Peat Moss questions.

Being a city boy (Los Angeles) I have no idea what
Peat Moss is. I have used it in the past to ammend soil but I was wondering about it's growing properties and is Peatmoss more of something you "amend" with and never use straight?
A local green waste recycler/fertalizer/soil company near me always has these huge bags from Canada of Peat Moss and they are really cheap. I think with 10 bucks I can buy a whole lotta of it but what is peat moss's main roll in gardening and how many other ways can I use it.
Thanks
Tom

I buy it by the bale,I mix it with potting soil,or my compost,before I till,Love it,you may see a mix with spagnum moss,also great,it seems to airate soil and retain moisture.
I see my post to you did not show up,I think that was just as Daves was crashing,so let me say welcome to Daves,and I really liked you site.My Bamboo is just starting to show,I hope you will be able to give me an ID when it does.
Root ©ट©¬

Assembled from some stuff in my files:

"Peat is the partially decomposed remains of plants and animals which have accumulated in oxygen poor, water saturated freshwater environments."

"The partial decomposition of organic debris which occurs at the time of deposition is referred to as humification. In normal soil forming environments, humification transforms organic debris to humus, however, in a water logged environment that is poor in nutrients and oxygen, the organic debris is transformed into peat. The deposits consist of a mixture of organic remains which reflect the types of plants growing in the wetland at the time of deposition."

"Peat deposits are commonly formed from Sphagnum moss, sedges, reeds, shrubs, wood and other organic matter. In general, mosses are the major constituent of peat."

Now my own words:

Peat is a resource similar to petroleum in that is is laid down from deposited organic matter over a period of many, MANY thousands of years. Thus, it can be considered "non~renewable." Digging (extraction) of peat disrupts ecosystems (groundwater, fauna, flora, etc). This is true of lots of things we do in life.

There are alternatives to peat moss. I don't know much about this. Some folks on this site are quite knowledgable in this area and had a thread talking about it. Sorry, but my search for it now came up dry.

You're web site's very cool. Nice job.

Welcome to Dave's Garden.

Adam.

welcome! love the picture of you and Dottie!

Thanks for the kind words everyone. Let me just say I am glad I am here. I know that I am in a good place. What you do and where you go on the internet (just like getting in your car) does have influence on what you bring into your life and I am glad I am here and not somewhere thats not good for me.

I will post more later but I just want you to know I guess I hit the "mid-life" thing and am just going full bore into my gardening. I can't stop. If my plants were employees
they would quit because I micromanage and scrutinize everything the Bamboo does.
I just find Bamboo to be facinating and I realize that
if I can have a love for this plant then others can too.
My goal is to amass as big a collection as possible all along propagating my own stock then selling it.
It's much more complicated then that but it is a design in it's infancy and I have good people around me willing to give me advice and recommendations about various growers.
This is a long term project but this is whats driving me in the garden, doing what I love and hoping to reap the rewards.
Just the satisfaction of knowing I have amassed 27 Bamboos blows my mind when only 18 months ago I had no desire whatsoever to work in a garden.
Seeing how my bamboo is growing is such positive feedback
from my efforts. I think I have found something I will be doing for a long long time.
Thanks
Tom

would love to know what to do with my black bamboo. Does it spread? need full sunshine? what can I expect? it's still fairly small and potted right now. would appreciate your personal experience and knowledge of this one:)

Tom put me on the list when you decide to trade or sell some.

Welcome Tom to Dave's! I have 2 Toms myself.......my DH and DS. Great name! Love your bamboo!

I've been trying to grow seeds in peat pellets with minor success and mostly failure. Is this not a good starting medium?