FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I know we're supposed to rinse the peat moss that we use and I'm just seeing that you can measure the drain water from your pots with the TDS meter to check whether it's healthy for your plants. My question is how much do you need to rinse the peat as it can end up using a lot of rainwater or distilled water.

I've only got two pots of flytraps going right now, small Walmart rescues so I haven't rinse a lot of the peat, yet. The peat moss that I have is some Greensmix sphagnum peat moss that I bought at TSC. The first time I used it I rinsed it twice with some rainwater but the second time around the water I squeezed out was about as dark as it was the first time...but this had cost me over a gallon of rainwater and was really a small amount of peat moss. I've heard of people using regular tap water and then following that with a couple of rinses with rainwater. I've also read of people soaking the peat moss for 24 hours and then squeezing and rinsing.

I know I'm all over the place with this post but I'm confused on how much I actually need to rinse and the best technique to use. Also, measuring the TDS of the drain water from top watering...is that what I should be checking. It seems that my peat moss constantly drains tea-colored water into the tray after a rain or top watering...

I've searched the forum (where I've come up with what information I have) but haven't found a thorough explanation of how to rinse it well with limited resources. I've got some seedlings I need to pot tomorrow and I'd really like to give them a good start. *Any* pointers are appreciated!!!!!!

Thanks!

Thanks for your feedback! Yes, the Greensmix does have a lot of sticks and fibrous pieces in it. I used a disposable casserole pan that I salvaged from a church dinner to pick through the peat moss. I filled it about half full and would sweep the peat moss back and forth...that seemed to move the sticks and large pieces to the surface of the peat. Kind of time consuming but I picked it about as clean as a 1/4" a piece of hardware cloth would have cleaned it. My reasons to rinse it was the exact reasons you mentioned...to reduce algae, mold, possible weed seeds, etc.,. At the time, I wasn't even thinking of TDS in the peat...but have been reading some since then and naturally now I'm confused.

Your description of rinsing the peat moss is much similar to what I did. I had read previously about using a paint strainer bag so I did that. What I didn't do was add enough water to swirl the peat in. I simply put a bowling ball size amount of peat moss in the strainer bag that was lining a 5-gallon bucket. I then added water until the peat was over saturated, letting it soak a short while. I then started squeezing, moving around to different parts of the bag-enclosed wad of peat and squeezing a couple of times, letting the water drain back into the bucket, and then moving to another spot. Every now and then I would "fluff" the mix so as to move some of the mix that was in the center of the wad to the outside of the wad so it could get some rinsing, too. I did this twice, I think it was. The drained water remained dark oak colored. Even with the paint-strainer bag squeezing the mix was definitely a chore! Once I felt the wad of peat had received about all the squeezing that I could manage in the final rinse I transferred it to another bucket. Once all of the peat had gone through the strainer bag I still squeezed it out again as I filled my pots. But, all of this was for only maybe two gallons of finished mix.

I've got a TDS meter so I'll be checking the drain water to see what it measures.

A couple of take-aways from your post is that I'm going to add more water to the rinse than I used the first time and possibly screen the peat before mixing. I have a large minnow bucket filled with small rescue traps from Walmart. We have squirrels so I had the perfect pieces of 1/4" hardware cloth that was long enough to wrap around the bucket to keep them out of it. The top was still open, though. Yesterday at my daughter's house there was a rimmed round screen, probably 1/8" mesh that she had thrown away...I'm using on top of the tube of hardware cloth but I can let it do double-duty for screening peat...it will fit perfectly over a 5-gallon bucket!

Thanks for the feedback! It helped a ton!!!

You're overthinking it a tad bit I believe. Us old guys need to work smarter, not harder.
I don't really rinse my peat, I would call it a flush more than anything, but it's more to remove the salts from the perlite than anything.
My process is to not merely rehydrate the peat, but make peat soup. I put everything together, peat and perlite, then make it all go swimming for a day or so. This excess of water does two things; it makes sure everything is hydrated, and it allows the water soluble solids (sodium, calcium, nitrates, etc.) to dissociate into solution. They're still there, just not stuck in or on the media.
I fill a pot and slowly pour a little water through it, the water I'd use to water my plants, in order to settle the media/get rid of any air spaces without physically compacting it down. This will flush most of the bad ions out before they have a chance to (for lack of a better term) reattach to the media.
I then plant the plants in the media, with another flush, maybe a little longer, to settle the media around the roots which also flushes out more bad ions. Then they go out on the rack to bask in the sun. If you go all Hulk on it, squeeze it thoroughly, and go by the color, you'll be there all day. There will always be peat "dust" in the outflow, so it will always be brown. If you're using rain/distilled/low TDS water, a couple flushes after rehydration will suffice.
For seeds, I'll do two flushes, then sow.
An even easier option for long term: Drill small (less than 1/8 inch) holes in a bucket, dozens of them at least. Put your hydrated media in that, put it in the yard, and let it rain on it for a couple of days. Momma Nature will flush the stuff for you.

One thing I'm curious about is doing a pre-wash with regular tap water. For me that would be using water that has a TDS of around 325ppm. I'm thinking at the best it would be a "wash" (sorry, what a bad pun! ) between rinsing away possible contaminants and adding back other contaminants...so a net gain of probably....zilch???? With the possibility of making things worse?

I've read the article at sundew.com about rinsing peat and I like Tamlin's original idea of preparing in advance: [url]http://www.growsundews.com/rinsing_peat ... 0available.

I've also thought about taking a 5-gallon bucket and drill some large 1" (maybe larger) holes in the bottom. Then line the bottom with weed-barrier fabric and fill with peat moss. Set this outside for rains to rinse through it. The only probably I have is that we have a problem with ants around here...Argentine ants, I believe. And I'm afraid they might decide it'd make a nice condo.

Well, looks like the holes-in-the-bucket might work ok...I should've been reading when I was typing! Thanks for the feedback, Dean! I am probably overdoing it, here. Just gotta get some seedlings and some live sphagnum moss that was kindly sent to me situated today and wanted to do'em right. Yeah, trying to whup up on a batch of peat moss can be a rather "trying" time...as in "let's go try the recliner out, I'm whupped".

I've got a good bit of rain water that I won't be able to store and need to do something with before the mosquitoes find their vacation resort...kiddie pools are great! I'm thinking I might do a mass rinsing with this water...after I get the seedlings squared away. Will moist peat moss store ok or should it be allowed to dry back out?

Intheswamp wrote: ↑Fri May 27, 2022 12:08 pm One thing I'm curious about is doing a pre-wash with regular tap water. For me that would be using water that has a TDS of around 325ppm. I'm thinking at the best it would be a "wash" (sorry, what a bad pun! ) between rinsing away possible contaminants and adding back other contaminants...so a net gain of probably....zilch???? With the possibility of making things worse?

Make some "soup" of your peat/perlite mix with distilled or rain water and let it sit for a day, then measure the TDS of the soup. If it is higher than 325 ppm, then an initial soak and rinse with tap water will be beneficial. If less than 325, don't use tap water, because then you will be adding TDS in.

Intheswamp wrote:I've also thought about taking a 5-gallon bucket and drill some large 1" (maybe larger) holes in the bottom. Then line the bottom with weed-barrier fabric and fill with peat moss. Set this outside for rains to rinse through it.

That's exactly what I was suggesting above, but with much smaller holes. You wouldn't need any filter, and it would help retain the water longer in the bucket to help draw out more stuff.

Intheswamp wrote:The only probably I have is that we have a problem with ants around here...Argentine ants, I believe. And I'm afraid they might decide it'd make a nice condo.

I use a combination of three species of parasitic nematodes to control critters in my yard. Put them down with a sprayer a couple times a year, preferably during the rain so they wash into the soil, and they help control over 200 types of pests. Fleas, ticks, army worms, termite queens, ant queens, lawn grubs, etc. It'll take a couple of years to see a big effect, but we saw a large decrease in Fire Ants and Ghost Ants the first year. Might work to help control Argentine Ants.

Lain wrote: ↑Fri May 27, 2022 2:43 pmI've always been looking into getting some parasitic nematodes but never could decide on a source. I'd appreciate any links for what types and source you got them from.

I get mine from naturesgoodguys.com, and I get the triple pack (Hb, Sc, Sf) in the 30 million pack. They also have ladybugs, lacewings, and preying mantis egg cases among other things.
The nematodes can be put down with a hose end sprayer, pressure sprayer, or a watering can, but the ground needs to be wet beforehand or immediately watered after. I put them down in the rain usually. They also need to he put down at dusk or on a cloudy day as UV will kill them (hence me putting them down in the rain, cloudy and watered in all at once).

Thanks, Dean. I just filled a 32oz cup up with some peat/perlite/rainwater soup. I'll test it tomorrow morning. I did have a little bit of brown drain water in the tray under my minnow bucket so I tested it...it read 72ppm. This was the remnant drain water from all the rain yesterday and the bucket of mix has been rinsed several times from some good rains since it was planted (plus the initial couple of rinses before I used it). I'm not really sure what to take away from that observation...???

I see what you're talking about in regards to the big holes I was figuring on...we want the peat and perlite to "steep" in the water before rinsing through. Ok, got it. I will go with smaller holes than planned, lots of 1/8" holes. I've got some of those interlinking foam squares that you can buy for exercise mats, kids play mats, etc.,. We had a bunch that we used for pads under our dogs' bedding. We don't have dogs now so I've been re-purposing some of the pieces. I think that if I drill the holes in a bucket and sit the bucket on one of these mats that the weight of the water will press hard against the foam and thus sealing itself. After the mix has steeped/soaked I can move the bucket off of the pad and it should then drain and can be left off the pad for subsequent rain rinsings where the rainwater passes through unimpeded. I see a plan coming together!

Parasitic nematodes. I ordered some from an outfit in Texas back in the early 90's. That was before PayPal, online transactions, etc.,. It was the good ol' days of sending money orders and checks. I never did receive those nematodes. But, I'd love to revisit their use. I don't know if the nematodes would work on the Argentines or not, they are an aggressively spreading species but the good thing is they don't really sting...they might bite if they get in a fold of your skin but they don't attack like fireants...but they will fill a flower pot up quickly. I take the foam pads I mentioned earlier and spray them down with Ortho Home Defense and place my containers on them. It seems to make a mine field or a "no man's land" for the ants and the barrier lasts for a while before needing respraying. I'd need to treat at least an acre, but I could start from the outside walls of the house and work my way outwards. I see you've supplied the source for the nematodes that you use. I'll have to investigate. Wow, this past week would have been perfect for application...looks like a week of sunshine now (which we're glad to see...even the skinks are enjoying basking in the sun!

ChefDean wrote: ↑Fri May 27, 2022 1:58 pm

Intheswamp wrote: ↑Fri May 27, 2022 12:08 pm One thing I'm curious about is doing a pre-wash with regular tap water. For me that would be using water that has a TDS of around 325ppm. I'm thinking at the best it would be a "wash" (sorry, what a bad pun! ) between rinsing away possible contaminants and adding back other contaminants...so a net gain of probably....zilch???? With the possibility of making things worse?

Make some "soup" of your peat/perlite mix with distilled or rain water and let it sit for a day, then measure the TDS of the soup. If it is higher than 325 ppm, then an initial soak and rinse with tap water will be beneficial. If less than 325, don't use tap water, because then you will be adding TDS in.

Intheswamp wrote:I've also thought about taking a 5-gallon bucket and drill some large 1" (maybe larger) holes in the bottom. Then line the bottom with weed-barrier fabric and fill with peat moss. Set this outside for rains to rinse through it.

That's exactly what I was suggesting above, but with much smaller holes. You wouldn't need any filter, and it would help retain the water longer in the bucket to help draw out more stuff.

Intheswamp wrote:The only probably I have is that we have a problem with ants around here...Argentine ants, I believe. And I'm afraid they might decide it'd make a nice condo.

I use a combination of three species of parasitic nematodes to control critters in my yard. Put them down with a sprayer a couple times a year, preferably during the rain so they wash into the soil, and they help control over 200 types of pests. Fleas, ticks, army worms, termite queens, ant queens, lawn grubs, etc. It'll take a couple of years to see a big effect, but we saw a large decrease in Fire Ants and Ghost Ants the first year. Might work to help control Argentine Ants.

ChefDean wrote: ↑Fri May 27, 2022 1:58 pm...
Make some "soup" of your peat/perlite mix with distilled or rain water and let it sit for a day, then measure the TDS of the soup. If it is higher than 325 ppm, then an initial soak and rinse with tap water will be beneficial. If less than 325, don't use tap water, because then you will be adding TDS in.

I soaked the peat/perlite for over 24 hours and checked the resulting water's TDS...the water was the color of really strong coffee and the TDS was 102ppm. Using the tap water is not gonna work. Oh well. But, it showed me that I don't really need to sweat it too much in rinsing my peat moss...do a couple of rinses to get rid of a bunch of algae and moss spores/seeds and some of the dissolved solids and go with it. I think I will setup a bulk pre-soak and rinse...

...as I was typing I went off on a tangent. I stopped typing and went outside. I squeezed out the previously tested batch of peat and perlite some more and added some water back to it. I'm curious about whether a second soaking will lower the TDS significantly more. Stay tuned....news at five.

I tested the water from the second soak of the peat:perlite mix. The original TDS was 102ppm. This time it was 66ppm and the color of very weak coffee...much lighter than yesterday's water. So a fairly good drop in total dissolved solids. I'm running one final soaking to see if it gets down below 50ppm.

Since I had the kiddie pools 3/4 full of rainwater I decided to rinse some peat moss. I sifted enough peat moss to fill a 5-gallon paint strainer bag and worked water into it good and then let it soak for a short while. I then squeezed and poured the dark water off of it and refilled the bucket with water. I've got it soaking it the bucket. An inch or two of the bag wanted to float above the surface so I weighted it down with a red brick...red brick is in a ziplock bag. There's probably three gallons of wet peat moss in the bag. I'm going to need to empty the pools soon, but I'll do once more rinse with some of the water before I do. I guess dead bugs don't hurt anything, do they? They're beginning to show up in the pools...I dodge them when I'm dipping out of the pools.

I tested the peat after its third 24 hour soaking and the TDS only dropped to 62ppm, down from the second rinse's 66ppm. The first rinse was 102ppm. In this *very* limited test it appears that two soaks and rinses of the peat and perlite brings about the biggest drop in TDS...the third drop only a minor amount. So, I think I'm going to start doing two rinses and let subsequent top-waterings flush what's left out.