Acidic freshly mixed peat based soil

steveydvee

Well-Known Member
Light coots variant mixture from a buildasoil recipe.

60% Peat
25% Pumice
15% Compost

1/2 cup per cubic feet

Neem
Crab
Kelp

1 cup per cubic feet

Basalt
Gypsum

Soil slurry test showing 5.3-5.7.

It was mixed yesterday and tested today. I'm sure it is still composting.. Will the ph raise overtime? Or will it get lower?

I can add a little bit of oyster flour shell as a top dress to raise the base soil ph. If so how much OFS should I add? I'm thinking about a cup per 25 gallon pot should do it for me. As my water is slightly alkaline. I use Well Water that I ph'd yesterday at 7.1 with a ppm of 13. Considering my amendments, which liming material should I use? Dolomite? Oyster?

I noticed Build-A-Soil Jeremy when building his soil wanted to aim for a PH for 6. When doing research on this forum, most people are recommending 6.5. Opinions?

Any tips? Or what you might do?
 
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steveydvee

Well-Known Member
Added 2 cups of oyster shell flour to a 25 gallon and took a test. I know it takes awhile to stabilize ph but I was curious. Mixed in my well water(ph 7.1) and the readings of the slurry read 6 ph. What do you guys think?
 

steveydvee

Well-Known Member
Ph drops during cook. And usually stabilizes. However.
You need something else to buffer. Oyster shell. Gypsum. And where are your earth worm castings?
Waiting on my order of EWC from a local worm farmer. I'm going to go ahead and put 2 cups of oyster shell flour per pot, top dress with ewc and biolive, sprinkle white dwarf clovers after the soil has sit for about a week. Then water with fulvic, humic, yucca and molasses. I'll make sure to run another quick test after I let it sit. Hopefully it'll swing my PH into a better direction.
 

speedwell68

Well-Known Member
I realise this isn't going to be a popular opinion around here, but you shouldn't really be using Peat. The use of Peat is unsustainable. It takes 10s of thousands of years to form and Peat bogs are a soak for excess carbon in the atmosphere.


I have just made the decision to go peat free.
 

green_machine_two9er

Well-Known Member
I realise this isn't going to be a popular opinion around here, but you shouldn't really be using Peat. The use of Peat is unsustainable. It takes 10s of thousands of years to form and Peat bogs are a soak for excess carbon in the atmosphere.


I have just made the decision to go peat free.
I thought this was way until I heard coot himself talking about the issue. I'll try to find a link but basically the premise was the major suppliers of peat come from Canada, they only harvest x-amount per year, and no more just to keep it more sustainable. Also he mentions that most of the info out there is research paid for by the coco industries for this exact reason. just to try to grab some of the market.

the only alternetive to the quality of good peat soil is multi year leaf mold 3+.

Nothing else that I've seen is replacement.

Or if you think your making a difference compared to the commercial cut flower industry alone let alone modern agriculture and plant sales. Go for it. But for me to save the planet eat plant based and drive a Prius. This is a non issue to me.
 

speedwell68

Well-Known Member
I thought this was way until I heard coot himself talking about the issue. I'll try to find a link but basically the premise was the major suppliers of peat come from Canada, they only harvest x-amount per year, and no more just to keep it more sustainable. Also he mentions that most of the info out there is research paid for by the coco industries for this exact reason. just to try to grab some of the market.

the only alternetive to the quality of good peat soil is multi year leaf mold 3+.

Nothing else that I've seen is replacement.

Or if you think your making a difference compared to the commercial cut flower industry alone let alone modern agriculture and plant sales. Go for it. But for me to save the planet eat plant based and drive a Prius. This is a non issue to me.
Each to their own.
 

hillbill

Well-Known Member
I grew up where SPM is harvested and use it with clear mind. Northern Europe and Isles use it for fuel like coal. Have been for ages, and that is a different situation. North American production is quite regulated. The actual area in the northern tier and Canada that is covered with peat bogs is immense.
I also do reuse my organic mix at 50% - 60% of new mix. New peat added to mix is 2 to 3 gallons per 30 gallon batch.
 
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