On Sat, 27 Nov 2010 16:17:12 -0500, Bill who putters
wrote:

In article ,
Dan L wrote:

Derald wrote:
"David Hare-Scott" wrote:

Would the peat moss cost more than the taters?
Good point; newspaper, straw or any absorbent wicking material
will work. I use newspaper, native pine straw or the (purchased) wheat
straw that I use for mulch. Of course, the insulator should be dry
material: Its purpose is to separate the sweet potatoes from one
another, to absorb moisture and to wick condensate that may form on
the potatoes' surfaces.

Peat moss has other uses also. Good for lightening up the garden soil,
used in making your own potting soil and if you soak it in water it
makes that great material used for those wire like hanging baskets
(looks like nesting material).

My wife's parents bought a bale of peat moss every year and
incorporated in their beds. This in N. Jersey where clay was more about
than our sandy loam down here next to the pine barrens.
Seem to recall there was some sort of heath issue with sphagnum moss
but I’ve forgotten the particulars.

Peat moss is OK!

http://www.garden-services.com/sphagnum_moss.htm

Our soil is heavy clay and we use a lot of peat moss as an amendment.
I was always under the impression that sphagnum and peat moss were one
and the same and peat moss was just dried, milled sphagnum moss so
this health issue prompted me to do a quick search.
First, I went out to the shed and checked some left over from this
year's garden, it is a 3.8 cu. ft bale labeled Sphagnum Peat Moss.

Next, I do the Google thing, defineeat moss

http://tinyurl.com/2g9pj7l

Here's a sample of the resultant 13 definitions.

A valuable asset renowned for its ability to retain air and water.
Peat moss is partially decomposed sphagnum moss or sedge and is used
in making both compost and potting soil. Also known as Feat Moss(their
typo) or simply Peat.
plantcare.com/gardening-guides/soils/potting-soil-term.aspx

Sphagnum is a genus of between 151 and 350 species of mosses commonly
called peat moss, due to its prevalence in peat bogs and mires. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peat_Moss

sphagnum: any of various pale or ashy mosses of the genus Sphagnum
whose decomposed remains form peat
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

I might be a little more careful using "peat moss" now.

Ross.
Southern Ontario, Canada.
AgCanada Zone 5b
43º 17' 26.75" North
80º 13' 29.46" West