Question
 Just to inform cp growers that if you go to Home Depot and purchase Sphagnum Peat moss and Perlite in the bags it contains fertilizer now!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I have been having a hard time finding the big bales of Canadian Peat moss also!!!!  I need lots of peat for my carnivorous plants...Don't know what to do!!  I hope by spring that Lowes or Home Depot will get those big bales of Peat moss..

I thought I would pass this by to cp growers because they are adding Miracle Fertilizer to perlite and peat moss..so beware and read the package carefully..

Is there anybody in the Tampa, Florida area that knows who sells just plain peat moss???? HELP!!

Thank you,
Ricky

Answer
Hi Ricky,

Yes, you're absolutely right that some companies add fertilizer to their peat moss and perlite.  We've written a couple of articles about this in our newsletter.  Growers simply need to read the label before purchasing these products.  

Unfortunately, stores in your area have decided to stop carrying bales of peat moss because not many growers in the area actually use it.  From what gardeners in your area have told me, the natural soil there is the right consistency which makes peat moss and perlite unnecessary, so stores in the region have seen a sharp decline in the sale of these products.  As a result, they stop carrying them in large quantities.  

In other parts of the country, such as the Pacific Northwest and the New England area, the natural soil here is clay-like, so gardeners in these regions will go use peat moss in higher quantities.  As a result, it is a common soil ingredients found at major garden centers.

You could try talking to the manager at your local garden center and request a special order of peat moss and perlite.  Sometimes they can work it in a special order if they can coordinate it with other products that they normally stock.

Good growing!
Jacob Farin