Andrew Ostrander wrote:
The peat moss sounds like a fine idea to me, despite what some others
have
speculated. I would go with a report from someone who has tried it
long
before I'd go with the nay-sayers on this newsgroup who have not.
Your
climate matters a lot of course. As to cost, that varies too; around
here
peat moss is extremely cheap; it comes on a truck by the yard if you
want
it.

I sympathize with the original poster, who asked a simple question
and got
sermons in response, but never an answer. (No, I don't know either
where
to buy such a blower.)

As added material, I will point out that using peat moss to start a
lawn
implies that it will be kept moist. Moist peat moss won't blow
anywhere,
and neither will it wick water from the ground. As for wicking
significant
water out of the ground, I know that peat pots do that if they are
only
partly buried, but I think this is sufficiently different.

I take it that you haven't tried this, either, so your word carries no
more weight than anyone else here. (Actually less, since you haven't
built any credibility yet.)

So why do you think that peat pots partially burried wick water out of
the ground?

It's because the peat is exposed to the air. Then the peat touching the
ground wicks water away to replace what is being dried out by the air.
Spreading peat on top of the ground will have the same effect. Peat, in
order to retain moisture, cannot be exposed to the air. Peat exposed to
air will dry out, and will then grab any moisuture it can. The peat pot
partially exposed is very much the same as shredded peat laying on the
surface in this regard.

Also, if you shred peat, and let it dry out, it will be very light. So
yes, some of it will blow away.


Added even later (From http://www.greengate.ca/lawns_sod/): "After
seeding
apply a thin layer of peat moss over the entire area. This helps
retain
moisture and holds the seed to ensure a quality product." So the idea
is
not unknown.

There are plenty of old wives tales out there. This one makes sense only
if the depth of your thinking goes one level. (Peat wants to hold water,
so it must hold water close to the seeds if I spread it on top of them.)
If one isn't capable of thinking one step further, then it makes sense
to them, and they'll be puzzeled at why they have to water so much more
than the guy who though ahead and didn't spread peat on top of soil.


The sarcastic tone of some posters here, who wrote from ignorance as
if they
actually knew something about the topic, is not justified.

Not only don't you know anything about peat, you don't know what sarcasm
is, either.

What do you think our motivation is? Our motivation is to stop someone
from doing something stupid and wasteful based on half-baked ideas.

Peat laying on top of soil will dry out. The only way it will not dry
out is if you water *more* than you would if it wasn't there.

If you really want to use peat to retain moisture, you need to work it
into the soil so it's not exposed to the air. You can't just shred it,
and blow it. Give it some real thought, and you'll see that this is not
a position of ignorance. Thinking the peat laying on top of the soil
does any good is a position of ignorance.

--
Warren H.

==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.

Power Lawncare Tools for Spring Clean-up:
http://www.holzemville.com/mall/blackanddecker/