Bulbs
Flower Basics
Flower Beds & Specialty Gardens
Flower Garden
Garden Furniture
Garden Gnomes
Garden Seeds
Garden Sheds
Garden Statues
Garden Tools & Supplies
Gardening Basics
Green & Organic
Groundcovers & Vines
Growing Annuals
Growing Basil
Growing Beans
Growing Berries
Growing Blueberries
Growing Cactus
Growing Corn
Growing Cotton
Growing Edibles
Growing Flowers
Growing Garlic
Growing Grapes
Growing Grass
Growing Herbs
Growing Jasmine
Growing Mint
Growing Mushrooms
Orchids
Growing Peanuts
Growing Perennials
Growing Plants
Growing Rosemary
Growing Roses
Growing Strawberries
Growing Sunflowers
Growing Thyme
Growing Tomatoes
Growing Tulips
Growing Vegetables
Herb Basics
Herb Garden
Indoor Growing
Landscaping Basics
Landscaping Patios
Landscaping Plants
Landscaping Shrubs
Landscaping Trees
Landscaping Walks & Pathways
Lawn Basics
Lawn Maintenance
Lawn Mowers
Lawn Ornaments
Lawn Planting
Lawn Tools
Outdoor Growing
Overall Landscape Planning
Pests, Weeds & Problems
Plant Basics
Rock Garden
Rose Garden
Shrubs
Soil
Specialty Gardens
Trees
Vegetable Garden
Yard Maintenance
Is Peat Moss a Good Soil Amendment for Lawns?
Is Peat Moss a Good Soil Amendment for Lawns?. Growing a healthy lawn results from a variety of efforts, such as proper watering, fertilizing on a regular scheduling, controlling weed growth and mowing. Adding soil amendments is helpful to increase the soil's ability to retain water and aid in the aeration of heavy soils. Peat moss is an...
Growing a healthy lawn results from a variety of efforts, such as proper watering, fertilizing on a regular scheduling, controlling weed growth and mowing. Adding soil amendments is helpful to increase the soil's ability to retain water and aid in the aeration of heavy soils. Peat moss is an inexpensive soil amendment useful for large areas like residential lawns.
Choosing Soil Amendments
Common soil amendments used in lawns and gardens include compost, processed manures, peat moss, hay, dried leaves and sawdust. Soil amendments help to break up clay soils and increase the water-holding ability of sandy soils. Some soil amendments, like compost, add nutrients to the soil. Others, like peat, have low nutritional levels. Lay a 1- to 2-inch layer on top of the soil and work it in to a depth of 3 to 6 inches for best results, according to the University of California Guide To Healthy Lawns site.
Benefits of Adding Peat Moss
Peat moss is readily available for use as a lawn soil amendment. It has a low decomposition rate in the soil, which means you do not have to reapply frequently. It is relatively inexpensive, so can be used to amend soil in large areas like lawns. Peat moss has good water-holding capability and does not add excessive amounts of nitrogen that can burn plant roots when used with fertilizer, according to University of Missouri specialist Manjula V. Nathan. Add it to sandy soil areas to help them hold water better and to clay soils to provide more texture to break up clods so that air and water can penetrate more easily.
Problems of Adding Peat Moss
Because peat moss does not contain much nutrient quality for lawn grass, you must apply additional fertilizer on a regular basis. Peat moss also has a pH of 3.6 to 4.2 which makes it an acidic compound that further can intensify the acidic of acidic soils. Turfgrass prefers a pH of 6.0 to 7.0, so acidifying the soil in lawn areas that are already slightly acidic may have a detrimental effect on grass plant growth.
Special Considerations
Peat moss can be effective when used in specific circumstances, such as when germinating new grass seed or seeding to fill in bare areas. It also can be used to prevent fungus disease, according to Alabama Cooperative Extension writer Chazz Hesselein. Watering, fertilizing and mulching with peat moss is effective in combating the take-all root-rot fungus, which attacks St. Augustine grass throughout the South.
