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Lawn; Thinking of starting from scratch
paghat wrote: In article , Pam wrote: Dave Gower wrote: Some people have balanced informed views on gardening. Others are eco-fanatics who really care nothing about any living creatures, only about their egos and agendas. Balanced, perhaps - informed, not very. The suggestion to use peat moss as an organic fertilizer is indicative of a serious lack of information. The nutrient value of peat moss is nil. As my understanding of the process comes much more from reading gardening literature than by a deeper understanding of molecular science, I could well have some of it wrong. But I'm fairly certain that even an "inert" organic enrichment such as peat, by encouraging the healthful organisms that produce nitrogen, ARE in fact adequate "fertilizers" in organically balanced lawns, because the issue is not how well it functions as a fertilizer, but how well it functions encouraging microorganisms that produce nutrients of varioius kinds, bacterial release of nitrogen, symboitoc fungal release of other plant-accessible nutrients, & so on. I understand the point you are making and I think it is more a matter of semantics rather a difference of opinion. The term "fertilizer" is typically used to refer to an outside source of plant nutrient requirements - other than those found naturally occurring in the soil - and usually one which offers a ready supply of one of the big 3. As I understand your interpretation, peat, while it has virtually no remaining nitrogen content, would qualify as a fertilizer because it certainly makes the environment more hospitable to those organisms which generate nitrogen as a byproduct of their existence and thus provide this necessary plant nutrient. One can reasonably argue that all organic soil amendments can be looked at in this fashion - all offer some, typically very limited nutrient value. Their true value is in their ability to improve soil fertility and tilth by providing organic matter and thus hosting increased populations of soil organisms, increasing pore space and improving drainage. While peat may have no significant nutrient value - less than 1% nitrogen, no phosphorus and minimal potassium - the same can be said of composted hog, cow, poultry or steer manure. Christopher Starbuck was right on in his statement that peat is equally as good as steer manure for soil enrichment, but neither one does much in the way of providing supplemental nutrients, specially the nitrogen which most turf soils lack. Personally, I'd find peat less efficient than composted manure as an organic lawn topdressing because of its difficulty in rewetting once it has dried out, the slowness with which it further decomposes and its tendency to decrease soil pH, something which further defeats the purpose of growing a healthy lawn. Your commentary below I quite admired. -paghat the ratgirl Thank you. pam - gardengal |
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