Peat Moss Alternative

Why use an alternative to Peat Moss? This is a very common question when I tell people that we make a coconut coir option in our mixes. Both our Potting Mix with SEA SOIL and our Container Gardening mix are available with either peat moss or coconut coir. Peat Moss has been used in the garden industry for a long time; it is harvested out of peat bogs and used as a PH balanced additive to increase moisture content and prevent soil compaction.

Peat harvesting is not a sustainable industry as it takes thousands of years to form peat that can be harvested in just one week. Harvesting also alters a necessary eco-system and releases large amounts of stored carbon into the atmosphere.

When taking the leap from making SEA SOIL original to creating mixes, we researched the benefits of other similar products that would parallel our company's values and decided upon coir. SEA SOIL is a value added soil that is made from cannery leftovers and forest fines (bark left-over from the logging industry). We do not harvest anything to make our peat moss alternative product. Therefore, it does seem redundant to add a product that is not sustainable.

Coir is a natural product extracted from the husk of the coconut leftover from processing. Unlike peat moss, it is free of bacteria, fungal spores, and weeds (SEA SOIL is also weed-free). Coir is odourless, pleasant to handle, has a high water holding capacity, is lightweight and holds nutrients well. Coir also has an acceptable PH and EC making it the best alternative to peat moss.