Depending on origin, age and harvesting technique, there are differences in the physical and chemical properties of peat. Part of Brill’s expertise is to always achieve the desired substrate properties in the finished Brill product — regardless of the climatic situation in the regions of origin and the regional availability of the different peats.
Our peats come into use only after thorough quality control. As part of our responsible use of this valuable raw material and our sustainable product strategy, we have for years supplemented or replaced peat with other raw materials in our substrate formulations whenever possible and sensible.
Peat is a purely natural product and is characterised by its chemical, physical and biological properties which are ideal for horticulture, in particular its low natural nutrient content and low pH value. Peat has been the most important raw material for growing media for many years. Structure, nutrient content and pH value can be ideally controlled in substrate production. Substrates based on peat are thus able to meet the high demands of today’s standard cultivation in the complex interaction of plant material, cultivation technique and cultivator. The crop safety of a substrate is essential for professional gardeners.
A distinction is generally made between black peat and white peat.
Compared to white peat, black peat is highly decomposed with a degree of humosity of >5 (according to van Post). The original plant structure of the Spaghnum mosses is mostly no longer visible.
We only use sufficiently frozen black peat. With increased freezing, the physical properties improve, especially the pore content, the water absorption capacity and the air volume increase. When not frozen through, black peat becomes hard after drying out and can only absorb water with difficulty.
Use of black peat in the substrate improves the buffering properties for water and nutrients. Together with clay, black peat can form the clay-humus complex, which is particularly important for the storage of nutrients and water.
We extract our black peat in this region, mainly from our own peat extraction areas that were drained long ago. This protects the environment by avoiding transport.
White peat is less decomposed, structurally stable and has a relatively high pore volume. It quickly absorbs large quantities of water, but also releases it again relatively quickly. This is very important for cultivation with ebb and flow irrigation. As a structuring agent, white peat ensures air capacity, capillarity and drainage properties in the substrate.
White peat can be cut as sods or harvested as milled peat. If the less decomposed raised bog peat is harvested as milled peat, a high proportion of fine particles is produced; if harvested as sod peat, the structure of the peat mosses is largely preserved. In our fractionation process we break our sod peat into different fractions (grain sizes) in a way that is gentle on the structure. By adding the fractions in measured doses, we can ideally control the desired structures in our growing media. The coarser the “nuggets”, the higher the air capacity.
Our team of experts will give you competent advice on our existing or individual solutions.
Brill and TerraBRILL are product brands for professional growing media and hobby substrates by Kekkilä-BVB, the European leader in horticulture. Kekkilä-BVB provides products and services for professional greenhouse growers, landscapers and consumers in more than 100 countries globally. We grow together with our customers for a better future.
