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   PEAT PRODUCTS Normiska's founders searched all over Canada in the late 1980's for a sphagnum peat bog worthy of development. What makes our Fort Frances bog special is its native species of sphagnum moss, its stage of decomposition, its drainage characteristics, its size and its location. Canada supplies nearly all of North America's requirements for sphagnum peat. Our topography, geology and climate combine to allow sphagnum moss to grow in certain locations. The United States has limited sphagnum resources and produces "peat moss" from decomposed reeds, sedges, cattails and other plants. Sphagnum peat is universally recognized as having superior characteristics for use in soil-based and soil-less growing media due to its acid pH, its fiber-matrix that allows root growth and its ability to supply roots with available moisture and minerals. Normiska's Fort Frances bog has been studied extensively and it contains virtually pure sphagnum peat. The Fort Frances bog has an area of approximately 1,000 acres which is amenable to harvesting. Extensive fieldwork has determined we have an average depth of 3 meters. This gives us an estimated reserve of 35 years of horticultural grade sphagnum peat. Because peat is a renewable resource this bog will outlive us all in its production life. We currently have approximately 170 acres under active harvest with another 100 slated to come on stream in 2001. Canada's freight-sensitive sphagnum peat industry started in Quebec and northern New Brunswick. Today, bogs have been developed across the northern tier of Western Canada so that supply lines run generally north to south. Our Fort Frances bog is the closest Canadian sphagnum to the 55 million people living in the U.S. Midwest. The quality, size and location of the Fort Frances bog are what give our soil-blending customers the product they want at a cost they can afford. TYPICAL PHYSICAL PROPERTIES / PEAT PRODUCT SPECS Product Description: Canadian Sphagnum Peat Particle Size: Fine <3/8"; Coarse >3/8", <2" Bulk Density: 3 to 6 lbs/cu. Ft. Water Holding Capacity: 1100 to 1600% Moisture Content: 45 to 60% pH: 3.5 to 6.4 Ash Content: <5% Organic Matter: >95% Electrical Conductivity: 0.0 to 0.5 mmhos/cm |