Garden Plot On Peat Soil

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Photo: Svetlana Okuneva

There are different types of soil on which horticultural societies are located. Somewhere clay prevails, somewhere peat. For example, my site is on peat bogs. For some reason, some gardeners have a negative attitude towards such soil. Although all gardeners are trying to buy peat and fertilize their beds with it. This soil has its pluses and minuses.

Disadvantages of peat soil

The disadvantages of such a soil are as follows.

It is necessary to often water the sown seeds until the seeds germinate, since the topsoil (about ten centimeters) dries out very quickly, and moisture is needed for the seeds to germinate. The moisture of the morning dew is not enough for all types of seeds. Small plants such as dill are particularly affected. For some plants, it is necessary to add sand to the beds (to retain moisture). Not all types of fruit trees grow on such soil.

Of course, fires should be burned with caution on peatlands. You will extinguish the fire from above, but it can ignite the lower layer of peat, and you will not immediately discover it. It is better to fill the site with gravel for this. Or you can do, as it was done on my site - a brazier was placed on a concrete slab. It can be used to cook and burn garbage.

To drain excess moisture, drainage ditches, thirty centimeters deep, run along the perimeter of our site. This is sufficient to wick away excess moisture during rains.

Peat Soil Benefits

The advantages are as follows.

The peat soil is very loose, light, it is a pleasure to work in such a land. You can dig any hole with your hands, huddle the plants. You do not need to loosen the beds, it is enough to weed them. Before weeding, you do not need to moisten the soil, all weeds are pulled out with ease. Almost all plants grow by leaps and bounds. You always have soil for sowing seedlings at hand. After seed germination, when the roots of the plants germinate the upper dry layer and fall into the lower layer, it is rarely possible to water the beds. Because the peat soil is wet inside.

A hole was dug in my area: three by three meters, about two meters deep, there is always groundwater in it, with which I water my plants. All summer different types of lettuce grow beautifully: lettuce, arugula, parsley, celery, mustard, watercress. I always harvest a good harvest of onions, carrots, beets, cucumbers, bell peppers, pumpkins, zucchini, cabbage, radishes, potatoes and other vegetable crops.

We added sand to the strawberry beds. Lush bushes have grown with a lot of berries, as a result, they got an excellent harvest. All of these plants grow very well in this kind of soil. Cuttings of various plants take root well because of the lightness of such soil.

Many types of flowers and ornamental shrubs grow very well on peat soil. There are many flowers on my site. These are dahlias, gladioli, asters, petunias, phloxes, irises, lilies, primroses, lavaterra, saintbrinks, hostas, tulips, daffodils, decorative sunflowers, crocuses, various types of ossicles. And they all grow and thrive well without frequent watering and loosening. Of course, provided that the summer is not very dry. I can say that in dry summers it is necessary to water any soil frequently. Of the ornamental shrubs that grow well on my site, I can name the following - barberry, heather, juniper, thuja. Currants, honeysuckle, gooseberries, raspberries also grow well. And they all bear fruit perfectly.

On my site, I do not use any fertilizers, because I am opposed to any plant growth stimulants. My opinion is that what grows will grow. I collect a good crop from my site, and I have it environmentally friendly.

From my practical experience, I can say that there is no need to be afraid to acquire plots on peat lands. And if now I was faced with a choice - on what basis to buy a garden plot, I would choose peat land. The advantages of such a soil are much greater than the disadvantages.