The Peat Report: new and good articles

[spurr]

Hey all,

I just saw this new issue of Greenhouse Grower and it's a good one. Here are some articles of the 'report' I think all Canadian s.peat users should read:


Index for Greenhouse Grower Magazine, November, 2010; The Peat Report:
http://www.greenhousegrower.com/magazine/?year=2010&month=11


The Peat Report: Addressing Peat's Sustainability
http://www.greenhousegrower.com/magazine/?storyid=3867


The Peat Report: Peat Producers Take A Stand
http://www.greenhousegrower.com/magazine/?storyid=3868


The Peat Report: How Producers Harvest
http://www.greenhousegrower.com/magazine/?storyid=3873


The Peat Report: A Case Against Canadian Peat Moss
http://www.greenhousegrower.com/magazine/?storyid=3869


The Peat Report: A Case For Canadian Peat Moss
http://www.greenhousegrower.com/magazine/?storyid=3870


etc...

 

[guest2012y]

Page bookmarked.........good info.......thanks spurr

 

[Tac]

Big peathead here

So why do I say peat moss is sustainable? Let’s review the facts:

1) According to the Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association (CSPMA), Canada possesses 423 million acres of peatlands, of which only 42,000 acres is harvested – far less than 1 percent of what’s available.

2) Peat is renewable, forming about 1 millimeter per year. It grows 70 times faster than its present rate of harvest. Based on its present use, Canadian peat moss cannot be depleted.

3) There are multiple examples of harvested bogs that have re-grown layers of sphagnum moss years after harvesting has stopped. CSPMA has invested in research that will allow bog regeneration in as little as five to eight years.

4) Peat is light and compressible while compost is not. What this means is that it takes more than three trucks of compost (hauling 60 cubic yards each) to deliver the same amount one truck of peat moss can deliver (190 cubic yards). Now, who has the bigger carbon footprint?

5) Wetlands and the harvesting of peat moss is a supervised and controlled process in Canada. Unlike the reactive responses that can result from other industry excesses (seen recently with the global fishing industry and the resulting over-fishing abuse associated with Atlantic cod and monk fish), Canadian provinces believe in being proactive regarding their wetlands. Particularly watchful are the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario, which all have wetland management conservation programs in place to protect their wetlands while natural resources and wildlife programs administer peat bogs in other provinces.

6) Finally, I should state that only if peat is used horticulturally can it be defended as sustainable. Peat used as fuel represents 65 percent of the total world production and, if unchecked, has the potential to decimate entire national reserves. While Canada and Germany are the world’s largest suppliers of peat for horticultural purposes they do not harvest peat for energy usage.

Sustainability, especially when it comes to growing media, continues to be a moving target. Sure there is the option of coir (or coconut fibers), but 90 percent of coir comes from either India or Sri Lanka, where there are more uncertainties about working conditions required for cultivation. In Canada, we know the peat industry results in thousands of steady, well-paying jobs.

The use of rice hulls versus vermiculite in media mix is another example of how sustainability can be a bit of a slippery slope. Rice hulls can be an excellent, sustainable component for our soil mix. It even appears to be a better add-in than vermiculite (which also holds nutrients, boosts soil moisture, aerates the soil and comes from a naturally occurring ore).

In the end, we went with vermiculite because the amount of diesel fuel that’s required to truck rice hulls all the way from Louisiana would ultimately be more detrimental to the environment than buying vermiculite that’s available 50 miles away from us.

 

[Carl Carlson]

I was going to start this thread, but all that matters is someone did...

 

[Billy DeLions]

Great information. To peat or not to peat....

 

[big ballin 88]

Nice thanks spurr. unfortunately i'm addicted to peat. As long as i add 60% shredded pine bark its my favorite mix... The way i look at it is HD has about 200 bales of this stuff and i'm one of the few buying it. Why let it go to waste...Than again i recycle my soil and it tends to last me at least a year before i need to mix some more and add them togeher...