Peat Moss In Plants

THE EFFECT OF DRIED PEAT MOSS (Sphagnum) TO THE GROWTH

OF THE TOMATO PLANT

Valentino, Isabella Victoria C.

STE 8 (A) Mahogany

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Gardeners use dried peat moss usually as a soil conditioner or as an ingredient in potting the soil. It is slightly acidic with a pH Level of 4.0, thus, acid loving plants benefit greatly from it, such as blueberries and camellias. Dried peat moss (Sphagnum) is the partially decomposed remains of plants, most commonly sphagnum moss. It forms over many millennia in bogs, marshes, and swamps also known as peat lands or peat bogs and it often gains less than a millimeter in depth every year. However, unlike compost, peat moss forms in the absence of air. Thus, this slows the decomposition

First is its absorbency to store water better than other soils, thus increases the absorbency of any potting mixes and garden soils that use peat moss. Second, not only is peat moss absorbent, it also does not compact, unlike other organic materials. Soil compaction is damaging to gardens and reduces water absorption and plant growth. Peat moss remains springy when it is wet and rehydrates easily, plus one application of peat moss can last for years. Lastly, the pH Level of peat moss is slightly acidic. Acid loving plants like tomatoes benefit greatly from peat moss, however plants that require neutral or basic pHs may not benefit from too much peat moss in the soil without additional, more alkaline amendments. However, there are some defects and disadvantages. The first defect is that not all kinds of plants can benefit from this organic fertilizer specially the plants that prefer alkaline soils. Using this as an organic fertilizer to non-acid loving plants could just stress or kill the plants. The second defect is fertility. Peat moss has a low nutrient content profile and does not contain beneficial microorganisms, which means that it will not act as a fertilizer in your garden. However, beneficial microorganisms can live in peat moss

The researcher’s Mom loves to plant but unfortunately the plants don’t love her back. Thus, the researcher taught of a way to save and to make the plants healthy and that’s by creating a soil conditioner and dried peat moss was the one who caught the researcher’s attention. The researcher searched for a lot of eco-friendly materials to be used as a soil conditioner. Even though there are a lot of choices to choose from, she still chose to use dried peat moss. Besides wanting the researcher’s Mom’s garden to be beautiful and lively, she also wants to prove that dried peat moss can be used as a soil conditioner with only adding one material or ingredient which is lime since according to most of the sites, dried peat moss is used as a soil conditioner or a soil amendment by mixing it with other conditioners to form a pot mix or soil mix. We need to study dried peat moss further to know if it is really worth the shot to be used in gardens since there are still a lot of people doubting dried peat moss’s ability as a soil