Why do gardeners choose straw hay over peat moss when installing a new lawn?

Question

It seems to me that 99.999% of the answerer's at this category always suggest to use straw hay to cover a newly seeded lawn. Why is this? It seems to me that straw would be a pain in the rear as opposed to nice fluffy peat moss. Straw is harder to apply, messy, and takes too long to breakdown if at all, after the seed germinates. It takes away much needed nitrogen in the soil to do this as well. Peat moss is easy to apply with a peat roller, adds nutrients, and helps with clay soils. Give me your pro's and con's to each of these 2 mulches and tell me why you think yours is the best. Iam beginning to think that there is no peat moss available in the rest of the U.S... Iam curious to know. Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

Well I live in NW America and no one I know uses hay straw but when I lived in alabama many people used it. I can let you know from talking to many Landscapers, Landscape Designers, and from my own person experience in landscaping and landscaping hardscaping sales that peat moss is a better choice. The reason why so many people use hay is because it is much cheaper and very easy to spread.



Pros of Hay:

1. very cheap

2. easy to load and to move a single 3ft by 2ft size load.

3. easy to spread because all you have to do is spread them out and cut the strings and remove the strings then use a rake to spread them.



Cons.

1.looks crappy

2. has no where near the nutrients and benefits of peat moss

3.can often have alot of (WEED) particles chopped up and mixed in with it which then causes weeds to sprout all over the place in your yard and so on.



I would go with peat moss even though it costs more in the long run it is better in every way.

Answer 2

Peat Moss For Lawn

Answer 3

This Site Might Help You.



RE:

Why do gardeners choose straw hay over peat moss when installing a new lawn?

It seems to me that 99.999% of the answerer's at this category always suggest to use straw hay to cover a newly seeded lawn. Why is this? It seems to me that straw would be a pain in the rear as opposed to nice fluffy peat moss. Straw is harder to apply, messy, and takes too long to breakdown...

Answer 4

Peat Moss Roller

Answer 5

1) it's cheap

2) It keeps birds from eating the seed

3) Holds moisture in

4) it works



One thing to remember is to use straw and not hay. Hay contains seed and will grow and look horrible.



Once the lawn has grown enough to mow, the straw will have broken down enough to get cut up in the mower and will be gone.



Another good option is hydro seeding. Works really well.



I've never heard of using peat moss. I would think it would be pretty expenive if you are seeding an entire lawn.

Answer 6

OMG...sooo many incorrect comments...! Peat moss Is the best seeding mulch to use when seeding a fresh plot, over seeding an established lawn or just adding organic nutrients to feed your lawn. When applied correctly you should only get a 50-70% lay over coverage. After applying Peat Moss you should then use a lawn roller to roll the area ensuring good seed/soil contact for good seed germination.

Straw/Hay are vastly used by landscape companies for only one reason in a nut shell! The product in cost effective in almost every way. Novice DYIers use it because that's what they see Landscape contractors use... If you ask someone who's in their 60-70's they probably remember using Peat Moss back in the day. People weren't as lazy or greedy back them and tend to do thing the "Right" way...

Answer 7

peat adds NO NUTRIENTS...it actually absorbs the nutrients in the soil and any fertilizer you add.... proponents claim that then it releases these slowly.... (maybe so, but not when on the soil surface, as up there, it's not being affected by the osmosis that the roots of plants get set up for water movement.... and, the drying effect of sun and wind on the surface would have it pulling water from AROUND the little grass seeds....)....... where it comes from, the bogs, it's actions create an acidic, nutrient poor water that is as sour as straight vinegar!....



it is touted to be great in it's water-holding.... yeah, IF you can get it wet to start with.... and keep it that way.... here, in our clay soil, the clay coats each little strand and renders it useless for water holding if it ever dries out.... peat and clay make bricks in a drought like we've been having.... compost is the choice here...



... it's a non-renewable resource.... the peat bogs that it's taken from are now releasing methane which isn't so good for the planet's warming problems.....



straw is a natural cover, since it's grass, too... it hides the seed pretty good from the birds... it does break down quickly, but then, you did add a starter fertilizer so the nitrogen thing is moot....



peat is available, it's just that folks are seeing it as a no-no these days and rightly so....

Answer 8

Moss grows where there is shade and moisture for sure. First take a garden fork and pierce holes all over the lawn (especially the mossy bit) go as deep as you can - this will improve the drainage in that area. If a tree is causing deep shade think about raising the canopy to improve light (removing the lowest branches with a clean saw, close to the trunk). Rake the moss out with a spring tined rake and add some lawn sand mixed with a shady-mix grass mixture in the Spring. That should do the trick.

Answer 9

This is interesting because where I live (high desert) peat moss seems to be the covering of choice.



Pros of straw:

Is there one? The only pro I can think of it that it's easier & faster to cover a lawn with straw then handfuls of peat moss.



Cons:

pain in the rear in to remove, takes longer to breakdown, harder for grass to push through.



Pros of peat moss:

improves soil texture, easier for grass seedlings to grow throw (as opposed to straw), breaks down naturally (no fuss, no muss), looks nicer than all that nasty straw on your yard, doesn't blow away as easily in wind storms, retains moisture longer.



Cons of peat moss

I don't think there is one.



Where I live, a bale of straw looks to be about the same dimension as a 4cu ft bag of peat moss...the straw is $7, yet the peat moss is less than $5.

Answer 10

To tell the truth no one ever suggested to me to use peat moss. I've never heard of using it or of a peat roller. I will look into it. Thank you.

Answer 11

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Ask Pete Docherty he managed to get rid of his moss without trying, i think hes trying to get his back though

Answer 12

peat moss blows away and floats away when it rains

Answer 13

straw and hay are 2 different things...and i believe the big difference is cost...gimme straw...