FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I picked up this peat moss today that has a wetting agent added. The bag says it is just to make the peat moss easier to rehydrate. I don't see anything about added fertilizers and the bag says to mix it with potting soil so I don't think it had fertilizers in it. I just wanted to make sure it's good to use for my flytraps and sarracenia.

Do you have TDS meter?

I found a peat moss potting soil product that claimed it was easier to rehydrate than pure peat moss, but the bag said it contained lime. I don't know if this was the "wetting additive" but lime will definitely raise the pH of the media. Your product may contain a surfactant. Be sure to check the ingredients.

Gary wrote: ↑Thu Feb 23, 2023 11:48 pm I found a peat moss potting soil product that claimed it was easier to rehydrate than pure peat moss, but the bag said it contained lime. I don't know if this was the "wetting additive" but lime will definitely raise the pH of the media. Your product may contain a surfactant. Be sure to check the ingredients.

The ingredients just say 90% peat moss and a wetting agent. It doesn't say what the wetting agent is.

Hmm. I'm wondering what the 10% is, debris, various chemical additives?

it's normally a mild detergent to break down the surface tension between the peat and the water, to allow wetting, but I would be very surprised if it was 10% of the media, more likely debris.

Cheers
Steve

steve booth wrote: ↑Fri Feb 24, 2023 11:00 am it's normally a mild detergent to break down the surface tension between the peat and the water, to allow wetting, but I would be very surprised if it was 10% of the media, more likely debris.

Cheers
Steve

So you think it would be safe for the plants?

A detergent, even a mild one, could mean that it contains phosphates...a plant nutrient and cause of algae blooms in lakes, etc.,. I'm like Steve, though, it certainly doesn't account for the mystery 10%. I would be hesitant on using the peat moss. It depends on how much you need, but I would look at Hoffman peat moss or a brick or two of some Better-Gro LFSM for a small amount. Naturally, the "cheaper per pound" is going to be a large bale...I'm happy with the Magic Earth bale I got at Lowe's. Stay away from Tractor Supply "Greensmix" bales...it's garbage! Most Sungro peat moss is good, as are their other products. They also have several brands under them that are good. I'm just not sure about the additive in the one you pictured and whether this is appropriate for CPs.

I just noticed that Lowe's has a peat moss "mix" called "HydraPeat"....Lowe's even adds the blurb "Moisture Control" to their description. It's listed as an alternative to 100% peat moss. Ingredients listed are Forest Products...80% and Sphagnum Peat Moss...20%. Eh,....no.

I must say Sun Gro has a good customer service department. I got curious about their "Plus" version of peat moss and left them a message. Less than an hour later my phone rang. Really nice guy. He said he couldn't really tell me whether it would be good or bad for CPs. He said it did not have any phosphates in it and that it was a non-ionic surfactant (I don't really know what that means). He also said that the amount of the wetting agent added to the peat moss is a very, very small amount.

We had quiet a conversation about the global peat moss situation, which was interesting. He shared that basically 0.03% of the world's peat moss has been harvested and they Sun Gro is sustainably harvesting what they sell. The problem, as he told it, is from the past (primarily in the European Union) where bogs were drained and harvested for fuel (primarily the UK) for centuries and other bogs drained and crops planted there for many years. Now, when there's a push on to restore the bogs, re-flooding the bog areas is not working. Of course, I was talking with a supplier/producer, but it pretty much makes sense.

The bottom line we came to regarding the "Peat Moss Plus" is...they don't really know, in regards to CP and that it'll probably take someone planting some plants in it and monitoring them to see how it works. His *opinion* was that it should be safe, but he couldn't state that as fact.

So, now you know about as much as you knew before reading this! You're welcome!

Yep

That meme is literally CA right now. It was upper 60s to even 70s just last week and now we just got wind up to 40 mph and rains for the week + low 50 degree weather. Seasons are so fake.

Panman wrote: ↑Fri Feb 24, 2023 4:49 pmYep

Love it!!! My gardening buddy always jumps the gun on planting things. Sometimes he wins, some times, well, er,...seed is cheap (most of the time).

Sundew grower wrote: ↑Fri Feb 24, 2023 12:45 am The ingredients just say 90% peat moss and a wetting agent. It doesn't say what the wetting agent is.

Not the best picture in the world, but it's readable: The "organic wetting agent" is a very small amount of yucca extract.

I've used this peat moss before. My plants (flytraps, sundews, Sarracenia) had no complaints about it. And the yucca extract did make it very easy to wet the peat moss.

Intheswamp wrote: ↑Fri Feb 24, 2023 1:27 pm I just noticed that Lowe's has a peat moss "mix" called "HydraPeat"....Lowe's even adds the blurb "Moisture Control" to their description. It's listed as an alternative to 100% peat moss. Ingredients listed are Forest Products...80% and Sphagnum Peat Moss...20%. Eh,....no.

Based on the product name, the "forest products" is probably HydraFiber. It's made from southern yellow pine.