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.


"Andrew Ostrander" wrote in message
...
I am tremendously amused. You remarks were most entertaining. Thank you.


"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
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.







"Andrew Ostrander" wrote in message
...
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.