To wet peat, use boiling water. Someone here can probably tell you why it works, all I know is that it does.

Only thing about boiling water is any soil critters in there don't like it. Just keep at it. I don't use peat in the garden for this reason. Cover with plastic at night to capture evaporation from below.

I promised the BH that I'd do no more geek stuff today, but it has to do with vapor pressure and surface tension.

:o)

Dan

Whenever I work with this type of soil, I always put it in a 5 gallon bucket, add water and mix. It wets it uniformly, lets everything expand and makes it easier to work with.

Then just put it in your container, and you not have to worry about it contracting when it gets wet due to air pockets.

I am pretty much stuck with one filled up and the other half way. I will keep sprinkling them. The rest of the bags of soil I will open up and fill with water and let set before I dump them. All so cover the beds with clear plastic to heat them up. It's getting time to use them...all most.

I forgot to say that each bed is all most a yard (27 cu foot) of soil Made with 2 by 10 planks. I have used 37 bags of 1 cu ft each plus a barrel of my own ground up mulch. Lots to stir.