Peat Moss

Chad and I planted blueberries last weekend. After a trip to Hometown Nursery, we came home with not one, not two, but four blueberry bushes.

Heaven.

I spoke to the salespeople at the nursery and discovered that blueberries do very well when planted in containers filled with a combination of peat moss and acid mix soil. They also do very well if they're placed in afternoon shade. I can do that.

At home, I knelt by the planter boxes and mixed, by hand, the soil and peat moss. The silky texture of the peat appealed to my tactile senses. I plunged my hands deep in the bag and remarked to Chad, "This feels amazing on my skin. Very smooth."

"What is it?"

"Peat moss."

"Are you sure there isn't manure in there or something?"

"Ewww! No. It's just peat moss." But then, feeling a bit unsure, I decided to Google it. Thankfully, no manure included. Just pure Sphagnum moss. Then I kept reading...

"Chad! This says that sphagnum peat moss can harbor a chronic fungal disease called sporotrichosis!"

"Uh-huh," my loving husband replied as he watched a recap of the Big Game.

"This is serious! Apparently, sporotrichosis, also called Rose Gardener's Disease, enters your body through small cuts and abrasions. I. HAVE. A. CUT. ON. MY. THUMB!"

"Uh-huh," my darling, concerned husband replied.

"It enters your body through cuts and then causes small lesions that turn into boils! Boils! As in the Biblical plague!!"

"Huh," my solicitous husband replied.

"Thank God! It appears that there's an antibody. But..." I kept reading, "It doesn't always work. In rare cases, it can spread and result in central nerve damage, brain damage and pulmonary infections! Brain damage!!"

"I figured you shouldn't dig around in it without your gloves," my wonderfully supportive husband replied.