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Tue, Aug 23, 11 at 17:20
| Hi,
Looking for a little help/suggestion about growing grass from seed and using peat moss. Problem is listed towards the end if it is too much to read through(looks for the ***)!!! Little background... I am located in MA (new england). The areas I am growing are spot/repair areas from what I figured to be related to Necrotic Ring Spot. Last year I seeded with a scots seed and Scotts specials loam type of dirt they sold which worked pretty well but was slightly expensive, and was not too fond of Scotts seed results. This year I decided to try repairing spots using the remainder of my scotts seed since it had the "coating" on it and supplemented with Vigoro sun and shade mix. I seeded/did three different approaches/methods... (ALL areas were prepped by removing debri and "scratching" the existing ground with a hand rake) 1) placed a thin layer of peat moss down, placed seed on the moss, and the placed another layer of peat moss on the seed to cover it, lightly compressed and watered. 2) In a 5 gallong bucket mixed in peet moss and grass seeds then sprinked on bare spots, in a few areas even placed another thin layer of peet moss over it 3) placed seeds directly on ground and covered with this layer of peet moss. *** Here is where I need help... I soaked the areas REALLY well with a hose however it does not appear that the moisture is soaking in deep enough to where the seeds are, even though there are only thin layers of peet moss over the seeds. After watering the moss becomes dark black like and saturated however after lifting an area with a knife it is still somewhat dry where it should be wet, really frustrating because I purchased the peat moss with the intention of having to use less/water less as well as its superb water retention properties... Now I don't know what to do!!! Please help! |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| That's a pretty common occurance. Peat moss is hydrophobic, but not permanently. Usually when you topdress with peat moss it helps if you do light waterings in five minute cycles, a few times for the first day. So if you have 4 watering zones, do five minutes at each zone 3 or 4 times. After that you can resume your normal watering cycle. |
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| Thank you for the Reply, Hopefully your input works. I know I have done several longer than you mentioned waterings, but still can not tell if it is fully absorbing it all... I guess if all else fails the heavy rains from this hurricaine should take care of everything. |
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