Miracle-Gro® Enriched Sphagnum Peat Moss

Before I write anything else - I am ONLY going to use the experimentally in an area I wasnt going to plant (as a true SFG anyway) this year.

After going by my local garden shop to place a Course Vermiculaite order, I was driving by one of the lesser successful walmart sort of stores and I decided to stop by the garden center to just look around to kill some time. I saw some soaking wet Spagnum Peat moss with no price on it and I got a clerk to come out and see what price I could get. She told me that would go for 6.95 a cf - and a damaged bag of some sort of compost was 99 cents. I told her I was going to pass on the peat moss but I would take the wierd compost (to get some more variety I am always looking).

Then things started to get more interesting. After I had popped on the compost deal she asked if I wanted to see some other deals and I said sure! She took me to this huge pallet of stuff probably from last year, 2 cu bags of Miracle-Gro Enriched Sphagnum Peat Moss It wasnt selling because the plastic was sun detoriated and when you tried to move it the bag would break. It was marked at 9.95 a bag and I said "man no way it isnt even pure peat moss!". She then made me a deal I couldnt turn down - I took 2 honda station wagon loads with the back seat folded down and the srings about bottomed out for what worked out to be about 80 cents a 2cu bag!

Well I learned two things, one I am a sucker for a deal - even if it is something I don't want or even need and two, that I had found a good source for odd crap and etc in the future (i.e I should stay away lol).

Now to figure out what is in this stuff, the label says this:

Ingredients:

This product is formulated from Canadian spahagnum peat moss, a wetting agent and fertillizer.

Net Weight 13 pounds

Total Nitrogen 0.10%

1. ammoniacal nitrogen 0.02%
   
2. nitrate nitrogen 0.03%
   
3. urea nitrogen 0.05%
   

Available phosphate (P2O5) 0.05%

Soluable potash (K2O) 0.10%

Derived from: Urea, ammonium phosphate and potassium nitrate

I typed all that because it seems it isn't on the interent anywhere But what I thinking I got was their garden dirt with out the usual Perlite they usually cram into everythign they make.

Like I said, I am going use it in an experimental section - mix it with some vermiculite and see what happens. If I can remember to do so I will post back with my findings. It wont be a real fair test though I will admit - because where I am adding this is some of my best existign dirt packed full with earthworms etc already - but hell for 80 cents a bag how wrong can I go?

But the real point is - dont be afraid to ask for a deal on stuff at these garden places. The worst they can say is no right?

80 cents a bag? That's great. It's got organic matter in there, so it ought to work fine. The fertilizer part appears to be very low, so I wouldn't sweat that too much at all.

I wish my wife had a little more of that bargaining gene in her.

And she's had some accidental success. We had a stump and he knocked on the door to ask if we wanted it removed. The guy said he'd remove it for $60. My wife wasn't trying to bargain with him, she simply repeated what he said "$60 bucks, huh?" The man quickly responded..."OK, OK...how about $50?" My wife was stunned. She wasn't haggling, she simply wanted to make sure she heard him correctly on the $60.

And then she sorta disappointed me the other day with the HVAC man. Guy presented the bill and the wife called me at work. I coached her up and asked that she simply say something like "can you lower the bill a bit?" She didn't even try . She handed the repairman the phone and I pretty much repeated those words "can you lower the bill a bit?" Repairman said..."OK, let me drop it to X."

Sometimes you just gotta ask.

Yeah she had a bunch of large pots of pretty good sized tomato plants she wanted to sell too - but I figured I had better get out of that place and get cleaned up.

I had a box of contractor cleanup bags in the car and a tarp (pure luck). I slid each crumbling bag into a contractor bag and moved it that way. That stuff was wet and so heavy it bent the rolling shelve cart they gave me to move it. It was a real mess loading that stuff - it was like handling 80 pound bags of water - but I think I made out OK sence I could use it as an ammendment somethere.

If nothing else - I got some darn good excercise today!

Bill, you got a deal. I buy something similar to start my seeds in and anything left over goes into flower pots. TN I know what you're saying; haggling is a skill, thus it takes practice. My theory is it never hurts to ask.

I don't see anything in it that would actually preclude using in MM. The fertilizer will get used up rapidly and then your lovely homemade compost or worm casting would kick in for long term. Some of you MiracleGro knowledgeable folks may have a different view, so chime in. I think you may have gotten an even better deal than you think.

Kay

BillOcala wrote:Before I write anything else - I am ONLY going to use the experimentally in an area I wasnt going to plant (as a true SFG anyway) this year.

After going by my local garden shop to place a Course Vermiculaite order, I was driving by one of the lesser successful walmart sort of stores and I decided to stop by the garden center to just look around to kill some time. I saw some soaking wet Spagnum Peat moss with no price on it and I got a clerk to come out and see what price I could get. She told me that would go for 6.95 a cf - and a damaged bag of some sort of compost was 99 cents. I told her I was going to pass on the peat moss but I would take the wierd compost (to get some more variety I am always looking).

Then things started to get more interesting. After I had popped on the compost deal she asked if I wanted to see some other deals and I said sure! She took me to this huge pallet of stuff probably from last year, 2 cu bags of Miracle-Gro Enriched Sphagnum Peat Moss It wasnt selling because the plastic was sun detoriated and when you tried to move it the bag would break. It was marked at 9.95 a bag and I said "man no way it isnt even pure peat moss!". She then made me a deal I couldnt turn down - I took 2 honda station wagon loads with the back seat folded down and the srings about bottomed out for what worked out to be about 80 cents a 2cu bag!

Well I learned two things, one I am a sucker for a deal - even if it is something I don't want or even need and two, that I had found a good source for odd crap and etc in the future (i.e I should stay away lol).

Now to figure out what is in this stuff, the label says this:

Ingredients:

This product is formulated from Canadian spahagnum peat moss, a wetting agent and fertillizer.

Net Weight 13 pounds

Total Nitrogen 0.10%

1. ammoniacal nitrogen 0.02%
   
2. nitrate nitrogen 0.03%
   
3. urea nitrogen 0.05%
   

Available phosphate (P2O5) 0.05%

Soluable potash (K2O) 0.10%

Derived from: Urea, ammonium phosphate and potassium nitrate

I typed all that because it seems it isn't on the interent anywhere But what I thinking I got was their garden dirt with out the usual Perlite they usually cram into everythign they make.

Like I said, I am going use it in an experimental section - mix it with some vermiculite and see what happens. If I can remember to do so I will post back with my findings. It wont be a real fair test though I will admit - because where I am adding this is some of my best existign dirt packed full with earthworms etc already - but hell for 80 cents a bag how wrong can I go?

But the real point is - dont be afraid to ask for a deal on stuff at these garden places. The worst they can say is no right?

from my little book on fertilizers

NPK N = Nitrogen , P = Phosphorous , K = Potash

Ammonium Phosphate.. ( used to make liquid feeds ) N = 11 % nitrogen , P = potassium 48% , K = 0 % Potash ..



Potassium Nitrate

N=13% Nitrogen , P = Phosphorous = 0.0 % , K= 46% Potash .



Urea ... N = 46% Nitrogen . P= 0 % Potassium K=0% Potash (this chemical is generaly used as a liquid feed ).

The high nitrogen content will make greens grow like mad , makes them dark green ,increases the edible protien of a plant , but will leave the cells bloated sappy and soft , this growth will be at the expense of fruit & flowers & tends to mean a weaker plant that is susceptable to frost damage and lowered disease rsistance.

Phosphorous is a root builder, young plants need it as they have a rapid intake to make big roots so this used in beds is important .

Potash develops the fruit & flowers .



At a fair guess I'd say that you have the sort of stuff contained in once only use grow bags for patio growing of tomatoes and salad crops ,it will be almost spent of nutrients after eight weeks tomato growing if you don't add any more nutrients,

Thanks for looking all that up - I am going to use it in a more traditional corn bed. I have tons of extra seed so I figured what the heck - I wont have much invested in it either way and who knows? Might work and I get some extra corn - if nothing else it will make my worms happy

It has been hard for me to abandon my good old beds - they have been good for me for years - but the SFG method promises so much more efficiency. THE SFG beds have given me a way to open up some new areas where I had good sun but poor soil. Anyway slowly but surely I am coming around! After this season I will know how SFG compares, and I will be sure to tell everyone how it goes!

I have my old local nursery man that has been around forever, he had not yet heard of SFG's and he is watching how mine go too. I already have him stocking the course vermiculte now - he sees it as a business opportunity (and he is right).