Another great thing about using peat moss on bare spots is how it protects your grass seeds. When you put a light layer of peat moss over your newly planted seeds, you're basically giving them a protective blanket. This keeps the seeds in place, so they don't get washed away by rain or blown away by wind.
Applying 1/4in peat moss over your grass seed ensures the seed stays moist and germinates quicker. Many have seen higher germination rates when using peat moss. You should use about 1-2 bales of peat moss per 1000 square feet.
Covering with polythene sheeting is a must on slopes!
It's the best protection and insurance for your seed and hard work.
Peat moss is the correct answer. Highway departments use straw because it is cheap and they don't care about weeds, which you will get with straw. If you're going to all the effort of seeding and watering you should do it right and lay a thin topping of peat moss over the seeds. Your new grass will thank you.
When you add water, the peat moss expands and is a great medium for seed starting because it holds moisture. You can find these at any garden or home improvement store or order them online. That's how I wound up with a box of 2,000, which I was happy to share with the folks that buy our Give Bees a Chance Activity Box.
Peat moss can make the soil too acidic for plants that need an alkaline or neutral soil pH. Before using peat moss in your garden, find out if your plants can tolerate acidic soil. Otherwise, you might end up killing them.
Keep an Eye on the Weather
If it's sunny, 90 degrees and windy, you should be watering at least 3 times a day. Rain is a great way to get water on new grass seed but be careful! A light rain in the morning will dry out by the afternoon. Make sure the grass seed stays damp the entire day.
Adding straw, hay, and other mulching materials not only protect the seedlings and keeps the moisture after it degrades it adds nutrients to the soil that provides for some great establishment for the grass seeds.
You can purchase well-composted manure or fine garden compost for top dressing your lawn. The best products have small particles that easily filter through blades of grass. If you use manure, make sure it's herbicide-free, aged and screened. You can customize your own top dressing with a mixture of compost and topsoil.
Very Small Patchy Areas: For tiny bare spots (think a few inches in diameter), throwing a small amount of seed and keeping the area moist might suffice. However, even in these cases, lightly raking the soil to create some seed-to-soil contact can significantly improve results.
Use a "mist – lightly water – deeply water" process like this: After seeding and fertilizing, you'll want to keep the top inch of soil moist until the seeds start to germinate (aka sprout). This means misting the area once a day, maybe twice if it's unusually hot out there—but don't let the area get soggy.
You can just throw grass seed onto the ground, but you will see poor germination rates if the ground is hard.
Peat moss: Peat moss can be used to top dress a lawn to improve soil acidity, which is beneficial for certain types of grasses. Be sure to test your pH before top dressing. A blend of materials: A mixture of compost, sand, and topsoil can also be used as top dressing to improve soil structure, fertility and drainage.
Peat moss is a dark-brown fibrous natural material used as a soil amendment for growing plants. It is added to soil, both garden soil and potting soil for containers, to make the soil lighter, aerate it, and help retain moisture.
The ideal method is to use topsoil, mulch, or compost to keep grass seeds covered. These materials can be bought at your local garden center, or you could make them yourself using food scraps.
Apply a very thin layer of peat moss or topsoil. No more than ¼” should be applied.
To give your new grass seedlings the essential nutrients they need for fast growth, apply Scotts® Turf Builder® Starter® Food for New Grass after you've spread the grass seed.
Spread a thin, even layer of peat moss over the area where you just planted the seeds. You don't need a thick layer – about a quarter to half an inch is plenty. This thin layer is enough to hold moisture and protect the seeds without smothering them.
Simply insert a long screw driver into the ground. If it pushes down 6 to 8 inches without much resistance, you have the proper water saturation. Water new grass seed for 5 to 10 minutes immediately after planting to gently moisten the first several inches of soil.
While you don't want to bury the seeds deeply, they do need good soil contact. Use the back of a plastic leaf rake to gently work the seeds into the top 1/8 inch of soil. Make short, light strokes to avoid redistributing the seeds unevenly.
After rolling the seed, apply (approximately) 1/8" layer of Kellogg Topper, peat moss or compost over the seeded area using a compost spreader. A top-dressing covers the seed, holding moisture for proper germination and protecting the seed from birds.
What Happens If a Day of Watering Grass Seed Is Missed? Missing a day of watering in the critical germination phase can impact the health and growth of your new grass. If the soil dries out, it can halt the germination process or kill the young seedlings.
Whether you're repairing bare spots, overseeding an existing lawn or starting from scratch, you can generally expect grass seedlings to emerge within seven to 21 days when grown under proper conditions. It may take another three to four weeks of growth before grass is long enough to mow.