Sphagnum

[Darcie]

Okay, I'm going to try and rebuild a bog on my land and I need lots of sphagnum to do it. Do I just get some dryed sphagnum and run it through a blender and mix it in water or should I put it on peat or a peat water soup? I've never tried to grow a large amount all at once befor.

 

[Pyro]

I have never tried it myself but I have been told that starter colonies of moss can be obtained by taking some live moss and mixing it in a blender with buttermilk or flat beer. You blend until smooth and then pour over a bed of peat and let the moss grow. For sphag I think I would only let the moss get to about the minced stage and I would start by pouring the slurry over peat in something like a dish tub that you can wrap in clear plastic. Let the moss grow until it is really think and then spread it over your bog where it will hopefully fill out into a carpet.

 

[MarcoCraamer]

Hi!

This sounds interesting, I wonder why beer or buttermilk (fat) would work? Anyone got an idea?

For leaf-cuttings and seed I use a foodprocessor to make the sphagnum completely fine. After I sew or place the leaves on it, this works very good!

Greets,

Marco

 

[Pyro]

I think the beer/butermilk offers a high organic molecule supply but that is just a guess.

 

[BjørnNorman]

you can also use milk that gone bad....

æsj!

 

[Darcie]

K, I have a bag of long fiber that has been in the garaodge for a few years. I'll start by demolishing it this weekend

(for those wondering why you can totally grind up the sphagum and have it sprout, it is actually the tiney spoors that sprout and by grinding up the old dead plants the spoor are given a chance to grow in a nutrient acid soup)

-Darcie

 

[MarcoCraamer]

Hi!

Interesting information.

I heard from Sphagnum that it is sterile anyone can confirm this?

And that it has the ability to kill bacteries? That's the reason why CP seed can grow safely in Sphagnum?

Greets,

Marco

 

[Pyro]

Sphag is not sterile, it has load of microflora that associate with it. It does however have anti-fungal properties. I don't know if these are an intrinsic property or if they are something excreted but they do help prevent things like damp-off.

 

[FlytrapGurl]

Speaking of spagnum, I'm going to be repotting my S. purpurea within the next few weeks, because it's roots are starting to come throught the drainage holes in the bottom of the pot. I'm going to leave it in the soil it's in now, but I'm going to need more to be able to fill the pot. Exactly what media should I use? Would a mixture of peat moss and spagnum moss work well?

Thanx!

 

[Darcie]

I think you'll probubly want a peat perlite or peat silica sand mix for repotting a Sarr.

 

[Pyro]

Actually peat:sphag works just fine, I have a few Sarrs in that and they are growing like crazy. Or just do straight sphag, it is what many Sarrs grow in normally in the wild

 

[FlytrapGurl]

Thanks!

 

[Pyro]

De nada

 

[FlytrapGurl]

I've got free time today, so do you think it would be okay to plant it today? Or is it best to wait a month or so before I plant it?

Thanx

 

[Pyro]

That depends, what is your weather looking like in T'ville? Are you growing your Sarrs outside? If your plants are showing signs of breaking dormancy and the danger of frost is past for the year then you could probably get away with it. I might be inclined to wait just a little longer but then again I am further north than you so I'll have a little more winter weather