Think about the purpose of using peat moss this way. It is not to improve
the soil. It is to help establish fresh additional grass in an existing
sparse lawn that will not be dug up. The purpose of the peat moss is to
retain moisture as the seeds germinate and develop.

My evidence is my own observation that peat moss remains moist much longer
than the surface of my lawn. Thus a lawn with peat moss on top will need
less frequent watering, perhaps twice a day to keep the grass seed moist
instead of every hour during midday. It will also shield the seeds from the
direct sunlight, which could dry them out no matter what they're on.

The claims of you and your authorities that mixing peat moss into soil is
the best way to use it to improve the soil, and just leaving it on top is,
at best, useless, seem undeniable. But that is not the goal here or the
situation. The moss will be kept moist until the grass is established. The
fact that peat moss is useful when dug in does not prevent it from being
useful in other ways too.

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
Question: In 30+ years of gardening, I've have never seen any advice
indicating that peat moss did NOT need to be mixed into soil. Never. Not
once, and this includes gardening veterans like James Crockett, Alan Lacy,
Henry Mitchell, Fred McGourty, Russell Page, Christopher Lloyd, etc. They
were gardening for 30-50 years before I even began. None of them suggest
that it's a good idea to just sprinkle peat moss on top of soil.

What evidence do you have that suddenly makes this a good idea?


"Andrew Ostrander" wrote in message
...
I see two significant advantages to using peat as described -- it
reduces
the frequency of waterings that are needed and surrounds the seeds and
provides them with a constant level of humidity. It sounds like a good
idea
to me.


And you could have had the same results with less water if you didn't
have to provide enough water to both keep the peat hydrated and have
enough left over for the seeds to germinate. You wasted money on the
peat, and then you wasted money by having to water more.

Unless you mix the peat into the soil, there is zero advantage to using
it. In fact, if you just spread it on top, it's a waste. A waste of
peat. A waste of water. And a waste of effort. The peat has no
nutriative value, and if it's not mixed in the soil, it does nothing to
help the soil at all.


--
Warren H.