peat moss replacement

sheslostit 3/12/2011, 7:32 am

I was at the local organic garden shop yesterday getting some stuff for my MM. They showed me a product made of cocoanut shells that felt and looked like the same consistency as peat moss. I stuck with the peat moss just because its what Mel recommended. however, I was wondering if anyone has used this. It would be a much better product than peat moss since it is a renewable/sustainable source and peat moss is not a sustainable source. Just curious if any has tried this? Like I said, I did buy peat moss since I wanted to stay true to MM but was just curious for down the road when I build more beds.

Megan 3/12/2011, 7:38 am

I think they showed you coir. It has been discussed here before, and has been used as a substitute for peat moss in MM where peat was unavailable, especially in tropical countries. I've heard a few negatives about it but do not remember why, and have not tried it myself. Hopefully someone else will chime in here.

Also, regarding peat as a resource: Almost all (maybe all?) peat that is commercially available these days is made from sphagnum, which grows like a weed. It is NOT the peat harvested out of bogs, which you correctly noted as non-renewable. So, no need to worry on that score. You are green with sphagnum! Smile

Kabaju42 3/12/2011, 9:34 am

Utah State University did a study comparing Coconut Coir and Peat Moss a while back. I haven't read it for a while, but in short the peat plants did better than the coir plants. Here's the study: http://www.usu.edu/cpl/PDF/CoconutCoirPaper.pdf

When I grow plants in pots that I'm going to transplant I like to use the peat moss pots. Last year I bought some coconut coir pots along with the peat moss plants. Overall I didn't like the coir pots as much. To me they just had a werid feel.

sheslostit 3/13/2011, 9:02 am

thanks for the info. i didn't want to take a chance so i'm thankful i bought the pete moss, good to know it isn't as bad as i thought. Thanks for the info guys (:

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