Mama Bear:

I`m sorry you have to put up with the few yahoos in this group (but at
least there are a few good ones out there) who feel they have to
denigrate someone just to justify their own feelings of inadequacy.
First of all, you were trying to follow up on something that you`d
heard about and thought was a good idea. There`s no harm in that...
what this bunch SHOULD have done is say, "well now, how good is this
source?" THEN say that they recommend you incorporate your peat moss
into the soil... etc. etc. etc.!

Realistically speaking, peat moss should be incorporated into the soil.
Even if it`s just a light scattering of 10 bales over a large (I think
one previous post said 8000 sq ft.) area, under any circumstances, a
light raking to evenly distribute it and incorporate it into the
topsoil should be OK and help conserve moisture. The moisture wicking
action only occurs under extremely dry conditions when the air moisture
is considerably less than the soil moisture (more rapid if air moisture
is 20-30% less than soil, especially if wind is blowing) and depends
extensively on where you live. You should not have to buy a
shredder/blower for this (or even rent one) as dry peat moss is
extremely friable and can be broken down in a wheelbarrow with a spade.

The alternative is to ask a company to blow your grass seed onto your
lawn. They do this with a kind of a slurry which is dyed green and
likely contains a mulch of partly-digested paper which helps to
conserve moisture (much like peat moss, if properly utilized). Since
they do this with specialized equipment, and I`m not entirely familiar
with this method of applying grass seeds, perhaps someone could expand
on this? There should be several companies in your area whith this
capabiliy - I suggest you shop around and compare prices. If they`re a
little out of your range, you can suggest that they seed at half the
rate they normally do (i.e. half the density of grass seed per litre of
mulch or something like that) then when they finish (wait till they`re
gone!), go over the entire lawn with a manual spreader and a bag of
premium grass seed.

Good luck Mama Bear!

My website (blogsite) is located at www.GCILifeSciences.blogspot.com,
which also lists discussion groups I moderate. Feel free to add your
opinion to these groups.