Peat was not watered

ldmaynard1 4/24/2013, 10:02 pm

I got so excited about mixing my compost & filling my boxes I didn't water until finished. My boxes were not as full as anticipated. Is this because the peat didn't 'expand'? I have not planted yet. Any suggestions?

**Kelejan** 4/25/2013, 2:12 am

$glad you\'re here$ idmaynard1: hithere:

Perhaps you did not water as much as you should have done. Stick your figures right down to the bottom of the box to see if it is moist or dry down there. If dry, then you will have to keep watering a bit at a time until the MM takes up all the moisture it can hold.

If the box is not as full as anticipated, then add some more MM and water again. Best of luck!

Peat takes a lot of soaking from dry.

**camprn** 4/25/2013, 7:40 am

Good advice on the watering and moistening of the mix in the box already. If you would rather not make more Mel's mix, you can certainly top off the box with compost, as that is the component that will be feeding your plants.

ldmaynard1 4/25/2013, 8:32 am

Thank you both for your replies. I am certain that my measurement for the Peat and Vermiculite was correct for my 2 SFG beds. Thankfully we got a lot of rain last night so I will check the soil in the morning for moisture. I was afraid of adding another inch of compost for fear it would throw things off. A combination of the two replies above was exactly what I needed for a boost of confidence and are very much appreciated.

**Kelejan** 4/25/2013, 11:57 am

You're welcome, Id.

We were all beginners once and can still relate to people starting out. I made the mstake (amongst many others) of not watering sufficiently when I first set up my beds. So far I only try to give advice when I think I really know what I am doing and having been there and done that in this instance, I am happy to share my own experience. In this instance, my lettuce etc was not doing too well, even though I thought I watered enough, and I was also told yo stick my fingers down to the bottom of the bed and to water deeply. It worked. Very Happy

jazzycat 4/25/2013, 1:47 pm

I didn't water mine before planting either, and it worked out fine. I have a self-watering bed though.

I bought a moisture meter so I can easily check to see if the self-watering mechanism is working. I also use it on other plants aren't self-watering, so I know when to water them. It might be worth it to invest in one. I just got a cheapy one that was $10 or $15.

Good luck! And welcome to the forum!

whompy 4/25/2013, 3:33 pm

Wait, I thought you only watered down the MM out of convenience sake- so that there wasn't dust and particles blowing around in the breeze, getting in your eyes, breathing it, etc. I filled one bed without any water at all. Luckily, I haven't filled my other two. So the success of my SFG partially depends on my watering it before I put any seedlings in it?

Triciasgarden 4/25/2013, 11:20 pm

Welcome Whompy! It is the first soaking that is very important. Peat has a hard time soaking up the moisture the first time so you have a good chance of pockets of dry MM and then your plants may not be able to get the moisture they need. After the first soaking, the MM will accept and hold moisture normally. After you soak it, feel around to see if it is all wet. It is actually kinda fun to me to play in the soft mix. I know, wierd!

Tris 4/26/2013, 1:56 pm

I didn't water before I put the peet mix in, from everything I've read here it sounded like it would be a disaster (gets super heavy etc). I mixed it all together like it showed in the book, then once in the box gave each box a thorough 30+ minute soaking with a hose (had the setting on heavy mist). It worked perfect!

**walshevak** 4/26/2013, 11:37 pm

Tris wrote:I didn't water before I put the peet mix in, from everything I've read here it sounded like it would be a disaster (gets super heavy etc). I mixed it all together like it showed in the book, then once in the box gave each box a thorough 30+ minute soaking with a hose (had the setting on heavy mist). It worked perfect!

+1 pretty much just a dampening spray to keep the dust down while mixing and then watering heavily as I put the mix into the beds. Layer of MM, water it down, layer of MM etc

Kay

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we HAVE to water the peat moss?

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