What is PittMoss? – www.pittmoss.com - Discount Code (Perfect15)

PittMoss is a planting medium created from recycled newspaper, which is shredded up and remolded into tiny puff balls and fibers, that stick out all over it. It’s highly porous and absorbent, making it ideal for the retaining of soil moisture for much longer time periods. That makes the gardener’s life a lot easier, by not having to water his/her plants as often. Plus, it saves plants from dying, due to overly dry soil and the lack of nutrients.

PittMoss is produced and processed in the USA, unlike other resources which need to be shipped to other countries for cleaning, and then reshipped back to the USA. That helps to reduce carbon footprints. Plus, it saves the peat moss bogs from being drained and scrapped, which also helps to lower carbon emissions.

What Does It Do?

PittMoss holds moisture, microbes, and nutrients in the soil, preventing them from being washed away. It also adds aeration to the soil and can be used as a mulch layer as well. It’s very absorbent! Pour a little bit of water on it and it quickly soaks it all up, due to the highly porous nature of its fibers which have a vast number of pockets for holding water. However, its fibers are so porous that they leave plenty of space for air and oxygen to penetrate through, to the roots where it needs to be. It will not become anerobic, unlike Peat Moss.

PittMoss uses two thirds less water than other grow mediums, like Peat Moss and Coco Coir, which is of great benefit to gardeners in arid climates, where water is a scarce commodity. It has an an exceptionally high quantity of readily available (labile) carbon for” microbes to use “as their primary energy source.” It “forms the basis of the soil food web, providing sustenance for the microbes;” becoming “the foundation for living soils,” in which “nutrient cycling is dependent on microbial action.” From this fact, concerning its carbon rich content, we may easily see the great benefit of combining PittMoss with a ‘living’ soil; or using it as the basis for creating one. (cf. PittMoss vs. Biochar: Comparisons of Applications in Growing Media - https://pittmoss.com/pittmoss-vs-biochar-comparisons-of-applications-in-growing-media/ )

Other Products from the Company

Like its flagship PittMoss product, the Company also has other uniquely created products to fit every gardener’s needs and gardening requirements. These products include:

• Organic Potting Mix: https://pittmoss.com/product/plentiful/
• Nutrient Enhanced Potting Soil: https://pittmoss.com/product/performance/
• Organic Soil Conditioner: https://pittmoss.com/product/prime/
• Coco Complete Coir Blend: https://pittmoss.com/product/coco/
• PM1 https://pittmoss.com/product/pm1/
• PM2 (Peat Reduced PittMoss Blend): https://pittmoss.com/product/pm2/

PM1 and PM2 (Peat Reduced Blends) have similar properties but one has bark in it. Even though the company has a product for mushroom as well, it will be interesting to see how the bark rich peat moss performs for mushrooms.

What is Peat Moss?

Peat Moss is a product created mostly from moss and other living materials that are decomposed in peat bogs for many years, in the absence of air. The process is called mining. Peat Moss helps the soil retain water and is mostly found in the wetlands. About 3% of Earth’s total surface has Peat Moss, making it a valuable and rather rare resource, which has been previously used in fuel production as well.

Concerns with Using Only Peat Moss

Peat Moss has some perks but it also comes with a major ‘catch’, in that it breaks down when nitrogen touches it, quickly becoming compacted around the roots, and anaerobic (i.e. oxygen deprived). That causes plant nutrient deficiencies because the nutrients are unable to penetrate into the root system. That causes the root system to become toxic and die off. Using Peat Moss alone is, therefore, a disadvantage to the plant; whereas a PittMoss blend with Peat Moss can do wonders for plant growth and root systems.

What is Coco Coir?

Coir is the fibrous material found between the hard, internal shell and the outer coat of a coconut. It is also known as Coco Coir, or coconut fiber. Among its other uses, Coir is used to provide soil structure, drainage and aeration, for maintaining good plant health.

A Main Concern with Coco Coir

Even though Coco Coir has some benefits, using it alone can also increase your carbon footprint, thus making it less than ideal. The entire process of harvesting it, bagging it, and shipping it a couple times, until it reaches the gardener, becomes quite inconvenient; not to mention the fact that most brands have far too much salt in them which can prevent or deter the uptake of water and nutrients, by the plant roots.

A Mistake Made by Most Growers

You may have never noticed this while doing it but most growers plant in dry soil and then water it after. This is an unhealthy way to plant because it creates dry pockets in the soil, where roots and microbiology don’t grow. The problem with this method is that you aren’t using biologically living soil, in most cases, so the water fails to break the soil’s surface tension. That, in turn, allows dry pockets in your substrate to develop and become sealed off by a water insoluble crystalized salt barrier. Roots and microbiology need water to grow. PittMoss is phenomenal for breaking up the soil’s surface tension, because it rapidly soaks up the water and quickly creates an environment for microbiology and roots to exist.

Environmental Benefits of Using PittMoss

PittMoss has multiple benefits for the plant and soil; most of all, though, it is eco-friendly and reduces the carbon footprint. For each cubic foot of PittMoss, you reduce your carbon footprint by 2116 pounds. That is because PittMoss is created from newspaper just sitting there; preventing it from going to landfills and polluting the atmosphere with carbon off-gases. That paper is recycled simply, thus reducing your carbon footprint.

Conclusion

Both Coco Coir and Peat Moss are good for the eco-system, in their natural forms, but, when harvested, they also destroy the environment. They both use more water because they tend to get dry and form dry pockets. The water sits on the top layer, puddling, later dripping off to the sides of it. The water doesn’t reach the roots which is why the plants go droopy.

When combined with PittMoss, their water retention increases. With a 50:50 blend of soil and PittMoss, the water slides in smoothly and reaches the roots. The soil and roots have so much moisture stored in them that even after a week you won’t find a need to water them. PittMoss is a 100% peat free, carbon rich soil amendment which enhances a living soil environment, to support a regenerative agriculture.

PittMoss is, thus, one of the best products out there for your plant and environment, especially if you’re growing plants in a warmer, desert like climate, where water is a scarce commodity. PittMoss will help store water and keep the environment moist for the plant, to grow and stay wet for days. Plus, it is also created by recycling already existing materials, helping to clean the environment and reduce the carbon footprint; which can’t be said for Coco Coir and Peat Moss. PittMoss, in conclusion, is best used with a living soil for the nourishment of your plants.

– www.pittmoss.com - Discount Code (Perfect15)