Covering seed

[mabehr]

What's the best cover for seed, to make sure animals don't eat it & the wind doesn't blow it away? Lebanon offers a fertilizing mulch through the PennMulch or Greenview brands, there are biodegradable blankets, and of course soil/soil-compost... probably a few others as well. Has anyone done comparisons to see what works best?

[Marinegrunt]

The majority of the members here use peat moss. If using compost you have to make sure it's sterile so there aren't any weed seeds. With peat moss you don't have that problem.

[theglassguy]

I use Scott’s Turf Builder Seeding Soil. I’ve had great results with it.

Scotts Turf Builder LawnSoil, 1 Cubic Foot
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000MLOJI6/re ... 7zbQPY3F3K

[ken-n-nancy]

I haven't personally done such a study. Seems to me that there must have been various institutions that have done research on that topic...

[Green]

I like peat moss. It works well most of the time. I've also used straw, which grows weedy grasses, and paper/fiber/wood mulch, which is a pain to spread and irritates the eyes, and you don't want to breathe it in. I haven't tried the granular paper mulches yet.

[STL]

I like compost or a mix of compost and peat if the compost is heavy/wet. It stays put better than peat in my experience and doesn't have the hyrophobic tendencies of peat. It's also much cheaper for me locally at $5/ yard. As mentioned above, you need to find a good source that sells completely finished compost though. Reputable stuff should have a spec sheet available.

[andy10917]

In my experience, the "hydrophobic tendencies" last until you have successfully wet the peat moss once. That can take as little as 20-30 minutes once you know how to do it.

[free_safety]

What about good old topsoil?

[andy10917]

Topsoil is great, but getting a consistent 1/8" - 1/4" thick layering can be hard.

[kevreh]

I like peat moss because its lighter and easier to spread. 1) Take a bale, open and dump it in driveway to break up, 2) scoop up with bucket and walk around yard, flinging it where needed.

Some folks don't like mulch, topsoil, etc... because those areas will stand out more as the nutrients will make the grass look better.