Is peat moss just a soil conditioner for water retention, or is it also a useful organic additive ...?

Question

... for microorganisms and worms?

I've found highly conflicting (academic, university) online articles regarding this.

Thank you.

Answer 1

peat moss has become an argument in the works.... some folks love it... some folks won't use it... some should NOT use it..... and you'll get every opinion possible from a group of gardeners....
personally, I have heavy clay soil and if I were to use peat moss, and the weather went to drought like it is now, I'd have a solid brick rather than a flower bed.... once the peat dries out in clay, there's nothing short of a flood that will re-wet the stuff...so around here, I use finely shredded pine bark instead and get better results...
those who wont use it have other reasons, like the fact that peat is a non or very slowly renewable natural resource.... the peat bogs should be allowed to remain as they are and not be ripped up for something else to sell to gullible gardeners... it adds nothing tothe soil but a little pH and opens the soil to air.... but... things like pine bark do just the same and don't happen to come from a peat bog....
it does seem that the farther north folks are, the more they use it...might be less expensive up thatway?....
just my opinion...

Answer 2

Peat moss is all of those things. According to the Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association website:

Sphagnum peat moss regulates moisture by retaining and releasing water as needed, loosens and aerates soil, retains moisture and nutrients, reduces leaching of nutrients into the soil, adds organic material which protects the soil from hardening, and for composting, peat moss speeds up the composting process.

Answer 3

Yes to both questions. Peat moss is partially decomposed Sphagnum moss, harvested from bogs in cold areas (usually Canada in the Western Hemisphere). The cold weather slows the decomposition, leaving a peat moss with long fibers, which is desirable in potting mixes, because it provides good aeration as well as water and Cation exchange capacity (fertilizer holding capacity). Peat moss does have some mild antibiotic capacity, probably in part due to non-pathogenic microbes. Sphagnum moss resists decay in its native swampy environment. However this is short lived. Nitrogen content of peat moss varies from bog to bog, but is rarely higher than 15 ppm. We have peat bogs in Florida, but the quality is poor, because our warm weather lets the organic matter decompose to relatively undesirable muck.
You could look at peat moss as a naturally composted material. Earthworms are often raised in peat moss.