Jjgrow420
Well-Known Member
Or just buy another bag
Sounds like peat-a. (Peta).
Please stop using peat products
- Thread starter MAGpie81
- Start date
Sounds like peat-a. (Peta).
speedwell68
Well-Known Member
This is what I am trying to do. I don't live anywhere near where Peat or Coco are produced, but I do live near a compost production facility that makes it from locally sourced garden waste. I'd be stupid not to use it, for a start it is way cheaper.
Some Googling tonight suggests I can get locally produced chicken guano pellets and as I live near the coast I have discovered that the council stack all the washed up seaweed at the top of the beach for locals to take away and compost, this also bears some investigation. Reading the gardening groups on Reddit suggests I can make teas from seaweed, nettles and comfrey. Both nettles and comfrey grow wild in the lane behind my house. Every year the council come by, strim the lot of it and leave it to rot.
I have to say that seeking out sustainable sources alternatives to the products we use is super interesting, I have learned a lot off the back of this thread.
Look into what species of seaweed it is as I think only some contain the triacontinol and certain species favor auxins and others cytokines(sp?) and have slightly different nutrient profiles, also as with anything from the sea you'll have to watch your sodium content as time goes by so you don't fuck your CEC long term.
LeastExpectedGrower
Well-Known Member
Canadian peat production IS sustainable. I use ProMix which is Canadian sourced but before used soil from these people:
- Peat Moss is abundant and environmentally sustainable.
- Peat Moss grows more than 60 times faster than it is harvested.
- Canada has more than 281 million acres of peatlands (25% of the world’s supply).
- Harvested peat moss improves plant and soil health wherever applied.
- Sun Gro® carefully harvests peat moss to allow for easy restoration.
- Sun Gro® identifies and harvests only from bogs that can be restored to functioning wetlands, wildlife habitat or farmland.
Peatland restoration
Peatland restoration goal The goal of restoration of peatlands after peat harvesting is to re-establish self-regulatory mechanisms that will lead back to a naturally functioning peat accumulating ecosystem, including its ability to accumulate peat. The restoration approach for bogs, called the...
Though indeed it is an industry website, so I guess take it with a grain of salt.
Are you reusing the same soil in a sip setup, and it just gets re-ammended throughout its life (a little during, and in between cycles) or something like that? I'm getting interested in it.
PadawanWarrior
Well-Known Member
Not a sip. Just 15 gal pots that I'm doing no-till in. Top dressing as I go.
lusidghost
Well-Known Member
I guess I was wrong. I've always heard it was unsustainable. I've never used it and probably never will, but I'm glad to know that it's not disappearing from the earth.
speedwell68
Well-Known Member
It isn't about the sustainability. From what I understand the problem is the Carbon that gets released when it is dug.Canadian peat production IS sustainable. I use ProMix which is Canadian sourced but before used soil from these people:
Some interesting other information here:
- Peat Moss is abundant and environmentally sustainable.
- Peat Moss grows more than 60 times faster than it is harvested.
- Canada has more than 281 million acres of peatlands (25% of the world’s supply).
- Harvested peat moss improves plant and soil health wherever applied.
- Sun Gro® carefully harvests peat moss to allow for easy restoration.
- Sun Gro® identifies and harvests only from bogs that can be restored to functioning wetlands, wildlife habitat or farmland.
Peatland restoration
Peatland restoration goal The goal of restoration of peatlands after peat harvesting is to re-establish self-regulatory mechanisms that will lead back to a naturally functioning peat accumulating ecosystem, including its ability to accumulate peat. The restoration approach for bogs, called the...peatmoss.com
Though indeed it is an industry website, so I guess take it with a grain of salt.
Budget Buds
Well-Known Member
Another reason I grow in media-less hydro 
LeastExpectedGrower
Well-Known Member
I'd want to know more about this. Because if it does indeed regrow quickly and can be re-harvested it also must be soaking in carbon if it 'releases it' on harvest as well. It can't be a one-way street.
Yes thats most folks objections man but consider that man has dug always tho so id say its more to cover there fuck ups its nothing to do with all the jets flying everywhere all the cars trucks etc its far easier to target something easy like peat i agree all countries with this kind of terrain should set aside a fair chunk of land so theres still plenty of peat bog for carbon storage purposes but i think hand cut cant be that bad vs industrialised surely
hillbill
Well-Known Member
SPM is abundant in North America across the Glaciered Canadian Shield and is not burned to heat homes. Some of the Peat in Ireland and The Isles gets replaced with wood pellets from North America from North American Forests. There is no free lunch.
I spent half my life in an area that had vast areas of peat bogs and an extremely small amount is harvested and is closely regulated.
I use a bale every few years so not too concerned, we also maintain much smaller carbon footprint than most Muricans.
The ROLS I use is now at always 50% to 60% used mix and seedlings are in 100% used mix. I still can identify a astray rice hill that I haven’t added in over 5 years.
I spent half my life in an area that had vast areas of peat bogs and an extremely small amount is harvested and is closely regulated.
I use a bale every few years so not too concerned, we also maintain much smaller carbon footprint than most Muricans.
The ROLS I use is now at always 50% to 60% used mix and seedlings are in 100% used mix. I still can identify a astray rice hill that I haven’t added in over 5 years.
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speedwell68
Well-Known Member
This is the rub with environmentalism. Who do we believe? With all of these things one scientist will say one thing and another will say the opposite. The UK government are banning the stuff so I have little choice.
The UK ban doesn't start until 2024, but the major suppliers have already stopped stocking it. I have used Jack's Magic (mostly peat mixed with compost) before and one big supplier lists it on their website at 150L (3x50L bags) for £10. I figured that was too cheap to ignore, I could get enough for my next 3 grows. When I get there it had all gone and the only products on offer are all peat free.
I am glad I am making the switch to mixing my own soil from local ingredients. Regardless of what the scientists and governments say about Peat, I see no point in using products that may or may not be bad for the environment, if I don't use it at all then I can't be wrong, in favour of equally good products that are being produced in the local area.
That goes for fertiliser too. I find this very interesting...
How To Make Nettle Tea Fertiliser
Before breaking up our Royal Horticulture Society Level 2 Practical Horticulture Students were asked to make a Nettle tea which could then be used to…
How to Make Comfrey Feed | BBC Gardeners World Magazine
Learn how to make an organic and nutritious plant feed using comfrey leaves, in this simple step by step guide, from BBC Gardeners' World Magazine.
www.gardenersworld.com
Both of those grow as weeds around here. As I have said before the council will cut it down and dump it, so it is freely available. There is a massive Nettle patch behind my back gate.
I am certainly going to start making my own compost for the veg garden and my outdoor Autos. I have an abundance of great compostable material at my finger tips, so I might as well use it. I find shit like this fun.
hillbill
Well-Known Member
I’ve tried using alternatives for perlite and found most extremely hard to get and do not offer comparable drainage with manageable weight. NAPA 8822 both drains as well as holds moisture and I use it to equal amounts of perlite, so we reduce perlite use by 50% straight up. It is also heat expanded though. I use some sharp creek gravel but that gets heavy fast. It’s also free.
Nutty sKunK
Well-Known Member
Have u tried rice hulls?
hillbill
Well-Known Member
Several years ago, would use em if shipping wasn’t so ridiculous but they are not sold locally in small amounts. They do well for drainage for a run or so and then break down in the mix. The mix was almost springy.
..
Yeah i aint seen em for sale heard there a good organic replacement for perlite but dont seem easy to find
speedwell68
Well-Known Member
I am looking at them. I think importing them from S.E Asia, on a ship, will probably have a lower carbon footprint than Perlite as a whole.
Yeah theres loads of plants that just rot here u can make teas with you can also burn it to make organic pot ash among other thingsThis is the rub with environmentalism. Who do we believe? With all of these things one scientist will say one thing and another will say the opposite. The UK government are banning the stuff so I have little choice.
The UK ban doesn't start until 2024, but the major suppliers have already stopped stocking it. I have used Jack's Magic (mostly peat mixed with compost) before and one big supplier lists it on their website at 150L (3x50L bags) for £10. I figured that was too cheap to ignore, I could get enough for my next 3 grows. When I get there it had all gone and the only products on offer are all peat free.
I am glad I am making the switch to mixing my own soil from local ingredients. Regardless of what the scientists and governments say about Peat, I see no point in using products that may or may not be bad for the environment, if I don't use it at all then I can't be wrong, in favour of equally good products that are being produced in the local area.
That goes for fertiliser too. I find this very interesting...
How To Make Nettle Tea Fertiliser
Before breaking up our Royal Horticulture Society Level 2 Practical Horticulture Students were asked to make a Nettle tea which could then be used to…www.moulton.ac.uk
How to Make Comfrey Feed | BBC Gardeners World Magazine
Learn how to make an organic and nutritious plant feed using comfrey leaves, in this simple step by step guide, from BBC Gardeners' World Magazine.www.gardenersworld.com
Both of those grow as weeds around here. As I have said before the council will cut it down and dump it, so it is freely available. There is a massive Nettle patch behind my back gate.
I am certainly going to start making my own compost for the veg garden and my outdoor Autos. I have an abundance of great compostable material at my finger tips, so I might as well use it. I find shit like this fun.
hillbill
Well-Known Member
Par Boiled Rice Hulls are available from Riceland in Arkansas, USA.
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