Peat Moss or Compost?

[crabgrass]

Useful read for anyone considering top-dressing options. I have no real experience so I found this useful: perrysperennials.info/articles/peatcom.html

[bernstem]

Good comparison of the two.

[HanLawn]

After much experimenting,I have found that what works really well is a blend of 25% peatmoss/75% compost as a topdressing for the lawn.The lighter,dryer peatmoss when mixed with compost creates a nice flowable almost sand like consistancy mixture that is super easy to dump and spread on the lawn- much easier than compost alone,and not inclined to blow away and resist water like when using peatmoss only. 1 3.8 CF compressed peatmoss mixed with 1 yard compost seems about perfect.

[crabgrass]

After much experimenting,I have found that what works really well is a blend of 25% peatmoss/75% compost as a topdressing for the lawn.The lighter,dryer peatmoss when mixed with compost creates a nice flowable almost sand like consistancy mixture that is super easy to dump and spread on the lawn- much easier than compost alone,and not inclined to blow away and resist water like when using peatmoss only. 1 3.8 CF compressed peatmoss mixed with 1 yard compost seems about perfect.

Great tip - thanks! Exactly the sort of thing I was thinking / wondering. Do you spread it with wheel barrow / shovel / rake? Do you ever mix in Milorganite or other?

[HanLawn]

I put a big tarp down on driveway and mix the peatmoss into the pile of compost with a shovel,then put small piles all over the lawn and rake with a steel tine leaf rake- generally takes about 1-1.5 hours to do 1000 sq ft of lawn taking your time including drink breaks! Really not to tough of a job on a smaller lawn....on a bigger lawn,you could do it a a few thousand sq ft at a time, or hire a few teenagers to help!

[bernstem]

10k square feet takes me and two other guys about a day and a half to top dress with ~3/4 yard/k of pure finely screened compost.

[seiyafan]

To what depth should you top dress with peat moss? Is one inch too thick?

[STL]

Try to keep it 1/2 inch or less.

[Dchall_San_Antonio]

seiyafan, 1 inch is too much of anything to put on grass. Grass smothers underneath the topdressing.

Why are you using compost, peat moss, or any topdressing in the first place? I have reasons not to, but sometimes someone has a pretty good reason for it. I'm just wondering why you need a topdressing?