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General question... accidentally bought peat moss with Miracle-Gro

will this totally fry CPs and i should just relegate it to my vegetable seeds, or can i get away with it? i'm so mad... lowe's is like 40 minutes away from here and the bag has SPHAGNUM PEAT MOSS written in huge letters with "added fertilizer!" snuck in way underneath it. should have read the bag more carefully... it was the only kind they had anyway though, guess there's not much i can do.

usable or no?

thanks!
 
Do not use this with your CPs. Other plants are ok. The Scott's brand of Sphagnum peat moss is labeled "pure sphagnum peat moss" and is generally ok. It may contain residual amounts of fertilizer if processed and packaged on the same machines as the Miracle-Gro stuff. I usually rinse it good and top water heavily and discard the tray water for a few weeks to flush it out. Scott's and Miracle-Gro are from the same company, just different brand names. Miracle-Gro brand whether peat or perlite always has fertilizer added.
 
Relegate it to your other plants. Even a small amount of fertilizer will eventually kill CPs. I have bought bags of "pure" sphagnum peat moss that had slow release fertilizer contaminating them. There wasn't much, but it was enough that by the end of the season when I discovered what the problem was, the plants i had used it on had either died or weren't far from it. Even "washing" the peat didn't help.
 
...I disagree. I fertilize everything. EVERYTHING. I don't even measure, I just eyeball it (I can eyeball a gram from outerspace with my glasses on....)

Nothing wrong with fertilizers when utilized in the proper way. I will agree that this fertilizer-laden peat IS not bad, but I wanted to clarify that using fertilizers is NOT bad for CP's if you know what you're doing, particularly nepenthes.
 
Yeah most books do reccomend using some fertilizers occasionally. Savage Garden mentions Miracid and Superthrive a few times if I remember correctly. However, I wouldn't use any peat with fertilizer though since its' quantities cannot be monitored close enough.
 
Superthrive isn't a fertilizer and a lot of people think it's snake oil. I use it. I think it makes a difference. It may be just psychosomatic but it's cheap so why not? Better safe than... normal?
 
Snake oil? o_O

What's the difference between Superthrive and fertilizer? I figured they were both just chemical nutrients.
 
Snake oil means... nothing. It's like those homeopathic remedies that are mostly alcohol with little or no actual plant extracts in them.

Fertilizer are nutrients that are broken down into Macro and Micro. The macro are N, P, and K. The micro are copper, zinc, iron, boron, etc. Copper and Zinc are bad for some CP's (IE Nepenthes).

Superthrive a solution of vitamins and hormones. Probably mostly B12. It's got an astronomical TDS which is why you should dilute it and use it sparingly. I use a capful per 8 ounces or 16 ounces.Hell sometimes I just dump it in a bucket of water and eyeball it. The important thing when using high levels of superthrive or any root fertilizers is to flush flush flush with pure water so nothing builds to dangerous levels.
 
...I feel so dumb on these forums. xD

Thanks for that explanation.
 
  • #10
Miracle-Gro has a petty poor reputation in some gardening communities. I would be best to avoid it alltogeather
 
  • #11
Unfortunately many garden vendors have decided its a good idea to throw fertilizer into EVERYTHING. I am no longer able to find regular potting soil without fertilizer so I have to make my own. Its a PIA but at least I get the mix *I* want and not what some manufacturer has deemed as good for every plant on the planet.
 
  • #12
I'm seeing the Peat in the soils everywhere too. The Flower District in NYC had good ol' peat though, didn't have it last week, but got lots of it in this week. Thankfully.
 
  • #13
And perlite! I almost killed a bunch of nepenthes because I almost used Miracle Grow perlite! It's ridiculous! I put it back and they didn't have the regular kind :( I had to go out of my way and go to Lowes.
 
  • #14
And perlite! I almost killed a bunch of nepenthes because I almost used Miracle Grow perlite! It's ridiculous! I put it back and they didn't have the regular kind :( I had to go out of my way and go to Lowes.

I almost bought that the other day. I wasn't paying attention at all, and then I thought, "does any vendors actually put fertilizer in perlite?" I mean, seriously, IN PERLITE? It's insane. Soon it will be sand, rocks, and pots with fertilizer!

I have some of the Miracle Gro peat moss but I use it for my other houseplants when I mix it up with a bunch of other stuff. I hope that by mixing and using small amounts the terrible things that soils like this cause (as mentioned in posts above) are negligible, and possibly even slightly beneficial. As mentioned, small amounts of soil-based fertilizer can be beneficial when used correctly and in small amounts.

xvart.
 
  • #15
I thought if you put it in pitchers it would have the same effect but take longer to take effect.
 
  • #16
I thought if you put it in pitchers it would have the same effect but take longer to take effect.

Pitchers as in Nep pitchers? Or pitchers as in pots that plants grow in? I would not recommend putting any kind of soil in a nep or sarr pitcher, regardless of fertilizer amount... lol.

xvart.
 
  • #17
I think he means putting fertilizer in pitchers compared to root feeding.
 
  • #18
Yes, that is what I mean.
 
  • #19
you guys b smart.

dang! i'm at work. now i want to run out and check my sphagnum pacakage.
 
  • #20
LFS is OK. I've never heard of anyone adding fertilizer to LFS.
 
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