anyone that has used peatmoss, PLEASE help

HELP! this might have put a screaching halt on my plot!!!!
I put the one plant i have right now in a pretty big hole and filled it with 30 gallons of peat moss. I have been planning on doing 10 or so plants in the same size holes and watering 1gal every 3 days. but i went out today to check on it and gave it 1gal of water. It barely did anything.

do you think the soils just seeping it up and hiding how wet it really is or do you think i need to water each plant 2 gal every 3 days?

I put the soil meter i have into the hole after i watered it and it read very low moisture, but this is why i think the waters just taking a minute to get through and drench the soil..

When you water it does the water kind of build up on top then slowly sink in? What stage/how big is the plant that you have in the soil right now (ie how big is the root ball)? When I was watering decent sized plants last season, they usually took more than 1 gallon to water. I'd use the tried and true method of sticking your fingers into the soil and see if it feels moist. If you've got a bigger plant, you will probably need more than a gallon of water, especially for 30 gallons of soil/peat moss. Its just a process you're going to have to go through to find the right amount of water needed. You should be fine.

By the way, I've never used 100% peat moss because it can take a LOT of water. It can almost drain too well by itself.

word the plantis about 2 feet tall still in veg. and since i just transplanted it id say the root balls like 8-10 inches in diameter

Personally, I would use more than a gallon of water, especially with peat moss. That stuff drains like a mo'fo. Using straight peat moss (and 30 gallons of it) I'd definitely be sure to water on a VERY consistent basis to make sure it doesn't dry out. By the way, I'm just a little south of you in NC. We had a little frost the other night. Hope its the last one of the season. Good luck man.

Peat moss is very acidic, did you at least add dolomite lime to balance the pH?
You should use soil or a soil/soiless mix, peat moss can be used in a mix like 30% of the total mix.

I would never use only peat moss.

If peat moss dries out too much, it becomes hydrophobic and actually repels water. I suggest using a wetting agent.

You need a hell of a lot more water than 1 gallon every few days!

You need to initially soak the hole you dug, if the hole is filled with 30 gallons of mix it will need something like 12 or more gallons initiaily.

As the plant grows you will need to water more frequently.

No one can tell you when you need to water, but when you do I would use at least 7 or so gallons each time the plants get watered.

Hell, I use 2 gallons of water on my indoor plants that are in 5 gallons buckets.