When peat is gently dried, as is the case with block peat, the elasticity of these cell walls remains unchanged.
This allows the water from the large pores between the small leaves of the sphagnum moss to be available to the roots of the cultivated plant.
When peat is dried too quickly, i.e. milled peat method, there is an irreversible shrinking and stiffening of the cell walls, which is noticeable in a confined absorption of water. Over-drying peat, which can also happen using the milled peat method, causes a partial destruction of these elastic cell structures. The consequences are poor water absorption, limited wetting capacity and having to re-wet the peat after dehydration.