Your observations are at best the products of delusion. Please accept that I mean this in a good way. You have no idea what you saw. The only possible exception to what I've said is that you are home all day long, and are able to hose down the lawn's surface every couple of hours. Aside from that possibility, or living in a climate where it rains lightly and endlessly every day, there are no other explanations.
I am tremendously amused. You remarks were most entertaining. Thank you. :)
The peat will absorb moisture.
If the peat was mixed in the soil, that moisture would be available to sprouting roots. But if the peat is on top of the soil, that moisture will be lost to evaporation as the peat dries, and will do the germination process absolutely no good. In fact, if you don't increase how much watering you do, the soil under the peat will never get the moisture it needs, and any germinating seeds will quickly die.
Yes. You're right.
Wrong. The water will go to keeping the peat moist, and that moiture will be unavailable for the germinating seedlings.
If you're seeding during spring or fall, any direct sunlight is a non-issue. If you're seeding in the height of summer, yes, your seeds could dry out, but they're going to dry out faster if you cover them with a big sponge that's exposed to the sunlight. And that's what peat is.
Try this: Take a sponge, and place it over some soil. Then water the area where the sponge is, as well as a bare area of similar soil composition, and other conditions. Water both areas to the point that the sponge is saturated. Every hour, check the soil under the sponge, and the area not under the sponge. Notice which soil dries out first: What was under the sponge, or what wasn't.
You're missing the point. It's not worthless on top because it's supposed to be mixed in. It's supposed to be mixed in because it's worthless (and, in fact, counter-productive) on top.
Save your water. Water only the soil and the seedlings. Don't lay peat on top. You'll just have to water the peat in addition to the soil and seedlings.
if the plan is to retain moisture and reduce watering surely a far simpler way of doing it is to peg some form of cloth across the soil until the seeds start to germinate. If the seed and peat moss is randomly spread amongst existing grass is that not a little haphazard. What guarantee do you have the the peat moss will come to rest in the places it is exactly needed. Moreover, what effect will peat moss have on existing grasses. If you lay it on too thick and moist you risk damaging the existing lawn. It may work however it seems there are far simpler ways of achieving the desired results. If simply wanting to beef up existing turf planting grasses in the correct season with the necessary climactic conditions is a huge head start. If the weather is hot and dry then the question has to be asked is grass the best product for such conditions. Peat moss may or may not work, however to my mind, is it the best way.
rob
Good idea, but the OP said she has an 8000 sq ft area. That's a lot of burlap!
you can get waste stuff if you look in the right places. Sure, it will be a bit of work however simply spreading seed on an 8000 sq ft area will be work in itself, as well as watering, as well as blowing peat fluff all over it. With something that large there is work there all rightregardless of what direction you go.
rob
ps a great area for dogs to go and poo on or to bend your garden fork levering out roots.
rob
I agree. If it were my lawn, I'd do the job during a vacation week so I could be out there misting it whenever necessary.
Don't get me started about dogs and their mentally retarded owners. Just don't.
I wonder about those slurries I've heard about, where you can spray the seed all over, in a mix of stuff that keeps it moist and helps it germinate. But that's probably big expensive government stuff.
You mean?:
-- Gmail and Google Groups. This century's answer to AOL and WebTV.
Good! When you can explain your theories, and why they fly in the face of virtually ALL other professional recommendations, including those on the peat moss packages, I'll be happy to change my opinion. But, all you've done is said "I think this should work and the facts are of no important". You may as well be telling someone to stick a gun in his mouth and pull the trigger because you think the history of bullet wounds is nonsense.
You still persist in your error in logic.
You have not referred to any professional recommendation or evidence that says the method does not work. The professional recommendations to which you refer say to use peat moss another way, which is not applicable here. That does not mean it will not work in the way that is suggested here.
That peat moss is recommended for method B and works in method B does not mean that it does not work in method A.
I notice that you ignored my previous posting to a garden site that recommended applying peat moss on top of a lawn when reseeding. Here are 3 more. They were easily found.
established.
I don't care WHAT they say. Experience shows otherwise. It *might* work if sprinkled on top of the seed, but only if you're there to keep it moist. This would eliminate its functionality for anyone who has to go to work for
8 hours on a sunny day.
Yep, must be government stuff.
I doubt the government owns any of those. I think they are owned by subcontractors who provide the service to the prime contractor on construction projects. I know they recently redid some roads here, with new paving, curbs, and sidewalks, and some contractor came around and sprayed the stuff. I have also seen it done when a developer is building homes. If you want to look into it, call a large contractor and ask for the name of his subcontractor. You could probably have it done without having to buy the equipment, but I would guess it would be more expensive than the traditional method I described above. I'm not real confident that the slurry alone will produce a nice lawn; I think it will produce a lawn with a lot of ryegrass, and you will have to do something to get a finer grass to replace that. I worked in a new building where they had used the slurry, and in the two years I was there, they never got to the point where the grass looked good.
Andrew. A point of clarification here. The websites you referred to, one talked about topdressing existing lawns with peat moss by raking it into the existing turf and the other sugested covering grass seed with peat moss. The first suggestion is, as far as I can see, about conditioning your soil and adding organic material using a no till method. The latter does not explain how to moss is to be applied. The original post was about shredding and blowning peat moss on to newly laid grass seed.
The unanswered question for me is the blowing bit. I cannot see bits of peat moss fluff doing much. Getting it in to the right areas at the right thickness must require raking. Bits of peat moss lying over a soil must be subject to wind blow. What happens when the seed starts to germinate and they have a nice layer of mulch stopping them getting to the sun.
Of interest value only, your opinion please.
rob (rest of discussion snipped)
No, actually every web site refers to putting peat moss on top of seed when reseeding a lawn. I will quote one or two sentences from each of the web sites:
"After applying lime, fertilizer, and seed to your lawn, we recommend you cover the newly seeded areas with a light covering of peat moss or straw. Peat moss is the most desirable and is excellent for average size areas."
"If your lawn is sparse, mix in seed with the peat moss when you're top-dressing, and spread it with a rake."
"Apply seed, lime, and starter fertilizer, cover with peat moss or Grass Mulch and thoroughly water."
I don't know how blowing can be done. If the peat moss is dry it will blow all over, better wear a dust mask for sure. If it is moist, it's harder to blow. I never regarded the blowing as basic to the points I was disagreeing with.
After the seed germinates the young blade will have to push its way through a layer of moist peat moss. I don't see this as a problem; after all, peat moss is a major component of most seed starter mixes.
Thanks! :)
I imagine the use of sphagnum peat over a newly seeded lawn is meant to help hold moisture while the seed germinates. Just supposing, tho, as I didn't see the original post.
Suzy, Wisconsin, Zone 5
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