Preparation of Peat Moss for Carnivorous Plants

[Not a Number]

May 15, 2015 15:45:39 GMT fredg said:

May 15, 2015 14:38:49 GMT jdallas said:

I'm a little confused by this. Media needs to by hydrated. Sopping wet media isn't good, but I'd never advise someone to pot up a plant in dry media.

Not totally dry Jeff just slightly damp. If it sticks to your fingers when potting it's too wet. I use as supplied and then water the plants in after potting.

All the compressed bales of peat moss I've used "as supplied" have been dry as a bone. There's no more moisture in them than there is in a tin of oolong tea leaves. The bales are typically a fairly solid block of dry peat moss that can be broken apart and crumbled by hand. It's more efficient to break it up with a scoop, trowel or spade.

The small consumer grade bags often have a wetting agent - typically a soap of some kind, the more "green" companies are using an aloe extract. However this wetting agent is a good reason to rinse out the peat moss - you just don't know what kind of soap is used.

And pots usually have drain holes on the bottom. Any excess water would drain out. You can always let the pots stand for a few hour or overnight if the peat moss is too "soupy". And as the saying goes "water seeks its own level". So unless your trays are filled up to the level of the the top of the peat moss most of the excess water will drain into the tray.

[fredg]

By the time you have potted the plant using wet medium it's too late to talk about drainage. The root damage will already have been done. Now I am beginning to understand why on the US fora I keep seeing posts that your plants need quite a long time to settle after potting/ re-potting.

[Yaron]

Hi.
Whenever I get peat, I wrinse it in RO water several times bt dunking a handfull, then squeezing theroughly. I do this several times, until the runoff water is extremely low on TDS.
I keep the peat moist, as it's murder to rehidrate peat, once it's it's dry.
Before you ask, I do this long before I need the peat, and keep a barrel of it on hand all the time.
And when I realy feal lazy, I call my son... ;-)

[grackle]

I think that anyone who was introduced to peat through those peat puck seed starters goes in wary. I have poured boiling water on them and they still are misshapen for a day or more. Whole new category of dry up here and seriously old stock.
grack

[fredg]

May 19, 2015 11:37:03 GMT Yaron said:

Hi.
Whenever I get peat, I wrinse it in RO water several times bt dunking a handfull, then squeezing theroughly. I do this several times, until the runoff water is extremely low on TDS.............

Why?

[Yaron]

I just wrinsed 5 liters of peat.
It took me 12 galons of RO water, and I was left with about half that much peat.
The reason I wrinse the peat is to get rid of salts and other dissolved stuff in it. Also to get rid of some of the fungii and spores that lay dormant in the peat.
After each wrinse this time, I had a grey muddy sediment on the bottom of my bucket. Never had that before, and I got the peat from the same sorce as always.
The TDS at first wrinse was well over 400. Imagine using that peat in CPs...
Got it down to under 50 at the fifth wrinse.
Helps my plants live longer.

[fredg]

Do we know what TDS reading for medium is dangerous? I can't recall ever seeing a figure.

[Yaron]

I prefer to play it safe, and not sorry. Since in nature the water keeps moving, and the solids are washed away and don't build up, I treat my soil with the same attitude - I keep the TDS of the water that flows through the soil low.

[fredg]

Water TDS and medium TDS are not comparative. Medium does not evaporate leaving the salts behind

[Yaron]

True, and my wife will be the first to admit that soil doesn't evaporate from the floor...
The salts in the soil will leach into the water. As the pot stands in water that doesn't flow, these salts will remain in the water, increasing the TDS of the water. I wrinse the soil until the runoff water, not the soil, has a low TDS level.
This alows me some peace, knowing there are less solids that leach from the soil to the water.
Besides, these solids aren't the only thing the wrinse gets rid of. Fungus spores and other things are reduced as well

[fredg]

I think you're missing the point. If you add water with a high TDS reading, the total TDS reading in the medium will increase as the water evaporates giving ever increasing salts content over time. That will eventually be detrimental to the plants.
The initial salts in the peat may leach into the water but as that water evaporates the salts content remains constant.

Perhaps TDS meters should have their use confined to check the efficiency of RO filters.

May I state at this time that I have been growing carnivorous plants in peat for 32 years now and have never washed or rinsed the peat. ( sorry Not A Number but it had to be said )

[killerplants4realz]

I have never washed my peat ever in my life. My plants grow fine. I actually grow very nice plants with no issues. I am also lucky in the fact that I can use my tap water for all of my CPS just found that out thank goodness. Was very tired of moving rainwater around. I will still keep a open mind about washing it. Very interesting conversation. Happy growing to all of you:)

[Yaron]

You're absolutly right!
In my case, the sorces of peat here are very unreliable, and washing them helps prevent anything unwanted to get at my plants.
Also, I use RO water, so there is no build up of salts, and washing the peat also help keep the TDS down

[fredg]

May 27, 2015 15:10:16 GMT killerplants4realz said:

I have never washed my peat ever in my life. My plants grow fine. I actually grow very nice plants with no issues. I am also lucky in the fact that I can use my tap water for all of my CPS just found that out thank goodness. Was very tired of moving rainwater around. I will still keep a open mind about washing it. Very interesting conversation. Happy growing to all of you:)

You lucky devil

[rtheron]

Can pitt moss be used in stead of peat moss? I know carnivorous plants need nutrient poor soil but I worry pitt moss might have too few nutrients still??

pittmoss.com/collections/products/products/pittmoss-prime