# Peat Moss - Cost and Availability?



## Troyman (Jun 15, 2020)

Hey Everyone,

I'm going to be seeding my back yard next weekend with Rhizing Moon Tall Fescue. I have right at 4000 sft. I've already nuked the yard and the plan is to till it, roll it, seed it, and cover then cover the seed with something. It seems the 2 most viable options for a cover are straw or peat moss.

For wheat straw, I'm reading that the coverage ratio is 1 bale per 1000sft. At $8.11 per bale after tax (home depot), that's roughly $32.

For peat moss, I'm reading that it should be applied at 1/4" thickness. For 4000 that's roughly 83 cubic feet. At $11.70 after tax for 3 cubic feet (home depot), that's $325 to cover the 4000 sft.

So, am I really looking at spending either $32 for wheat straw or $325 for peat moss? If so, I'm not sure whether the additional cost can be justified.

Questions:
- Have a made a mistake in my underlying assumptions? (e.g. peat moss is applied at 1/4" thickness)
- Buying top soil by the bag is much more expensive than buying it in bulk. Can peat moss be bought in bulk?
- If the math is good and peat moss is bought by the bag, is it worth the additional expense to go with peat moss over straw?

Any insights that will help me sort this out will be much appreciated.


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## Baretta (Apr 8, 2019)

I've been able to apply 2 bags of 3.8 cu ft to cover 1000 sqft done by hand. Rent a compost spreader to save you a lot of time. It might require an extra bag per k.


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## f_l (Aug 11, 2020)

^ for 1200 I did 2 1/2 bags. i was probably a but heavy too on it


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## uts (Jul 8, 2019)

I did 3k area with 1.5 bags only. I put down only enough to be with the seeds and not really cover since I had already pressed the seed down into the soil. I went slightly heavy only on the edges where the asphalt dries the edges. I also went heavier right on the road which is a busy road and the air dries out stuff fast.


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## 7824 (Oct 23, 2019)

Don't use peat. Get dry compost from a bulk facility. 2 yards will go ~10k sqf with the black spreader they sell on Amazon.


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## bernstem (Jan 16, 2018)

You don't need the full 1/4 inch of Peat. I would aim for ~6-9 cubic feet/1000.


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## MJR12284 (Jun 21, 2020)

I covered 5200 sq ft with about 7 bags of peat moss. Cost me about $80.


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## NELawn (May 7, 2019)

I have a compost spreader, one of the best things you can buy if you have a few reno's to do. they are hard to find to rent though. In using it I have figured a few things out by trial and error.....

Peat moss in my area isn't sold in bulk; and comes in various sizes Sm, Md, Lg, and XL. The XL is 5.5CF and is the most cost effective. The XL bales are sold where land scapers get their supplies. Using the spreader it takes one XL (5.5cf) bale to do about 1,000sf.

With that said; an XL bale is very heavy to handle and has to be cut up and dumped into a wheel barrow to spread.

If using a compost spreader and time and ease of loading is more important than cost, then an Lg bale cut in half loads perfectly into my compost spreader. A Md bale probably can just cut at the end to jump in.

You can fly through the job when you have a spreader and learn the trick about cutting and loading the bales in one shot. No wheel barrel or shovel needed.

When figuring a reno job I always count on needing extra pete moss, as it takes a few waterings to stabilize the peat moss top dressing. If you just keep applying it where needed it eventually locks in, but you need to plan on extra. the engineer in me multiples what i need by about 1.5.

I am a big believer in peat moss; it visually discolors when the seed is loosing moisture, and areas I have dressed with peat moss always come in better than spots where the peat moss wore away and exposed seeds.


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## Lawn Noob (Jul 26, 2020)

Peat moss definitely made a difference in germination for me. Anywhere it wasn't was slow and thin on germination. Areas with a nice light layer of peat came up faster and thicker.


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## Troyman (Jun 15, 2020)

Thanks for all the replies, Mush appreciated! It sounds like the 1/4" per sft guideline that I read was what was skewing my numbers. Given the bags/1000 sft quoted above, it sounds like I don't need as much as I had calculated and it's a feasible option.

@NELawn - As for the compost spreader, are you talking about something like one of these? 



 or this


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## bernstem (Jan 16, 2018)

I have one of those peat spreaders. They work great for Peat Moss, but are terrible for compost. With Peat Moss, they leave a very even thin layer of peat. If you can get one, I would spread seed, spread Peat Moss (consider a second or third pass if you want a thicker layer), then use a lawn roller to push the peat and seed into the soil. Some Home Depots rent them.


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## steve392 (May 30, 2020)

Did my front yard, around 2500sqft, took 5 bags using peat moss spreader and i still had some bare spots.


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## Troyman (Jun 15, 2020)

bernstem said:


> I have one of those peat spreaders. They work great for Peat Moss, but are terrible for compost. With Peat Moss, they leave a very even thin layer of peat. If you can get one, I would spread seed, spread Peat Moss (consider a second or third pass if you want a thicker layer), then use a lawn roller to push the peat and seed into the soil. Some Home Depots rent them.


Ok, I'll see if I can rent one of these and, if not, I may just buy one.

Do you till the soil prior to spreading the seed? If so, then I'm wondering if maybe I should till, roll, seed, spread Peat Moss, and then roll again?


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## badtlc (Aug 22, 2019)

why are you going to till?


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## Troyman (Jun 15, 2020)

badtlc said:


> why are you going to till?


I don't know yet.. That's something else I need to figure out. I was thinking of renting something. Any recommendations? It seems like the rear tine tiller might be a good option.

https://www.homedepot.com/c/lawn_and_garden_equipment_rental#tillers


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## Troyman (Jun 15, 2020)

badtlc said:


> why are you going to till?


Mostly to loosen the soil and to tear up what remains of what is mostly now dead weeds. I may also amend the soil with some sort of loam.

Most of the soil here in Georgia has a good amount of clay in it. Though nothing seems to have had a problem growing in what's currently there. I had someone overseed with some big box fescue when I moved into the home about 13 years ago and it seemed to grow fine. I had just let the back yard go since then and I figured that it's time to just start over on the back.

I had Zeon Zoysia laid in the front about 9 years ago and it looks fantastic. I think there's too much shade in the back for the Zeon as the Zeon does not do nearly as well on the side of the house, where it is also shaded.

Is it better to not till and just take it to the bare ground with a trimmer, instead?


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## Cluelessone (Sep 23, 2020)

Troyman said:


> badtlc said:
> 
> 
> > why are you going to till?
> ...


That thing is a beast, I recently rented it. I'm 120lbs and didn't want to go for a ride with the smaller tillers.

It does dig deep though, so you'll need to recompact somewhat in some way I'd imagine.


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## badtlc (Aug 22, 2019)

Troyman said:


> Is it better to not till and just take it to the bare ground with a trimmer, instead?


I am sure there is a time and place for tilling. Sorry I dont know enough to know when/where that is. I have seem some folks post on here that tilling can bring weed seeds to the surface leading to an outbreak of weeds during an overseed/renovation.

You definitely don't "need" to till when renovating and starting over.


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## 7824 (Oct 23, 2019)

bernstem said:


> I have one of those peat spreaders. They work great for Peat Moss, but are terrible for compost. With Peat Moss, they leave a very even thin layer of peat. If you can get one, I would spread seed, spread Peat Moss (consider a second or third pass if you want a thicker layer), then use a lawn roller to push the peat and seed into the soil. Some Home Depots rent them.


I disagree. They work excellent with compost. You need dry compost. I've put at least 100 yards through the green one and over 50 yards through the black one. I have both. The black one has smaller holes and leaves a thinner layer. The green one puts down almost twice as much material. I've never had an issue and they leave a perfect topdressing on the seed. Flawless actually. The green one is better built but I use the black one because I prefer the smaller holes.


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## Troyman (Jun 15, 2020)

Well, I'm coming up empty on finding a peat moss spreader to rent or buy in my area (north Atlanta metro). I may have to go the hand rake route. I'm now looking into trying to find a groundskeeper 2 rake as that seems to have worked well for others, but I'm having difficulty finding that locally, as well. The quotes that I'm getting for shipping the rake are higher than the cost of the rake. Arggghh!


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## Old Hickory (Aug 19, 2019)

I can't find a peat spreader to rent so what is the next best option for applying peat moss to: 1) an overseed area, and 2) a reno area? Do I need peat for an over seed?


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## Lawn Noob (Jul 26, 2020)

I threw it out on my yard by hand. Works fine, if dirty.


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## ThickAndGreen (Sep 8, 2017)

1. Cut the bag open
2. Drag bag across the lawn until it's empty 
3. Take a rake and swipe the piles 
4. Once piles are knocked down redistribute any spots that are too thick

Works on a reno or overseed


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## Old Hickory (Aug 19, 2019)

@ThickAndGreen KISS?

Thanks!


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## Jagermeister (May 18, 2021)

Troyman said:


> Well, I'm coming up empty on finding a peat moss spreader to rent or buy in my area (north Atlanta metro). I may have to go the hand rake route. I'm now looking into trying to find a groundskeeper 2 rake as that seems to have worked well for others, but I'm having difficulty finding that locally, as well. The quotes that I'm getting for shipping the rake are higher than the cost of the rake. Arggghh!


Did you ever find a peat moss spreader in the Atlanta area to rent?


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## john5246 (Jul 21, 2019)

I did 5k sq ft and used about 6 bags of peat moss from Home Depot. It's the white cube shaped one with the green letters. You don't need to go crazy with it &#128514; $325 is too much just get 5-10 bags


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## Kallgren (Nov 10, 2018)

There seems to be an error in the original calculations. The units of cubic feet for size of the package, but the application rate is expressed in inches. You can either convert the cubic feet to cubic inches and calculate the required quantity at a depth of 0.25 inches or recalculate the depth at ~0.02 feet (which is 0.25") .


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