Premium Long Fiber Sphagnum Moss 3OZ (4QT) - Natural Dried Orchid Moss for Repotting Carnivorous Plants, Succulents, Terrariums & Reptile Habitats - Ideal for Indoor Gardening, Orchid Care & Reptile Bedding

I grow most of our vegetables and herbs year around, and discovered that the soil in my pots was more alkaline than it should be. Most of the plants I grow require soil on the acidic side for microbes to break down nutrients into a usable form. My tomatoes and bell peppers were developing yellow spot on the leaves that I found out could be caused from lack of nutrients. Since I regularly supply these plants with nutrients, I knew that lack of nutrients wasn't the problem. With more research, I found out that microbes in the soil must break down nutrients in the soil in order for the plants to absorb them. For these microbes to do their job, the soil PH should be 6.2 to 6.8. My soil was 7.2.Since Sphagnum moss helps to lower the PH of the soil, I bought this product, and initially, wasn't impressed by the size of the package - it was really small. So, keeping an open mind, I put the small block in a 3 gallon tub and filled it half full of water. Within a couple of minutes, the block began to grow and continued growing. I moved it to a 5-gallon bucket and added more water. It continued to grow until it filled the bucket, but still, it was not all hydrated. So, I moved what was hydrated back into the 3-gallon tub and filled it. I added more water to the bucket, and this product filled the bucket by the time it was fully hydrated. So, my first suggestion would be to cut this block into at least 4 sections if you don't need a lot at one time.This sphagnum moss has very long fibers. It would work well for plants that grow in moss or possible for starting seedlings if mixed with perlite and vermiculite. This moss would also be excellent for air layering which is used to root cuttings on hard wood plants or trees to produce new plants. This is one purpose I plan to use it for.For my general purpose to mix it with soil, I have been breaking up the fibers to make them smaller in order to mix them into the soil. This should lower the PH in the soil and eventually the fibers will break down, but I prefer the sphagnum peat moss that is already broken into smaller pieces as it is easier to mix into the soil. I did find a few twigs in this moss, but not too bad for the amount of moss produced in this quantity. Personally, I wouldn't buy this moss again for my purposes, but it would work great for those growing orchids or other plants that grow in moss.At any rate, lowering the PH for my tomatoes, peppers, and even the veggie greens has had some exceptional results. My tomatoes are consistently producing much larger tomatoes and my pepper plants have a multitude of new flowers and developing peppers.I hope this review is helpful for you.