Weird sweet smelling peat moss and topsoil?

[49th]

I haven't been able to find the usual 3.8 cu bags of Premiere or Sunshine peat moss that I normally would use which is odd in Canada, but I guess supply and demand of trendy pandemic gardening and the bogged down shipping systems might account for that. So I grabbed a bag of this stuff I'd never seen before Aurora Peat Moss out of Alberta.

I'm used to the smell of peat just being relatively neutral and earthy, never really smelled peaty like Islay Scotch type of peat bog aroma if anyone is familiar with that. Well, this doesn't quite smell like that but kind of does in a sweeter way but smells more like tequila almost to me without the alcohol smell. The bag was pretty heavy but doesn't feel very wet. Kind of reluctant to use it but they're part of the Canadian sphagnum peat moss association so it should be up to standards. Anyone ever used this stuff or had peat with a similar odour? Maybe just a lot of good bacteria working in there? That's what I was reading about after doing a bit of research.

Same thing with this "screened top soil' I got my dad to get a yogurt container from this local compost place. I wanted a sample of it before committing since my mom wants to make 3 new raised beds this year and we just got 2 yards of some nice compost. I calculated it would take 1 yard of compost, 1 yard of 'top soil' (1 yard of peat would cost too much and wouldn't be necessary surely, also annoying to hydrate 7 bales of peat...) and .5 yard of some 5/16th pea gravel aggregate for a cheap aeration material since bulk pumice doesn't exist around here and perlite is annoying. I opened the container expecting an earthy or clean kind of smell and was greeted with a similar but more sickly sweet smell that smelled even more like tequila to me but again without the ethanol smell.

Should I be concerned at all or just some new scents or strains of bacteria working their magic I am not familiar with? I've smelled a lot of good and bad smells in my few years gardening but never anything quite like this so it has me a little thrown. Anaerobic smells are harsher and chemically usually, right? Like ammonia or something putrid..? Neither smell offensive, but just very strange to me.

Any thoughts or comments? Probably just overreacting and over-thinking as usual...

 

[troutman]

Maybe, just let it air out?

 

[flylowgethigh]

My sinuses hate whatever is coming from soils. Humans are supposed to be way more sensitive to some of those smells than a shark is to blood.

 

[hyposomniac]

I have a bag of promix right now that smells off, verging on maple syrup. I'll let you know in a few days how the plants like it
I have also had off smelling premier peat that smelled of stale orange peel.

 

[Great outdoors]

Haven't smelt peat like that, that I can recall.
But in general sweet smell is good. Offending want to hurl is bad.
Natural body reaction to keep you away from bad bacteria.

 

[Great outdoors]

Maybe your weed will have the flavor of a fine single malt

 

[therevverend]

Sounds like some sort of bacteria fermentation. You want fungal dominate, not bacterial dominate. I wouldn't use it, I've had too many plants fucked up the past few years using supposedly respectable bagged mixes that were off in some way. It's gotten old real fast, I don't trust anyone anymore. If you do use it or want to salvage it I'd screen it really well and water it down with another mix. I'd also check your root tips after a week for dampening off. I've learned to screen everything. In my area they've started cutting the mixes with woody bits, I end up screening out 1/4 or 1/3 of the weight.

I want a light fluffy mix my roots can shoot straight through. Everything these days is full of wood chips, little sticks, and sawdust. Very little peat moss. I've had bad dampening off problems because of it. Poor root growth. I've got a damp climate here too, maybe it's less of a problem and the wood is helpful with bigger plants and a dry climate. I don't buy it, I'll always screen that shit out. It takes N to break down wood.

 

[Hastings]

I have a bag of promix right now that smells off, verging on maple syrup. I'll let you know in a few days how the plants like it
I have also had off smelling premier peat that smelled of stale orange peel.

I've found promix to be pretty consistent for me. If I smelled something very different while opening a bail, I'd be a bit concerned. The thing with promix is that it has been pH buffered, leaving it more susceptible to bacteria while in the bag. This can be a good thing or bad depending on what you have in there dominating by pure chance perhaps.

 

[Guest]

My last bail of peat had almost a cheesey musty air conditioner smell. After mixed, the soil reverted to the default peat smell. Plants were fine.

 

[St. Phatty]

My last bail of peat had almost a cheesey musty air conditioner smell. After mixed, the soil reverted to the default peat smell. Plants were fine.

Smells are wierd.

I got a kitten from a house in the town. Little guy smelled like Fabric softener for a few weeks.

The cat survived.