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View Full Version : White Sphagnum Peat Moss - not for human consumption!


bananimal
02-25-2012, 12:09 PM
Got my hands on a bale of Latvian Baltic White Sphagnum Peat Moss from Kudras.com.

Website information included this amazing caveat.

"Facilities of safety:
Substrate is safe for an environment, does not contain hazardous for the health of man substances. The measures of personal hygiene are to be adhered during the work with Substrate. Do not eat Substrate!"

Wasn’t planning to since I get enough ruffage these days. Lol


http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=48020&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=48020&ppuser=820)

http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=48019&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=48019&ppuser=820)

Richard
02-25-2012, 01:04 PM
White sphagnum peat moss is an excellent media as a component of soil, but it is also the primary food in the diet of Caribou.

bananimal
02-25-2012, 08:58 PM
White sphagnum peat moss is an excellent media as a component of soil, but it is also the primary food in the diet of Caribou.

That might explain the instruction "Do not eat Substrate."

Also Baltic residents might have a saying "Hey, if it's good for the Caribou it's good for me too!"

Richard
02-25-2012, 09:27 PM
That might explain the instruction "Do not eat Substrate."

Also Baltic residents might have a saying "Hey, if it's good for the Caribou it's good for me too!"

You'll find elsewhere that the strip mining of white sphagnum is considered an ecological disaster.

bananimal
02-26-2012, 12:03 AM
A nurseryman I know bid on a few container loads of the stuff and his supply is going fast. Gonna get some more before it runs out.

Richard
02-26-2012, 01:28 AM
The white sphagnum grows in the arctic tundra in a thin 2 inch veneer on top of a 1 or 2 inch veneer of soil and debris that rests on the permafrost. When the white sphagnum is strip-mined it takes decades for it to rejuvenate in the void area. Meanwhile, the Caribou die of starvation. This is in contrast to the dark sphagnum harvested for nursery applications: it grows in several meter deep subarctic bogs and rejuvenates each year.

Here's the situation up close. I took this photo about 1/2 mile east of Wonder Lake, Alaska. Everything you see here is growing in a 1-inch veneer of "soil" on top of the permafrost. The white sphagnum moss is the basic fabric of the tundra. For scale, the white-cupped flowers are about 3/4 inch across. The red berries are cranberries.

http://www.plantsthatproduce.com/image_gallery/Tundra_Flora_web.jpg

fmu65
02-26-2012, 07:24 AM
So now I am curious: is there something toxic about regular sphagnum moss or the way it is processed?

sunfish
02-26-2012, 10:45 AM
About Sphagnum Moss (http://www.repotme.com/orchid-care/Sphagnum-Moss.html)

sunfish
02-26-2012, 10:50 AM
Is Peat Moss Toxic to Dogs? | eHow.com (http://www.ehow.com/facts_5635203_peat-moss-toxic-dogs_.html)

bananimal
02-26-2012, 01:39 PM
About Sphagnum Moss (http://www.repotme.com/orchid-care/Sphagnum-Moss.html)

Tony --- thanks for the link. Got several orchids that are spilling out of the pot . Time to repot and repot.com has good info.

fmu65
02-27-2012, 08:15 AM
" Substrate is safe for an environment, does not contain hazardous for the health of man substances."

After reading the two posts Tony put up, am I to think that this statement is just inflammatory language to sell more white sphagnum?

bananimal
02-27-2012, 08:34 AM
Sounds more like a mandatory stantard safety statement necessary to market in the EU and the Americas. However, the whole point of this thread is the fun translation and the thought that if Caribou eat it maybe humans might too.

Personally I think Coco Coir appears more appetizing. :lurk:

Richard
02-27-2012, 03:58 PM
Sounds more like a mandatory stantard safety statement necessary to market in the EU and the Americas.

In some areas, the substrate contains mycelium of poisonous mushrooms so the caution is worthwhile.

However, the whole point of this thread is the fun translation and the thought that if Caribou eat it maybe humans might too.

How about with edible gilled mushrooms in a kittiwake egg omelette?

Personally I think Coco Coir appears more appetizing. :lurk:

I'd have to agree about the dried product. Fresh though ...

bananimal
02-27-2012, 08:55 PM
Kittiwake egg omelette.

Please explain

Richard
02-27-2012, 10:47 PM
Kittiwake egg omelette.

Please explain

Kittiwakes, gilled mushrooms, and white sphagnum all reside in the arctic.