I spent about two hours last night washing, boiling, and baking peat till I got a low TDS reading. The peat still turns the water brown...like tea, so the tannins have persisted while most of the salts have washed away.

At this point, I just don't trust peat. Some of the pots have absolutely no problems with moss, while others are thick with the stuff. THere is no telling from appearance alone if the bag is peat or just dirt called peat.
 
there is another substitute for peat called coco fiber , pft sells the stuff . i don't know if its good enough but you can try it .
 
  • #10
Since this is a perennial issue, here is my dissertation on the subject of rinsing peat, including a detailed rationale of WHY I bother, LOL.

The fact is, cyanobacteria do proliferate in peat, especially in peat that has high levels of CO2, which they utiilize. This bacteria converts CO2 into carbonates and bicarbonates: think lime, while at the same time fixing NO3 (I checked and this is correct: Microbial decay of organic wastes from plants and animals (mainly amino-N, present in proteins), resulting in its mineralization, first to NH4+, then to NO2-, and finally to NO3-. ) There are numerous studies on the presence of Cyanophyta in peat: one showed over 400 species (as per the abstract). So, you can see there is no denying that they are present in peat bogs, and that they do fix nitrogen and carbonates into these ecosystems. In the bog, the Cyanophytes will utilize the food reserves (mainly starches) found in the peat. In the Co2 rich lower layers, they will convert this Co2 into carbonates and bicarbonates, which are water soluable. As I said before there is peat, and then there is peat. Upper layers of the bog will have far less of the concentrated carbonates, but as the peat is harvested from successively lower layers, the potential problem of carbonate rich peat increases. Since the cyanobacteria reproduce via spores, these too are present in the medium. What leads to their proliferation in the medium is not the presence of minerals (although they are certainly there with them) but rather from CO2 typically found in overly wet, dense mediums. So, the best thing you can do is firstly to remove the carbonates initially present, and this is why I rinse my materials, and secondly to increase the presence of O2 in the substrate. Acidity will not discourage Cyanophytes, but oxygen will! This is why I like LFS so much: it provides aeration to the substrate, as well as having antibacterial qualities (another reason why the upper peat levels are good, there is a blanket of naturally occuring antibacteriant). Once I have removed the carbonates and NO3 already present in the peat, it becomes a matter of discouraging their subsequent proliferation. Another measure is to use naturally antibacterial agents in the mix, especially at the bottom of the pot where O2 is minimal, like sphagnum and/or redwood or red cedar mulch. Good peat is light brown and fluffy, bad peat is darker and crumbly. There is a world of difference, but I just rinse everything, and this includes silica sand and perlite as well. The only thing I use straight up is LFS. I hope I have explained my rationale better this time around! I can't tell you how many times I have argued this issue, which I regard as essential to good growing. Besides I like playing with the mucky stuff, and I really like peat as a medium: it's inexpensive and readily obtainable. So don't give up on it, just rinse your blues away (preferably before they start).
 
  • #11
i use coco peat. great stuff! nice texture,too! i wouldn't use JUST cocopeat, however.
 
  • #12
Has anyone else used the coconut fiber for CP's?
 
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