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Pittmoss. Has anyone tried it?

h.h.

Active member
Veteran
I thought you couldn't spell peat. I started to pass this thread up, then I had a touch of empathy. Just a tiny touch.

I guess you can spell. I probably should apologize. Moving on...

A little on the high $ide and a bit of concern over the manufacturing process, I'm in an experimental mood and took the bait.

Thanks for the suggestion. It sounds like it may be a good product. I'm really hoping that it lives up to the expectations and if it has a smaller footprint and is more earth friendly? We shall see.:woohoo::woohoo::woohoo:
 

iBogart

Active member
Veteran
I thought you couldn't spell peat. I started to pass this thread up, then I had a touch of empathy. Just a tiny touch.

I guess you can spell. I probably should apologize. Moving on...

A little on the high $ide and a bit of concern over the manufacturing process, I'm in an experimental mood and took the bait.

Thanks for the suggestion. It sounds like it may be a good product. I'm really hoping that it lives up to the expectations and if it has a smaller footprint and is more earth friendly? We shall see.:woohoo::woohoo::woohoo:

Yeah I was thinking perhaps people wouldn't get the play on words the product uses.

Once you get it and start working with it, get back to this thread with your review. As soon as I get my garden going again, I'll do the same.

Oh yeah, apparently three sharks from that show Shark Tank invested in it. Just a little fyi.
 

h.h.

Active member
Veteran
Mark Cuban is in the cannabis business. Keurig is owned by EZ Wider. Mainstream capitalistic pot heads.The world is changing around me.
The next big thing. The money to be made is in the peripherals. Selling to those who think they're gonna make money..

I can give a preliminary assessment when the medium arrives. It may be a wee bit before I actually put any plants in it.

If the aeration and the buffering is as they claim, it will be a good addition to my old soil, which is mostly SPM.

I don't like perlite, but everything else is so heavy. I like to move the pots out in the sun on occasion, so weight is important. I hope this helps.

Thanks for bringing it up.
 

h.h.

Active member
Veteran
I received my Pitt Moss soil amendment last night. I had had this vision in my head of receiving a bag full of soggy newspapers and with just a quick review, it appears that is what I have received. I'm not sure how this won't quickly decompose.
It does have a slight smell to it. Not strong, just different from regular newspaper. I'm curious about the treatment.
Volume wise, I ordered 2 cubic feet. The bag was 2 cubic feet. All balled up in the bottom of the bag, it may have been half of that.
The price was too dang high. Mostly due to shipping. If it proves out, that should come way down with distribution.
With poor bag appeal, I wouldn't buy it by sight.

I remain positive. The product claims are encouraging while not seemingly unreal. To garner the investment money takes some credibility. Either way, the cellulose will be good for the soil.

I'm going to start it out as part of my worm bedding. Then it will become part of my aeration mix.
As I think it's going to blend into the soil, it's going to be tough to evaluate unless I was to do a side by side and make assumptions.
I wish they'd put out more technical data.
The best quality so far is that it isn't perlite.
 

h.h.

Active member
Veteran
Fluffed up, whats sold for 2 cubic feet = 1.35 cubic feet.

After adding it to roughly 11 cubic feet of mix, I could tell the difference in the tilth. I was wishing that I had a couple more bags as to get closer to the recommended amount.

One vendor wants about $10 a bag. If I could find it for that without paying $13 shipping, I would certainly consider buying more. If I knew it was going to hold up over a couple years time, I'd even consider paying the shipping.
 

KIS

Active member
It's interesting for sure, but I just found it to be overpriced and not very sustainable here on the West Coast with shipping. I'd like to see a nutrient analysis on it as well. Most peat substitutes I've seen look similar at first glance but are lacking in other aspects....too alkaline, no beneficial microbes, poor CEC, etc....
 

iBogart

Active member
Veteran
Fluffed up, whats sold for 2 cubic feet = 1.35 cubic feet.

After adding it to roughly 11 cubic feet of mix, I could tell the difference in the tilth. I was wishing that I had a couple more bags as to get closer to the recommended amount.

One vendor wants about $10 a bag. If I could find it for that without paying $13 shipping, I would certainly consider buying more. If I knew it was going to hold up over a couple years time, I'd even consider paying the shipping.

buildasoil.com just dropped their price to 7 dollars for 1 cuft. It's pretty much fresh on the market for 2017. Sucks that the bag you got didn't amount to what was stated. That's not good. Was that bag directly from Pittmoss or re-bagged by another vendor?
 

iBogart

Active member
Veteran
It's interesting for sure, but I just found it to be overpriced and not very sustainable here on the West Coast with shipping. I'd like to see a nutrient analysis on it as well. Most peat substitutes I've seen look similar at first glance but are lacking in other aspects....too alkaline, no beneficial microbes, poor CEC, etc....

Well, peat comes from Canada and destroys the bogs. Coco ships from India, so there's that.

Recycled cellulose made in Pennsylvania ain't too shabby compared to what's currently on the shelves for a base medium in a potting mix. If you do a little research you'll find that product claims to have a neutral ph of 6.5 that's easy to adjust, microbe friendly, with a low cec and good water retention.
 

h.h.

Active member
Veteran
I'd like to see the claims backed up with some citations.

There's a lot that they're not telling us. Only claims for me to test out at $13 a cubic foot. I'm not smart and I'm not rich. I want them to do that.
 

h.h.

Active member
Veteran
After addressing my concerns with Pittmoss, they volunteered to send me a replacement bag. Customer relations is top notch. Perhaps if they transferred those employees over to quality control.
It's bagged by a third party and there's the rub. Loss of oversight.

To me, it looks like combed newspaper. I can't see it holding up for long time use. I think nurseries would be a good market. Plants meant for transplant. Light weight soil saves labor.
If the manufacturing process could be confined to a trailer, it could be driven from nursery to nursery where local recycling products would be collected.
He just needs to bring in Elon Musk, make it electric. And me to tell them how to do it all.
 

KIS

Active member
Well, peat comes from Canada and destroys the bogs. Coco ships from India, so there's that.

Recycled cellulose made in Pennsylvania ain't too shabby compared to what's currently on the shelves for a base medium in a potting mix. If you do a little research you'll find that product claims to have a neutral ph of 6.5 that's easy to adjust, microbe friendly, with a low cec and good water retention.

The test I saw I thought showed high but I could be mistaken. I look at too many of these tests on a given day it seems like.

Why would you want low CEC unless you have a dialed in and schedule fertigation program?

Yes, peat and coco are not perfect. There's a reason the nursery and horticultural world are using peat moss though and not pit moss.

I'm all for sustainability and environmentally friendly options. I have a greater fossil fuel cost to get pitt moss to me on the West Coast than peat moss from Canada or local bogs.

As someone running a commercial nursery and greenhouse, I can't afford to pay double my cost for media or more (which was where pitt moss landed).

If you're a home grower and not having to look at numbers and live closer to the source, then maybe it's a good option.

I'd like to know a bit more about how it's made in regards to fossil fuel costs, etc.....and also if there's been any heavy metal testing done on the final product especially cadmium levels.

If you have any of these answers I'd love to learn more. Thanks!
 

wasgedn

Active member
i need replacement for bb light mix...
using peat is not sustainable...not alright at all...(no offense)

but what can we take as replacement....pittmoss vs peat ...pittmoss seems not compete able to peat...
i kno this cellulose stuff as worm feed ....
i dunno guys...ok maybe its worth a test ...but i dunno..
guess it will shrink plenty with the time

there must be better replacements out there...but not for cheap i guess , otherwise we would have some available at supply market..??
-------------------
-------------------
i knew bout cadmium in acidity conifer wood chips mulch..the acid washes the cadmium out of the minerals..
thx again kis for advice of hm accumulation in canna
 

h.h.

Active member
Veteran
After my complaints, PittMoss sent me a second bag of amendment.

I must say it's pretty nice when it's all fluffed up. They sent me a nice bag. No guarantee that ordering a 3rd bag wouldn't bring another wad of paper like my first bag was. Perhaps a second party such as BAS would have been a bit more selective.

The first cut is the deepest. Poor quality control is a red flag when it comes to their other unbacked claims.
I like the concept and hope they can work it out. Sometimes they just can't.
 

h.h.

Active member
Veteran
h.h., would you say it is comparable to that of blown in cellulose insulation?

Visually, fairly close I think. Maybe not quite as fine. I haven't seen blown in cellulose in a few years so it's a little hard to say.

picture.php
 

h.h.

Active member
Veteran
Half heartily started some seeds in this stuff. In spite of my negligence along the way 5 out of 6 sprouted and other than a bit of stretch, are looking good. I have nothing bad to say about it in these regards. The water retention and porosity and all that other stuff is excellent. No dampening issues, nothing. A bit preliminary of course, but I could see it as a go to product just as a starter mix.
If not used as a major component, sustainability becomes a bit less of an issue.
 

CrushnYuba

Well-known member
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.
 

h.h.

Active member
Veteran
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.

If you live in California. How much to ship it? How easy is it to get redwood anymore?
While it is a good product, it has limited availability.
 

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