peat moss pics for greg1959

got on the road about 10:00 this am to heatherdown to load and haul 4 loads of peatmoss for the brotherinlaws and our selves. first pic is on the road on the way to the pit.

next pic is at the pit loading the first load going to lake isle about m30 miles west,



full load of raw peatmoss just as it comes out of the ground, this has been stockpiled at this pit for about 3 years now.



back for the next load, the next 2 going to onoway about 10 miles north of the pit.



the last load to home and some close up pics of the peat moss.



these last 2 pics you can see all the organic matter in the peat moss old rotted trees, plants, the last pic is the money shot, this is what the commercial guys are looking for, they screen it, run it through a type of mill to pulverize all the larger pieces, then it go's through big heated blowers to dry and fluff it up next it's bagged and shipped to a store near you. all the material you see will end up in the bag
:lol:

about 2 or 3' into the pile I ran into frozen chunks some quite large but easy to break up with the tooth bucket, mixed with sand and black dirt makes for excellent garden material.

We have peat ground north of me near a lake. I was asked to re-seed some when I was young and dumb...learned my lesson. I will not take a job in that area anymore. It plows up in slabs then turns to powder when you try to work it. Nasty!

(quoted from post at 20:13:36 05/13/18)
We have peat ground north of me near a lake. I was asked to re-seed some when I was young and dumb...learned my lesson. I will not take a job in that area anymore. It plows up in slabs then turns to powder when you try to work it. Nasty!

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and you where lucky you didn't sink outa sight Eldon, up here usually the first sign your on peat ground is what ever your driving starts sinking FAST!! :lol: dropped the front end of a D-7 dozer into a peat bog (that looked hard and dry) took the rest of that day to get winched out :lol:

I have another customer that I mow for that lives on part of the family acreage that was part peat. He told me a story of when he was a kid they stayed away when his dad was working up the peat ground as the dust made you itch like crazy. A salesman showed up one day when his dad was down working the peat ground, so his mother sent him down in the dusty field to solicit the father...I guess he never came back LOL!

Back in the 70's when I worked for a large neighbor farmer one of his farms had about 40 acres of peat ground. He bought a scraper for the JD. 8630 and sent me out to that farm.
Haul a scraper full of peat up on the clay hill and bring a load of clay back down. Did that for a week. Made quite a difference in the overall 160 acre farm.

when I was on the fire department we would mutual aid another department that had a peat moss bog. It would catch fire and burn under ground. It was 5 or 6 feet deep and burn for days, the danger was if you walked on it and fell through you would be in the fire.

(quoted from post at 04:20:42 05/14/18) when I was on the fire department we would mutual aid another department that had a peat moss bog. It would catch fire and burn under ground. It was 5 or 6 feet deep and burn for days, the danger was if you walked on it and fell through you would be in the fire.

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and the bad part bhb is they can burn under there for months and then surface and take off again.

Who piles the stuff for people to take, is it free? The trailer sure is made for the job of hauling. I like it. About all I have here where I live is mushroom compost. It's left from growing mushrooms. There is always a large pile. We can load it, or they will load it for 20.00. I loaded it by hand one time. Need I say more. The stuff has everything my adobe ground likes. Stan

Dad told of the peat bog fire near here that burned through his school days- not much chance to put it out

(quoted from post at 10:03:46 05/14/18) Who piles the stuff for people to take, is it free? The trailer sure is made for the job of hauling. I like it. About all I have here where I live is mushroom compost. It's left from growing mushrooms. There is always a large pile. We can load it, or they will load it for 20.00. I loaded it by hand one time. Need I say more. The stuff has everything my adobe ground likes. Stan

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no it's not free stan, I paid $40.00/load, which is about 1/2 price. the owner of the pit is not only a friend but one of my welder customers as well. I repaired his welder for him, brought one of my rental machines up for him to use to get the job done he was in the middle of doing so he didn't loose any time working on his big loader. took his welder home fixed it and brought it back, I have a very simple business philosopy stan if you look after your customers, they will look after you.

I've been told that peat moss itself has no or very little nutritional value (ie. minerals that plants can
use to be healthier). BUT the secret is the physical qualities it adds to the soil, like keeping the soil
particles separated, less compaction, better moisture penetration and retention, easier and better root
growth and development, etc. Not sure as to the accuracy of that, just what I was told somewhere along the
line.

carvel minne farmer- Thank you very much for the pics and
explanation of the peat. That is some GOOD looking additive to
build up the dirt.

(quoted from post at 14:46:12 05/14/18) I've been told that peat moss itself has no or very little nutritional value (ie. minerals that plants can
use to be healthier). BUT the secret is the physical qualities it adds to the soil, like keeping the soil
particles separated, less compaction, better moisture penetration and retention, easier and better root
growth and development, etc. Not sure as to the accuracy of that, just what I was told somewhere along the
line.

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that's why there is so much peat moss in bagged potting soil, we have added a lot to the wifes greenhouse beds and in the garden, all of the things noted are true crazy horse, keeping the soil loose, water penetration and retention.

(quoted from post at 15:02:31 05/14/18) carvel minne farmer- Thank you very much for the pics and
explanation of the peat. That is some GOOD looking additive to
build up the dirt.

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your welcome greg, it works very well to keep your soil from compacting up hard, allows good water penetration, it's great for your plant root systems. it was a good day greg, left at 10:00 am and by the time I got all 4 loads hauled, went back and loaded and hauled the skidsteer home it was 6:00 pm.

I sure wish you would come on down for a visit and bring that trailer /
skid loader along .

(quoted from post at 22:23:04 05/14/18) I sure wish you would come on down for a visit and bring that trailer /
skid loader along .

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I would love to take a road trip down there sv., and see your part of the country. those 2 pieces have both been good investments money wise, the 1845c has paid for itself several times over in jobs I have done, plowing snow in the winter and landscaping work in the summer not to mention the 100 different jobs it do's here at home. the dump trailer hauls 7 yards and has paid for itself already, bought it 3 years ago for $7000.00 less than half price of new. a dump truck load of black dirt or peat moss or gravel is $500.00 to $600.00 depending who you get it from, (that's usually 10 yards) I pay $40.00 a load for peat, $60.00 for black dirt or gravel, so I figure that each load costs me about $100.00 with fuel etc. delivered home here. at a cost savings of around $300.00 per load (hauling 7 yards as compared to 10 yards)