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Re: Organic replacements

Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html

Canadian peat is still sustainably harvested; the key being that if it is
widely adopted worldwide, that its harvest might exceed sustainable levels.

The nexus of the matter is that a peat bog is harvested and then left alone,
to resume the slow task of peat accumulation; although we haven't completed
a full cycle yet, the projections suggest that *in Canada* peat is still
accumulating some 5 to 10 times faster than it is being harvested. See Eliot
Coleman's the New Organic Grower, 2nd edition, for more details and
references.

Leaf mold (basically just composted leaves) and very rotted stump innards,
are potential substitutes, if they are locally available.

Composted bark which is too coarse can be sifted to suitable fineness; 1/4
inch is fine enough for all my needs, but finer riddles are commercially
available.

Vermiculite and perlite are still acceptable as 'organic', I think, even
though they are minerals; as are rock dusts of various kinds.

Leaf mold and sand works well for many people.

Good gardening,

Frank Teuton
-----Original Message-----
From: Colin Shaw <crshaw@mcmail.com>
To: sqft@listbot.com <sqft@listbot.com>
Date: Thursday, December 10, 1998 4:19 AM
Subject: Re: Organic replacements


Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html

> Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html
>
> Am I missing something here?  I agree that vermiculite, being heated rock,
> is not organic.  But isn't peat moss a naturally occurring plant that is
> dug up out of the ground?  I assume that when Colin writes "organic", he
> means "organically grown", that is, without the addition of artificial
> fertilizers or pesticides.  A plant would have to be cultivated for
someone
> to use artificial fertilizer or pesticide on it, but I have always thought
> that peat moss was "wild".  I have this mental image of huge "peat bogs"
up
> in Canada where people (large corporations these days) go to dig the stuff
> up.  While large machinery may be used to harvest peat, certainly no one
> ever grows the stuff in the sense of planting and cultivating it.  Is this
> essentially correct, or have I somehow invented a fairy tale for myself?
Andy,
In the UK we have standards set by IFOAM and the Soil
Association which determine what is.is not regarded as Organic.
Yes, they do cover the application of chemicals but they also take
a wider view and include materials that are regarded as
sustainable. Peat moss and any other forms of peat are not
sustainable. Peat 'grows' at the rate of 1mm/year. Most machines
remove 1m at a time=1000 years of 'growth'. The use of peat is not
allowed in the organic standards.

In the UK there are a growing number (sorryn about the pun!) of
peat substitutes, coir is popular but some even regard that with
suspicion due the large distance it has to travel to get to the UK.
There are also some fine sees and potting composts based on
composted bark but they can be a bit coarse.]

> (The peat we get here in New Mexico says "product of Canada".  I always
> assumed this was the same stuff that peasants in Scotland burned in place
> of coal in the last century.  I distinctly remember that the Scottish peat
> came out of bogs.  Maybe the Canadian peat is different?)
Thats the problem the Scottish peat bogs have been decimated.
there are not that many left. Very little is burned these days but the
characteristic smell of burning 'turf' is still very pleasant.

Colin



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