Peat

[stefanalex17]

Hi! I saw that many people are avoiding peat? Why? It is really bad? I try to put in my soil mixes 20%-30% peat as organic part, then the other 70%-80% part is mineral(perlite and rushed brick). What do you think? Also i could use forest soil, but i can t sterilize that soil. I can just put boiling water in order to kill some bacteria and insects. So what should i do?
Also, how is coir vs peat?

[Shane]

I think the consensus is too much peat is bad. I use peat too, in combination inorganic ingredients (gravel, perlite)

[ElieEstephane]

Knowing your location would be helpful.
It depends on your weather (temperatures and humidity) and the plants you are growing. I use heaps of peat in my environment with no problems. For example, columnars get up to 50% peat, mammillarias around 20-30% and rebutias even less

[stefanalex17]

I m in Romania, East Europe

[Aloinopsis]

Some people say that once desiccated peat can't be re-wetted again, but it actually can. You just have to use warm water or horticultural soap. Both facilitate re-wetting it. In my climate though peat is a very minor ingredient.

[stefanalex17]

It is fine to use warm water on potted plants?

[Aloinopsis]

It depends upon the plant and the temperature and the time of year, but yes. In many parts of Mexico the heavy summer rain is often warm to the touch. I can't really speak for South America. When I am treating plants with a systemic of some sort, I always use warm water at night. The difference in effectiveness is noticeable over time which leads me to believe that they absorb it better.

That's how I first noticed that it also re-wets desiccated peat.

[Steve-0]

My first handful of cacti survived most of ten years on peat and perlite. Since finding this site with the singular question of the best cactus soil mix did I discover that big box store potting soil does not equate to the healthy cactus soil. It retains too much water and when dehydrated retains none at all. So I've repotted everything to a good balance of coarse sand graduating up through fine and coarser gravels with perlite galore (I hate this stuff, too)....and one scoop of peaty, dirt, soil mix.

[Pereskiopsisdotcom]

There is some opposition to using because of environmental impacts as well. I'll let you do your homework on that. There are companies that sell peat from sources that are more sustainable as well.