raised bog peat is the ideal raw material for the production of premium potting soil. it has a very good water retention capacity, a high degree of porosity and it does not contain any harmful substances, weeds, pathogenic germs or pests. winfried temming - head of department of horticulture. raised bog peat is a very homogeneous material and ideally suited for the production of both, substrates for professional growers and premium potting soil for home gardeners. for the extraction of frozen black peat we need a specific and elaborate procedure. in autumn we excavate the black peat and spread it onto the area,
after that we hope for frost, which is a crucial factor. through the impact of frost the peat gains its porosity and its good water retention capacity. in summer we loosen the peat to support the drying process. once dried, the peat it gathered into stockpiles. today the companies are obligated by law to rewet and restore the extracted areas. rewetting and restoration of the area we see here have started 18 years ago and the result proves that it works.
but it only works if we extract the peat from agriculturally used areas before rewetting them. the peat is transported to the production plant in waggons which are running on rails. there it will be milled, sifted and homogenised for further processing. this is area a where high-quality raw materials are stored, which are the basis for premium potting soils. it is very important to pretreat the particular raw materials and to make internal and external analyses in order to guarantee a constant quality. the secret of success of potting soil is the recipe, which means the compostition of raw materials, additives and fertilizers.
active planting soil, for example, contains five different types of fertilizers. first of all a soluble premium-fertilizer including all main and trace nutrients which are immediately available for the plants. furthermore it contains two different slow-release fertilizers with a different release time, two organic fertilizers: seabird guano and horn fertilizer.