Each gardener growing seedlings, is familiar with the unique substance - peat, which is used as a component of the soil. However, not everyone knows that there are several of its types - lowland and high peat. But what is their difference and how to apply it correctly? This is exactly what will be discussed.
Peat and lowland peat - the difference
It is known that peat is formed in marshes as a result of the decomposition of various representatives of the flora in conditions of lack of oxygen, as well as high humidity. The differences between lowland and upland peat are due to the origin and the deposit of the swamp. As a rule, peat occurs in regions with harsh conditions and poor vegetation. In marshes on an even surface where there is practically no submarine water, and the food comes from the melting of snow and rare precipitation, peat is formed during the decomposition of sphagnum , cotton grass, heather, pine, and wild rosemary.
Low-lying peat is found in low places, in particular in ravines, river banks, where groundwater supply is possible. Peat is formed in the decomposition of horsetail, reed, reed, sedge, moss and tree species. It also includes nutrients, which, draining, captured groundwater.
The origin of peat also affects its chemical composition. Upper peat is acidic - 3-4 pH, in low-lying, in which organic 70%, weakly acidic or neutral reaction - 5.5-7 pH. Salts in the latter contain a lot - 200-700 mg / l, in the upper - up to 70-180 mg / l.
Lowland and peat turf - application
The difference also applies to the use of these types of peat. For example, for peat with a sour reaction, the application is limited only to the role of a substrate for growing seedlings or vegetables in a greenhouse. In peat, the low-lying area of application is somewhat wider: heavily decomposed is used as fertilizer (compost), slightly decomposed for littering to domestic animals.