Peat Classification and Application
This article provides a detailed introduction to the classification and application of peat for netizens who are interested in flower cultivation knowledge. Corrections are welcome if there are any mistakes!
Peat, also known as草炭 (turf) or泥煤 (peat coal), is formed under conditions of excessive moisture, poor ventilation, and low temperature, where various plant remains fail to decompose fully due to long-term accumulation, resulting in a layered organic matter that is difficult to decompose and has a stable nature.
According to the formation conditions of peat, the characteristics of plant communities, and nutrient conditions, peat can be divided into three types:
1. High moor peat: Formed in higher altitude areas, it is red or brownish yellow in color, formed by plants such as Sphagnum moss and green moss, relatively short in growth years, low in ash content, poor in decomposition, and more acidic.
2. Low moor peat: Formed in low-lying areas, it is black or dark gray in color, formed by various bryophytes, reeds, and equisetum plants, higher in ash content, less water retention, lower in acidity, and more decomposed.
3. Transition peat: Also known as middle moor peat, it is a type between the above two types of peat.
Peat Application
Due to its unique superior physical, chemical, and biological properties, as well as its low cost, peat has been widely used in various fields.
Countries that have developed and utilized peat early and extensively include Canada, the United States, Japan, and some other European countries. In these countries, peat is widely used in agriculture, horticulture, construction, industry, medicine, and other fields.
Nowadays, although China is only at the beginning stage of peat application, people have gradually recognized that peat has unique properties that other materials cannot replace, such as being lightweight, water-retaining, breathable, and rich in organic matter. Currently, peat is widely used in urban greening construction, flowerbed flowering nutrients, sports fields or golf courses, potted flowers, soil improvement, desert greening, soilless cultivation, industrial production of lawn rolls, edible fungi cultivation, various compound fertilizers based on peat, constructing rooftop gardens, and more.
One, used for urban greening construction: Peat can maintain urban ecological balance, improve the urban environment, and beautify the city. The current demand for environmental greening in urban construction in our country is increasing, and greening is needed for roads, overpasses, main parks, residential areas, institutional courtyards, urban forest plots, rivers, and more.
Since the soil quality of different cities and regions is different, the survival rate and growth speed of greening plants also vary, which provides a broad space for the use of peat. Using peat can solve many problems in urban greening. Peat not only ensures the healthy growth of greening plants and is easy to maintain but also reduces the costs of daily management.
Two, used for flowerbed flowering nutrients: Using peat as the main material, mixed with an appropriate proportion of decayed leaf soil, pine needles, perlite, and other materials to create various nutrient soils and flower soils can provide sufficient fertility and long-lasting effects. Using peat as a nutrient soil not only reduces the production of diseases and odors but also enhances the disease resistance and stress resistance of plants, promoting plant growth.
Today, many nurseries and horticultural companies have widely adopted substrates made from peat and other materials for seedling cultivation, resulting in high-quality flower seedlings. Especially for some high-end flower seeds or very small flower seeds, peat is used to improve seed germination survival rates, seedling quality, and uniformity. In addition, various nutrient soils and flower soils made primarily from peat have also become popular among home flower growers.
In flower seedling cultivation, the most commonly used peat substrate formula is: 1/3 peat, 1/3 perlite, 1/3园艺蛭石 (horticultural vermiculite, by volume), to which appropriate amounts of trace elements can be added.
Three, used for sports fields, golf courses: Whether it is ornamental lawns, sports lawns, or golf course lawns, they all have high requirements for soil water retention, aeration, and soil nutrients, and special treatment of the soil is necessary before construction. Therefore, peat can be selected as the main construction material for the upper planting layer of the lawn.
Research shows that whether peat is used as the construction material for the planting layer has a significant difference in the growth of lawn grass and the reduction of maintenance pressure.
Therefore, in the construction of lawns in sports fields and golf courses, especially the greens of golf courses, peat is an essential construction material.
Four, used for potted flowers: Peat has become the most important cultivation substrate for high-end potted flower production in greenhouses and home flower cultivation. Currently, in developed countries, peat is also widely used as a cultivation substrate in the production of general grass flowers. This is because, in addition to peat's high water retention, good aeration, and richness in organic matter, its low bulk density is also a very important factor. Peat can make the color of potted flowers more beautiful, the shape more attractive, and the flowering period longer. Moreover, since potted flowers need to be moved frequently and transported long distances, using peat for cultivation makes them easier to handle. Mixing 35% to 70% peat with an appropriate amount of vermiculite, perlite, or ceramsite, etc., can become an ideal substrate for potted flowers. Flowers such as orchids, clivia, azaleas, and gardenias can be directly cultivated with 100% peat. However, most potted flower substrates need to be formulated according to a certain proportion.
When using peat for potted flowers, two recommended formulations are: (1) 1/2 peat + 1/4 horticultural vermiculite + 1/4 perlite (by volume, the same below), mainly used for high water retention potted flowers and ornamental plants; (2) 1/3 peat + 1/3 perlite + 1/3 broken tree bark (or pine needle leaves), mainly used for drought-tolerant and low water retention potted flowers and ornamental plants.
Five, used for soil improvement: Whether it is for the cultivation of flowers or other crops, if the cultivated soil has poor physical structure such as compaction and hardening, adding an appropriate amount of peat based on specific conditions can improve or restore the soil's water retention, aeration, and fertilizer retention capacity, thereby increasing yield and economic benefits.
The application of peat can also improve the soil pH, increase the content of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, increase the total amount of organic carbon and humic acid, activate soil fertility, and significantly improve soil fertility.
Six, used for desert greening: Peat has four obvious effects on desert greening:
First, peat can increase the water content of desert sands, ensuring the normal growth of desert plants. Second, peat can change the soil properties, creating favorable conditions for plant absorption (S-Y) and growth. Third, peat can promote plant growth and increase crop yield. Fourth, peat can improve the survival rate of desert plants and promote the growth of desert plants.
Seven, used for soilless cultivation: When cultivating various flowers, peat can be used as a soilless cultivation method between soil cultivation and hydroponics. This is first because peat is one of the ideal substrate materials for soilless cultivation, and it is easy to obtain. In addition, it has the advantages of pest and disease prevention and除草 exemption. In practice, a plastic board or plastic bag can be used to isolate the soil on the ground, and after making grooves and holes, peat is filled in as the planting substrate. For a more refined approach, a raised bed can be constructed and then filled with peat as the planting substrate for the cultivation and production of flowers. The use of peat for soilless cultivation is a widely adopted method abroad.
Eight, used for industrial production of lawn rolls: With the increasing demand for lawn rolls in urban greening construction, the production of lawn rolls requires a large amount of land resources, which restricts the conditions for repeated production. By using peat as the main raw material, mixed with garden soil, river sand, and other materials to make a culture medium, lawn rolls can be produced repeatedly in the same area, improving land utilization, reducing production costs, and achieving industrialized production of lawn rolls.
Nine, used for edible fungi cultivation: Peat soil can be used as a cultivation substrate and covering soil for edible fungi. The substrate and covering soil after cultivation can be used to make organic compound fertilizers, significantly reducing the production cost of edible fungi.
Ten, used for various compound fertilizers based on peat: "Peat preparations" with peat as the main raw material can expand the resources of organic fertilizers, prevent soil hardening and degradation, reduce the use of chemical fertilizers, protect the environment, and improve the yield and quality of agricultural and sideline products.
Eleven, used for constructing rooftop gardens: The bulk density of peat is very low, generally 0.2 to 0.3 grams/cubic centimeter dry weight and 0.6 to 0.7 grams/cubic centimeter wet weight. In comparison, the dry weight of ordinary soil is 1.25 to 1.75 grams/cubic centimeter, and the wet weight is between 1.9 to 2.1 grams/cubic centimeter. If 100% peat is used when constructing rooftop gardens, it can reduce the soil base weight by 2/3 to 3/4.
In practice, it is generally mixed with one part of peat into two parts of ordinary soil to make mixed soil for constructing rooftop gardens, reducing the weight of the soil base by about 25% to 30%, and greatly improving the aeration and nutrient content of the soil base. It can be said that peat is an ideal material for constructing rooftop gardens.
Compared with traditional cultivation substrates, peat has stronger water retention and permeability, which is more conducive to plant root growth, and its application prospects will certainly become broader.
This article has shared the detailed content of the classification and application of peat, hoping to bring you help!