peat isnt benefit?

I use any and all leaves I can find. Walnut leaves are one that people shy away from due to the juglone but it’s not as scary as people make it out to be: if you let the leaves sit and mold (to make leaf mold!) the juglone breaks down quickly. I take all the leaves up I can find in the fall and make a pile that then sits for 1-2 years and then I use it.

I would personally not use leaves from poison ivy/oak/sumac as I’m highly allergic to them; others could get away with those just fine.

I also don’t worry about “bad bugs” since I’m adding tons of good bugs from my worm bin and compost.

Depending on where in the world you live, you may want to see what plants if any are problematic and stay away from those. The Manchineel tree is an example of one I would avoid 100%.


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Just because they add myco doesnt mean its viable. I'd actually be surprised if they even added enough to have good inoculation rates, regardless if peat has anti microbial properties.

 

Dont sweep the streets because those leaf are contaminated with pollution from cars. I think most leaves are good for making mould with the exception of walnut and eucalyptus and perhaps needle trees like pine.

 

You’ll never go back. Well composted leaf mold is the absolute best imo. I’ve made many batches of indoor potting mix using just stuff from the property and kitchen. It retains water excellent, the worms love it, it drains well.

j

 

I was warned about Magnolia tree leaves but have had no problems but they are slower to break down.

 

I agree with the small amount of of propagoules being enough to be effective. A sprinkle in the right spot is the way to go, and I would never pay extra for the mycos in promix. But people do.
Cheers
Os

 

I stated beneficial microbes do not GROW WELL in peat moss. Getting information on peat moss from ProMix is like getting nicotine health benefits from big tobacco. I obtain my growing information from peer reviewed journals such as JSTOR and The New Phytologist.
Cheers

 

Where else would you get the health benefits of tobacco?

 

My “disagree” on the above post was an error, I hope it’s corrected.

 

While I agree with you about getting information from different sources than the salesman, what I am reading suggests that peat has it's own profile with respect to microorganisms, beneficial or otherwise, compared to coir. Coir seems to be more hospitable than peat, but peat isn't going to kill all the microorganisms outright. For instance, Error - Cookies Turned Off. (EDIT: Not sure why the link isn't resolving - it should read "New Phytologist. The Sphagnum microbiome: new insights from an ancient plant lineage." It'll still take you to the article, though) And the antimicrobial properties of peat appear to only last for a limited time; after a year or so they drop off.

The link that Waktoo posted earlier talks about microorganisms in coir and how the populations are larger than in peat.

Regardless, it's not like we're growing in straight coir or peat - we're mixing it up with a bunch of stuff that is *very* hospitable to beneficial microorganisms. I can't easily find any studies looking at the differences in beneficial microorganism populations between a soil mix made with peat versus one with coco coir. But my hunch is that if there are significant differences the size of that difference (effect size in statistics terms) would be very small. For me the tradeoff in CEC between peat and coir would be a more important issue to consider.

But based on consensus I see in this thread, leaf mold is the way to go