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Sod cutting and Vacuum harvesting
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Sod cutting,
This is where peat blocks are cut with a mechanized sod cutter and left on the bog to freeze over the winter. The dynamic action of freezing and thawing opens the densely compressed peat mass. The following summer the sods are picked up and placed in stock piles.
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| Sods |
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The sods are placed in stock piles when they are dry. From the stock piles they are transported to the factory for further processing. Sod peat is used in high quality substrates for plant breeding and Pot plant growing.
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Vacuum harvesting
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Vacuum harvesting is a method where the upper 2-3 cm of the bog is milled, and after drying the peat is lifted by a vacuum harvester. The method results in peat with a greater proportion of fine particles than sod peat.
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 At the factory
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The raw materials are unloaded in a separate building with the screening lines. The peat is shredded and screened into many different grades.
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Screenings
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Standard screening grades are:
0-5, 0-10, 0-20, 0-35, 5-20, 5-40,
10-30, 20-40 and above 40 mm.
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Screens and cutters
Once shredded the peat passes over a number of "star-wheel" screens. Every screen has a row of axels with rubber star-wheels. It is the distance between these wheels and the speed of rotation that determine the screening grade .
The coarsest peat is carried over to the "cutters", where it is cut into smaller pieces.
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Mixing lines
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For the production of substrates the required peat quality is transported to the mixing line in the next building via conveyor belts. Limestone, fertilizers and other additives are supplied automatically from computer controlled hoppers. The mixers give an efficient but careful blending that secures uniform mixes, whilst preserving a good structure
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Packing
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Peat and substrates are delivered loose in containers or in bales.
In the packing hall the products may be packed into big bags, compressed 300 or 160 liter bales or loose-filled 100 litre bags.
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All bales are control weighed and marked with recipe number and production code.
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Product control
Every hour the degree of humification, moisture content and out-turn are monitored. Samples are taken partly for immediate analysis made in our own laboratory and partly for analysis made by an independent laboratory.
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Samples are split for both immediate tests in our lab and for more detailed analysis by an independent lab.
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The lab produces a control report each day on the values above. All bags/bales are coded correspondingly which ensures a high degree of security.
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