to peat or not to peat

[jolly green giant]

ive always read that if growing in soil you should use peat free soil, but i can never find any in my local gardening shop, so just use whats available and get reasonable results.
so why not peat. any help appreciated.

jolly green giant Reviewed by jolly green giant on 07-08-2004. to peat or not to peat ive always read that if growing in soil you should use peat free soil, but i can never find any in my local gardening shop, so just use whats available and get reasonable results. so why not peat. any help appreciated. Rating: 5

[sawleaf]

I don't know why, but I know the best substitue for peat is coconut husks. You can get them pretty cheap here http://www.spray-n-growgardening.com/nd/soilimprovement you can also get a lot of great organic fertilizers at that site also. I use the SprayandGrow foliar spreay and Bill's perfect fertilizer for my White Widow and she is blooming like crazy.

[smokejaguar]

The only thing about peat is it holds water,which isnt good.You have to be careful when adding organic matter.Keep it simple.Unfert potting soil,perlite ,kitty litter(the cheap fired clay kind).And as for Sawleaf...I hope your not foliar feeding during flowering as thats a big NONO.

[Sp00ner]

The only problem with peat moss is the high acidity of it. This can be easily fixed with some lime. One of the great things about peat is the amount of water that it holds. You cannot use peat moss by itself, but in the right mixture it is a great medium. I use a mixture that is almost 1/2 peat moss. This is a recipie i got from DJ Short, who from my understanding, knows quite a bit about growing da dank. There is nothing wrong with holding water, as long as there is enough oxygen for the roots as well.