Gardening With Peat Moss

article image
Photo by Fotolia/tortoon
Peat moss is a non-renewable resource, so use it carefully.

Recently I started a garden, and many books I’ve read recommend using peat moss to improve soil. I’ve heard that peat moss may be a nonrenewable resource, plus it’s expensive. The less I spend, the more I save by growing my own vegetables. What do you recommend?

Jim Maroon
Lawton, Oklahoma 

Avoid using large amounts as a soil amendment, but do use small amounts for seed-starting mixes. Here’s why:

Over 10 million cubic yards of peat moss are harvested each year from bogs in Canada, plus another million or so from bogs in the northern United States. Those are big numbers, but because less than 1 percent of North American peat lands are currently being mined, peat bogs remain more plentiful here than in the British Isles, where harvesting has reduced peat acreage by nearly 80 percent. However, peat comes from such slow-growing, slow rotting plants that it typically takes 1,000 years for a bog to add 1 yard to its depth. Once harvested, peat bogs are changed forever.

  • Published on Jun 18, 2008
Online Store Logo
Need Help? Call 1-800-234-3368