Introduction to Peat Farming

February 23rd, 2012

The purpose of this blog is to explore the world of peat farming, mostly in Ireland but I will discuss the other benefits of peat. I grew up in Central Pennsylvania on a dairy farm and I have never even heard of peat or peat farming until I enrolled in a horticulture class at Penn State this semester.  I find this topic very interesting and throughout this semester I will discuss the history, the uses and techniques of peat. 

Peat farming is used in aquaculture which can be defined as the farming of aquatic plants and creatures such as fish and crabs. Peat is a development of partially decayed vegetation matter or histosol.When an analysis is done of the soil, the types of plants that grew, died and accumulated to form a piece of peat can be discovered. Dead plants that are found in peat-lands are different from other ecosystems because they do not fully decompose.

  

There are places that are called peat-lands, that are an area where peat is found and it consists of a layer of peat at the surface which has accumulated naturally over thousands of years. In Ireland, peat is also referred to as turf and can be found in moors, pocosins, wetland blogs, muskegs, peat swamp forests and mires. In Ireland, there are different types of peat-lands that have developed due to varying conditions of soil type, plant species and climate.

In Ireland, peat is harvested as an important source of fuel and this technique can be found around the world. Peat has been used as a form of energy for over 2,000 years. In boreal and temperate regions of Europe, in particular Ireland, Germany, England, Poland, Finland, Sweden and Russia, peat is used as an alternative to firewood for heating and cooking. During the 20th century with the increasing use of oil and gas for heating and cooking resulted in diminishing use of peat for such purposes.

 Peat has helped shape the history in some portions of the world because of its benefits in archeology. Peat has several benefits with include water absorption, root growth, it can reduce leaching, improve compost and increase soil health. I truly do not know that much about peat and peat farming but I find the subject very interesting. Over this course, I would like to learn about the benefits of peat, how it is used not only in Ireland but around the world, and how important it is to archeologist.

*Picture: http://news.discovery.com/earth/peat-bogs-worth-carbon-credit-gold-110801.html