Due to its unique properties, sphagnum moss is very popular in construction, beekeeping, livestock and among indoor plant lovers. People, keen on growing giant land snails , also try to stock it for future use.
But not everyone knows where the sphagnum moss grows, but it is almost impossible to find it in retail. To correct this, we will conduct a small educational program in the search for a useful plant.
What is the use of sphagnum?
From time immemorial, this moss has been used for the construction of wooden log cabins - they have been spiked with crevices between logs. Beekeepers are made from dried sphagnum warming layers in the hive for the winter. But he was most widely used in plant growing, especially in the room. Adding moss to the ground, significantly improves its hygroscopicity. The earth retains moisture well, which allows the root system of plants to always have good hydration and at the same time to breathe. And if you overlay the surface of the earth in a pot with a moisture-loving plant, you can forever forget about the drying tips, which it is very difficult to struggle with.
Where does the sphagnum moss grow in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus?
Collect sphagnum on its own will not be very difficult, if there is a deciduous forest nearby, but there is no such moss in the pine forest. A lot of moss grows under aspens, which often grow in small hollows.
Search for a place where sphagnum grows even in spring, where after the melting of snow for a long time there are small lakes - exactly what you need. It will take several weeks and the sphagnum will actively develop, forming soft green cushions.
It is lowland swampy in spring places, which by autumn become completely passable - what you need to look for. By the way, when collecting sphagnum in autumn, if it was a hot summer, one should focus not on green, but on gray-gray light - this is what sphagnum becomes in a droughty period.