Pittmoss. Has anyone tried it?

KIS · Jan 9, 2018

CrushnYuba said:
Wow. That's really expensive though. 13 a cu ft is 351$ a yard!
I have messed with ligna peat. The peat alternative made from triple ground redwood bark. I really like it. usually less then 50$ a yard. Really good for making heavy compost based soil lighter. It's in the vermi fire i believe. Similar ph to peat. Some of my favorite soil mixes i have made have it. It's also in vermi and vermifire.

Bark is typically a filler and can be antimicrobial. Potting soil companies get it free or super cheap ($10-15 yard) from the timber industry. They then list it as "forest humus" or "composted bark fines" or some other good sounding name. It really does nothing beneficial in regards to plant growth and health. There's a reason we use it as a weed suppressing mulch in our ornamental landscapes.

I would suggest trying similar mixes without the bark and I bet you would get even better results.

And the cost is really the killer for me with the Pitt Moss. I love the concept, but it is so expensive and lacking the microbiology I get when I use peat.

wasgedn · Jan 10, 2018

the one who comes with proper replacement for peat will make much money
(peat is totally not alright to use , destroying thousands of year old ecosystems is not allright...and its stays destroyed)
i use it to from bb lightmix...but i am a asshole as long i use it...its fact..
ok some of you will say i will stay an asshole also when skipping peat..might be true...

h.h. · Jan 10, 2018

KIS said:
Bark is typically a filler and can be antimicrobial. Potting soil companies get it free or super cheap ($10-15 yard) from the timber industry. They then list it as "forest humus" or "composted bark fines" or some other good sounding name. It really does nothing beneficial in regards to plant growth and health. There's a reason we use it as a weed suppressing mulch in our ornamental landscapes.

I would suggest trying similar mixes without the bark and I bet you would get even better results.

And the cost is really the killer for me with the Pitt Moss. I love the concept, but it is so expensive and lacking the microbiology I get when I use peat.

It's really pretty cheap until you add in shipping. While peat is compressed, this stuff isn't. Not on purpose anyway. An obstacle to overcome.

While it may lack the microbiology, mixed 50/50 with peat that's soon overcome. It actually makes a really good mix. Superior to the ingredients alone.
My only concern is longevity and is it eventually going to collapse?

KIS · Jan 11, 2018

h.h. said:
It's really pretty cheap until you add in shipping. While peat is compressed, this stuff isn't. Not on purpose anyway. An obstacle to overcome.

While it may lack the microbiology, mixed 50/50 with peat that's soon overcome. It actually makes a really good mix. Superior to the ingredients alone.
My only concern is longevity and is it eventually going to collapse?

I appreciate you sharing your thoughts and results.

h.h. · Jan 12, 2018

Perhaps if they had a west cost distributor with a long track record and an excellent reputation?
Just saying...
So what is the stuff? Silicone impregnated cellulose?

growingcrazy · Jan 12, 2018

Anybody have an MSDS? I can't find one.

I grew up in that area... no paper recycling plant nearby... I bet it is coming from OH.

Any more details?

CrushnYuba · Jan 14, 2018

Kis:
The tripple shredded redwood bark is a verry fluffy unique texture that really breaks down slow. Its not like fir or pine bark fines or anything else. Its extremely course and stringy.
I have used so many soil recipes. I have around 500+ yards of soil in use right now. Redwood in the right proportions just crushes it The hardest. It is for making a compost based mix lighter. Not as a base itself. Its sort of an amendment like perlite is to get your drainage and texture right. 20% total volume is plenty. That's how i use peat also.

CustomBlendSoil · Jan 16, 2018

Free samples to test

Free samples to test

I want some honest feedback of some revolutionary products I engineered. No gimmicks or bullshit, just please give me an honest evaluation. Experienced growers preferred as I want scientific data and not someone to stroke my ego. It’s a grow media component similar to coco made of Pacific Northwest forest products I’m calling “Oregon Peat” and the other is a living biologically active carbon source that is composted proprietary ingredients “Karbon”
Thanks for checking it out

growingcrazy · Jan 16, 2018

Send a bale over!

pine needles and saw dust? Composted of course...

h.h. · Jan 17, 2018

"Pacific Northwest forest products" to me means nothing. Redwood, pine, poison oak? Whatever they send you?

Getting past the self promotion and getting back on subject.

OMRI lists PittMoss as paper and nothing more. Listed for mulch or as a compost amendment. Nothing about being a soil amendment.
With that, it doesn't appear to be just torn up paper.
Claims are that the original experimentation consisted of newspaper in a food processor. Perhaps they just got a bigger food processor?

wasgedn · Jan 19, 2018

it must be soft like peat....moos compost maybe...

but lets give [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]CustomBlendSoil a chance...check his album...

btw i dont believe in papermoss too...but lets wait and see some tests..
testshrinks lol...no kidding i am open to all when it worx..
[/FONT]

CustomBlendSoil · Jan 20, 2018

I can send out when ever y’all are ready. And why the hate from the one guy? I’m paying for everything and there is absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain. I worked really hard to make this the best possible available carbon source and diverse microbiology etc... I will be happy to spill the beans after some tests but wanted an un-biased trial if possible. If I say what’s all in it and how I processed it , automatically people like urself start knocking it and making uneducated assumptions blah blah blah. Y’all know what time it is if you been in the game. To anyone who wants some, I will send it out ASAP and would like to say thank you for ur time. I’ll be sending a lot, not some little tiny “what the fuck am I gonna do with that little bag” style sample so you can have enough to do whatever it is you do. 40-50 lbs I’m guessing. If you want more just say so and I’ll shoot it. Good luck to everyone and remember:
*dont shit in ur own backyard
*if it’s good, prolly ain’t cheap
If it’s cheap, prolly ain’t good
*stay down till you come up!!!

h.h. · Jan 20, 2018

No hate.
Sorry to interrupt your ad.
Greatest soil ever. Magic.
Proceed.

Siskiyou · Jan 20, 2018

Nothing unknown in my soil. I don't want your sample unless you can be more forthcoming about what it is. Also, this is a thread about Pittmoss.

CrushnYuba · Jan 20, 2018

Pm me. Ill take a sample.

KIS · Jan 21, 2018

CrushnYuba said:
Kis:
The tripple shredded redwood bark is a verry fluffy unique texture that really breaks down slow. Its not like fir or pine bark fines or anything else. Its extremely course and stringy.
I have used so many soil recipes. I have around 500+ yards of soil in use right now. Redwood in the right proportions just crushes it The hardest. It is for making a compost based mix lighter. Not as a base itself. Its sort of an amendment like perlite is to get your drainage and texture right. 20% total volume is plenty. That's how i use peat also.

Any bark based product would have issues. Bark is naturally anti-microbial as it is the "skin" of the tree to protect it from pathogens and infections. I have not researched redwood vs pine, though I know pine suffers from acidity issues, I assume you would still have a poor C:N ratio with the redwood bark. I'm not sure what you're really gaining by using it from a plant growth perspective. My guess is that at a low % it may not hurt the plant, but I don't see how it's contributing to plant growth.

Regardless, this was a PitMoss thread, I suppose you could start one on your soil mix or "composted forest products."

HH, I've seen the PitMoss and held it and it does appear to have something else in there besides just paper, unless it's the glues used to make the papers that are creating the unique texture. Maybe something in the manufacturing process? Or they could be not telling us something, won't be the first time a company marketing to the cannabis industry has lied to consumers. I really haven't dug into that aspect of it, they seem like a legitimate company.

CrushnYuba · Jan 22, 2018

Didn't mean to get off topic. Or incourage that guys snake oil sales pitch.
I am skeptical and I'm not sure what pit mosses use is. It doesn't seem like a bonfied peat replacement or base medium for soilless mixes.
For one it's more expensive then anything else on the market. By allot. Peat has become the most expensive in the last few years and it's more 3x more then even peat.
Its ph neutral which is cool, but most of the time when i am using peat (or bark/wood) i am looking for something acidic to balance the alkaline compost.
Isn't this just a cellulose product? Isn't cellulose wood pulp? What makes it different then the wood based "filler" out there.
And how looking does it take to break down? Peat takes forever to grow but It's basically humus. It takes forever to break down also.
If one is looking for something to harbor micro biology, i would think you would want a compost based medium with compost in different stages of decomposition and amendments to make it hold more air. My compost based mix is for sure alive. It devours amendments instantly. Stuff that doesn't rapidly decompose can't do that.

h.h. · Jan 25, 2018

PittMoss soil blocks.

h.h. · Feb 23, 2018

It works. No sign of soil collapse. Approximately 33% PittMoss.

growingcrazy · Feb 23, 2018

I will be going to the plant in April when I go see family in Pittsburgh.

Will let you know what I come up.

h.h. you have more info on that grow?

Pittmoss. Has anyone tried it?

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