# Creative/Easy Way to Spread Peat?



## MJR12284 (Jun 21, 2020)

Any one got one? Can't find a spreader and dreading having to do it by hand on my 4,200 sq ft reno.


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## uts (Jul 8, 2019)

You said creative right?

https://youtu.be/rAdOAF65Yuw


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## BobLovesGrass (Jun 13, 2020)

That is kind of brilliant, but the neighbors might be upset.


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## Matthew_73 (Jul 9, 2019)

I tore open sack and kneed the bag and walked.. that spread it out a bit and then I took a big plastic leaf rake and raked it level or the best that I could


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## HoosierLawnGnome (Sep 28, 2017)

4200 s.f.?

Toss out by hand then take a shower.

If you want to get creative, do some backflips or pirouettes between flings.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Whatever you do, wear a mask. You will be coughing peat moss for a few days.


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## Collywood (Aug 5, 2020)

+1 on the mask, went through 2 of 3 bails yesterday before putting a mask on, despite never being more than 2 feet from an available mask these days. Still clearing my throat and sinuses are on fire. If it's too hot take a break, but don't go without the mask.

I quickly gave up on perfect and started flinging it around as efficiently as I could. Easy to touch up after the fact, just roll with whatever method your body seems to agree with in that moment (which may change over the course of the process)


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## corneliani (Apr 2, 2019)

Not sure how creative but it may be the easiest. Shovel it in this here contraption and then roll it round & round. For some reason only 1 Home Depot carries this thing in their rental inventory, for the entire metro Atlanta area it seems .. so good luck in your neck of the woods. Otherwise you can buy them for $150ish.


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## Scagfreedom48z+ (Oct 6, 2018)

Eco lawn compost spreader


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

I used a plastic rake. Spread it pretty thin.


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## RozWeston (May 20, 2018)

The best way I've found is to cut the Peat bag with a box cutter into a wheelbarrow. Then I go at it with a Garden Weasel 'type' tool... Break it all up into a powder, then use a large and light aluminium shovel and just sling it all over the yard. My hands never touch it.

I did six big bags today in the rain. My feet were a mess, but my hands were clean.


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## bf7 (May 11, 2020)

I have to spread 15 bales over 9.5k sq ft tomorrow and I am planning to fling by hand as fast as I can. Believe me I have spent a good amount of time researching alternatives. Don't have access to rent peat moss spreader and don't want to buy something I'll use once every 5 years and take up that much space. Not dumping and raking because I think the layer will be too thick and suffocate the seeds. Thought about putting the peat moss in a laundry basket with holes and shaking it around but I feel like my arms would get tired quickly and don't want to have to explain to the neighbors what the hell I'm doing.

Although it will be a little time consuming, I believe hand spreading will yield the most even coverage in the absence of a peat spreader or professional topdresser.


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## davegravy (Jul 25, 2019)

I did wheel barrow dumps into little piles all over the yard then smoothed those piles out with a straw broom. Last step was one pass with the levellawn rake, lifting most of the weight of the thing up so it was only just barely grazing the surface. Seemed to give a pretty even and smooth covering.

Took me a full day to do 3000sqft (just myself, no help). Was super messy.

I'm one week since seed down and have awesome germination.


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## bf7 (May 11, 2020)

davegravy said:


> I did wheel barrow dumps into little piles all over the yard then smoothed those piles out with a straw broom. Last step was one pass with the levellawn rake, lifting most of the weight of the thing up so it was only just barely grazing the surface. Seemed to give a pretty even and smooth covering.
> 
> Took me a full day to do 3000sqft (just myself, no help). Was super messy.
> 
> I'm one week since seed down and have awesome germination.


A full day?? I may have grossly underestimated my time commitment here. My area is over 3x yours and I'm doing it myself too :shock:


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## Collywood (Aug 5, 2020)

I spent probably 2 hours tops spreading 3 bales across 1,250 sqft yesterday. This was spreading it by hand just flinging it around the yard. Yeah it's messy, yeah you're hunched over the wagon most of the time, but you get into a rhythm and it goes. You can do 6,000 in a day, but it certainly won't be fun. Try flinging with a shovel to see if that makes it go quicker.

Is it a perfect 1/8" distribution? Absolutely not. But if there's any obvious higher spots I just kicked them down at the end and spread them a bit more. I just wanted to avoid spreading anything by rake after meticulously spreading seed for an even distribution.

It's not a creative solution, but just be cognizant of positioning so you can fling as much dirt from one stationary spot and limit how often you need to move the wagon around.

And put on headphones so you can safely ignore the neighbors asking what the heck you're doing without seeming like a jerk 

Edit: don't know where I got 6,000 from, but 9.5k will be a tough day @bf7 and I doubt you'll be excited to do it again next day. Try to find a helper or a roller!


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## davegravy (Jul 25, 2019)

bf7 said:


> davegravy said:
> 
> 
> > I did wheel barrow dumps into little piles all over the yard then smoothed those piles out with a straw broom. Last step was one pass with the levellawn rake, lifting most of the weight of the thing up so it was only just barely grazing the surface. Seemed to give a pretty even and smooth covering.
> ...


I mean with lots of water breaks... It was brutally hot and humid.

Plus I'm a notoriously slow (unnecessarily meticulous) worker, so that's likely a factor! :lol:

Good luck, whatever method you use.


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## bf7 (May 11, 2020)

@davegravy @Collywood Ugh. I had built in about a half day for peat and expected it to spill into the next morning. We'll see how it goes. I'll beg the fiance to help.

Thanks for your input!

How do people with huge yards do this? Anyone with more than 10k sq ft?


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## MJR12284 (Jun 21, 2020)

uts said:


> You said creative right?


This is fantastic! I asked. You answered sir!


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## uts (Jul 8, 2019)

The video was awesome, but on a serious note, for.larger areas, anything larger than 2 or 3k where you are spreading >6 or 8 bales, I would seriously considering renting it out. I would honestly drive an hour or two even than spend that time in the dead heat killing yourself. Rent it for an extra day and return it the next day.

Alternatively consider thinking about buying one, drop the price 20% after using once and sell it to a near by TLF member. I know I would.pick a used one up from anyone in CT or do a group buy with 2 or 3 people ( I understand the $300 cost)

I think in this hobby, we tend to undervalue our time and effort we put in. Some tools maybe onetime thing but save you hours and hours of work and pain..


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

@GrassDaddy has a nice video. Groundskeeper rake. He moved quite a few bales very efficiently. Even with the little ones!


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## HoosierLawnGnome (Sep 28, 2017)

MJR12284 said:


> uts said:
> 
> 
> > You said creative right?
> ...


I tried this years ago.

Complete fail.🤣🤣🤣

Honestly once i figured out how to toss it effectively it became easy and fast. I top dressed over an acre this way. Just let the wind carry it down and lightly cover, make sure its bone dry first. Easy peasy.

Might be able to spread it with a makeshift sifter on the back of a tractor, like a top dressing machine.


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## bf7 (May 11, 2020)

@HoosierLawnGnome WOW! How long did it take you to do an acre by hand?


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## HoosierLawnGnome (Sep 28, 2017)

bf7 said:


> @HoosierLawnGnome WOW! How long did it take you to do an acre by hand?


It took several evenings over a few weeks, as well as reseedings. I staged bales around the yard and flung it out bale after bale.

What I do is make sure the bale is very dry. Store it off the ground for a few days so it doesnt suck up moisture. Then spread it in low wind, cup it out with two hands, throw the bulk 15 or feet from you. The contrail will slowly drift to the ground, giving a very light dusting. It will cover quite a bit. Throw it in a circle from that station, you cover roughly 1000 sf. Throw it every 15 degrees or so, not unlike an impact sprinkler chucking peat moss.

Then just pick up the bag and move to the next 1000 sf.

Then mist it all to get it

I love tossing peat moss. I really do. My kids think its a blast too. My 9 year old did the cat green when i reseeded. She had a blast getting that dirty.


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## Ngilbe36 (Jul 23, 2020)

I did 7 bales yesterday over 2,200 sq/ft and it wasnt bad at all. 
Put the bale in the wheelbarrow
Cut the face up side of the wrap off
Kneed the peat
Flip the bale and pull the wrap off
Fling the peat like a mad man making sure you arent downwind.
Repeat


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## bf7 (May 11, 2020)

So I ended up just taking a wide snow shovel and shaking the peat off of it. Worked pretty well. Nice even spread and covered 2k sq ft in about an hour. Will finish the rest tomorrow.

@HoosierLawnGnome still cracking up over the human impact sprinkler :lol: glad you found a good method!


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## HoosierLawnGnome (Sep 28, 2017)

bf7 said:


> So I ended up just taking a wide snow shovel and shaking the peat off of it. Worked pretty well. Nice even spread and covered 2k sq ft in about an hour. Will finish the rest tomorrow.
> 
> @HoosierLawnGnome still cracking up over the human impact sprinkler :lol: glad you found a good method!


Ooooh good technique!

Yeah, my method is probably not as precise as your shovel method or using a roller 🤣🤣


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## Carlson (Apr 16, 2020)

uts said:


> You said creative right?


This guy's neighbors must love him hahahaha


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## HoosierLawnGnome (Sep 28, 2017)

Man some of you use a lot more peat than I do!

I just dust the ground. Barely cover it. I fling it until its all dusted, you can see the slight coloring.

One of those big bales easily covers more then 1000 sf that way.


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## bf7 (May 11, 2020)

HoosierLawnGnome said:


> Man some of you use a lot more peat than I do!
> 
> I just dust the ground. Barely cover it. I fling it until its all dusted, you can see the slight coloring.
> 
> One of those big bales easily covers more then 1000 sf that way.


I go for light dusting too. I'd rather have some of my peat erode away than bury my seeds in it.

I used about 2.5 bales over the initial 2k sq ft employing the shovel method. Actually probably could have used less. I felt I over applied certain areas and had to lightly spread it around.


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## moedank (Sep 10, 2019)

2 person team, a large wheelbarrow and two 5 gallon buckets.

Have one person with a 5 gallon bucket continually hand spread loosened peat moss while the other person is breaking up/filling the other bucket. Once the bucket is empty, swap it with a full one. The person by the wheelbarrow will periodically move it across the lawn. Keep your distance short to minimize walking back and forth.

For the person spreading, hook one arm around the bucket at mid chest. Stick your other arm into the bucket, palm up, to cover your whole arm up to the mid forearm with moss. Pull it out quickly while fanning in a v shape. This is a lot faster than spreading palm fulls.


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