Peat Moss & Water Absorption

Application

• Sold as dried bundles, peat moss is extremely lightweight. It is easy to break up and spread over soil. Mix the peat moss directly into the soil if the intent is to increase its moisture retention. Left atop the soil, peat moss will behave as mulch that blocks air and sunlight from reaching what's beneath it.

Enrich Soil Texture

• Add it to clay soils to break them up to make their textures lighter and aerated to promote healthy root growth. Add peat moss to sandy soils to decrease the water drainage and runoff, anchoring the sandy soil just enough to hold plant roots in place.

Retain Moisture

• Adding peat moss to soil is literally mixing into it a natural sponge material. It retains water as the water infiltrates its dried fibers. Prior to the sphagnum moss dying off and becoming peat material, it grows in clumps or patches that float on top of the bog, while the dead material extends down into the bog.

  The cells of sphagnum moss are very durable and very porous. Because of the strength of its cell walls, dried peat is able to absorb 20 times its weight in water.

  While it is alive, sphagnum moss easily absorbs water, so its dead, dried material reconstitutes, to a certain extent, once it is wet, and exhibits most of its original absorptive properties.

Nutrient Contribution

• At the start of the decomposition of sphagnum moss, its material is nutrient-rich. This decomposition takes place in the bog prior to the harvesting of the peat moss, however. This process significantly affects the amount of nutrients that the peat moss contributes to the soil once added in as a soil enhancement. About the decomposition of peat, Sandra Mason, Unit Educator, Horticulture and Environment at University of Illinois states, "The material may be partially or fully decomposed and may be light brown to black."

Environmental Concern

• The environmental conservation of the bog natural habitat greatly hinges upon peat moss used in gardening applications in moderation or that alternatives to peat moss are explored. Its properties in soil enhancement and soil retention are very efficient, but its natural production cannot keep up with its harvesting. Rather than deplete the bogs of peat moss, alternative, more renewable additives, such as coir dust and pine tree substrate, are often used to get similar results.