Kinda Dumb Question! Sphag Moss+Hydrating...How?

[Roberta]

I have never sterilized sphag... I get big bales, put them in a (dedicated) trash can, and add water, flip the bale over and spray with hose a bit until it gets wet enough to fall apart. And have not had any problems with weeds. It probably helps to start with good moss... I use Sphagmoss Premier (or Supreme when I can get it), nice long fibers, and very clean.

[emmajs243]

So helpful guys!! Roberta! Long time no see! Totally loved the picture in my mind of you using your waste departments 32 gallon, curbside trash can to put sphagnum moss in to soak! Ha! Just your distinction that it was a clean, dedicated trashcan put that picture into my mind!

So helpful everyone! And Lacie, it is true that it is considered sterile already isn't it?! Oh and Roberta....I feel like I got quality sphagnum.....Besgrow AAAA sphagnum which is like Supreme I think?? The highest grade before costing a fortune for a small bag of like individual strands!

And Orchidsarefun! Very helpful to know! I knew it was naturally an antimicrobial so That is precisely why I was questioning if it's necessary or does more harm then good. Besgrow's site actually brought up the fact that sterilizing any of their "already sterile" media is a bad idea because it kills the beneficial bacteria in the media and this allows for a sterile source that is very easily infested by other unwanted bacterias....something along this line and how keeping the good bacteria assists to prevent this. Deflasked seedlings just seems so scary to me and when they say sterilize everything I worry that it means EVERYTHING so hearing everyone's opinion on it not being necessary for this specific media is very helpful!!!

Thank you guys so much!!

[Roberta]

Actually, I have a 20-gallon trash can for my sphag. I get it in 500 g or 1 Kg bales. When hydrated, a 1 kg bale fills it about 2/3. (for the 150 g bales, a 5 gallon bucket is big enough, but the bigger quantities are more cost-effective, I use quite a bit with plants in open baskets, especially Oncidium-tribe and pleurothallid species)

That 4A is fine - the 5-A individual strands are mostly used for the final wrap of traditionally-potted Neos. The Spagmosss (I think Besgrow is the brand) Premier grade is sort of 3A-plus, the Supreme is more like 4-A. That is excellent. I usually pack pretty loosely, just enough to hold the plant firmly. So in the basket, there is plenty of air and rapid drying.

[emmajs243]

YAY I chose well on my spag moss then!!!! I put in a large order of potting supplies and found a place selling the AAAA Supreme Spagmoss 150g packs for just like $1-$2 more then you can get the AAA 150g Spagmoss from Amazon and it didn't change my shipping price at all so I decided to go for it!

I will admit...kinda expected the bale to be bigger. But I am shocked to here it could expand into even half of a 5 gallon bucket!

[Roberta]

The stuff expands... I always hydrate the whole bale, of whatever size. Then I don't break fibers ripping off pieces. And besides, you should always work with it wet, I have heard from several sources that one can get lung issues from the dust and fungi that it may carry. If it is wet, that's not an issue.

[emmajs243]

Oh! Well that's very interesting and good to know Roberta! I have enough lung issues to begin with! And I too thought about if your ripping off small pieces to use, how are you suppose to have long strands...so have you ever not used all the moss that you hydrated and just let it dry back out like others too??

Would you suggest that over ripping off small chunks at a time to hydrate I guess is my big question?

[Roberta]

I just hydrate the whole thing and put in in a container that I can cover (for the 125 g bale, a Home Depot bucket with cover works fine) A black bucket is best because, not letting light in, keeps algae from growing. The orange ones aren't bad, especially if you can keep it in a shady place. Avoid white if possible, lets too much light through. Leave it wet... mine stays wet just fine for 3 months or more that it takes me to use it up. If it smells a little musty, I have never had any problem... if you're worried,, a little Physan sprayed on the what you're using will solve that. I don't bother, in use it dries out anyway.

[emmajs243]

Well that sure makes life easy! And I can definitely keep it in my storage room! It stays blacked out constantly, heaters are never running (although hopefully I will get to turn all heaters off soon anyways) but it's a nice, dark, cool place where I store my fertilizer and what not for now!

I kinda was curious if that's what you did but just wanted to make sure! 3 months should be plenty of time...Plus, I am sure you use more just being able to go and grab a handful of it as needed. Although hydrating isn't hard and doesn't sound very time consuming, it's just probably really nice to have it ready to go at all times!

[Roberta]

It's very convenient to just grab and go... whether I'm potting in a basket or mounting, easy to get either a lot or a few strands.