Peat moss is organic matter it will decompose. I thought you were going to say it messed up your PH. Peat didn't cause that root issue. It really looks like a watering and/or a compacted soil issue. But hey what's more rewarding and fun than doing yard work.
This is one of the worst videos I’ve ever seen on lawn care and diagnosis. Everyone uses peat for NEW seeds, they rake it in, mix it and aerate the lawn, and ensure soil contact to seed. He just throws it on an established lawn and suffocated it.
That's terrible soil. In fact I don't even see any soil, that's just clay and sand. Put down some compost and get some organic matter in that soil. When you do a reno and put down peat moss you only need about an 1/8 inch to cover the seeds. Peat moss is awesome stuff, you just have to use it correctly.
Actually you would have made a difference with mixing a little sand deep into your soil. But after viewing the sample of your soil I observed that your lawn soil has a loft of clay which makes your soil non-porous and non loamy soil which is next to the worse lawn soils to grow a new lawn or maintain a old one. What I typically do is rent a garden tiller from my local Home Depot and till the entire front, sides and backyard lawn area sq ft 6-8 inches deep. Mix in a good mulch like Kellogg’s Organic lawn Topper or some other high quality soil Topper. Then. Excavate and level the lawn surface areas. Spread the entire area with a Starter Fertilizer. After that, use a drop (this is the best way to build entire new lawns) or rotary spreader and spread the sq footage amount of seeds needed/desired. Take the owned or rented Pete Moss Spreader, fill it with a bag or 2 of lawn Topper soil and cover the starter fertilizer and desired lawn seeding (tall fescue, perennial, Kentucky Bluegrass, St Augustine, Bermuda etc). Now immediately gently water (use the shower or flat mode on hand water wand/nozzle etc) by hand the entire area NOT to disturb any of the seeds or the lawn Topper soil you just spread on top of them. Water this gently delicate and fragile grass type soil bed 6-8 time a day (depending on the size of your lawn) for 7-14 days! And watch a beautiful sea of green grass seeds sprout up right before your eyes! 😲 Enjoy!
All you young bucks using gas powered sod cutters. I did my whole lawn 1,700 sq ft with a manual sod cutter 🤣. Yeah the tilling would have made a difference for sure but you got this bro and will be as good as new in no time. Come across any more Cicada Killer nest while doing that.
Rooted LC- hi. You were 💯% correct to analyze the “dirt” composition and conclude that the peat and the clay are the problem. What you have in that center section is not “soil”- it is compacted clay and sawdust, also known as peat moss. All the grasses except the bermudas need rich fluffy well draining soil ecosystems- not a barren 5 layer bean dip. Take a pick axe and till that section to a depth of 24 inches. Add two 40 lb bags of gypsum and four bags of Topper. Mix throughly and let settle or tamp lightly but be very careful not to recompact. Overseed and cover with a final thin layer of Topper- not peat moss. Peat moss is 🤢and it can cause way more problems than it’s worth.
Laughing! No, it’s not. I probably shouldn’t have said that. But it’s like sawdust in the sense that it can absorb a lot of moisture and really end up robbing the plant of what it needs. Yes it may help with germination in the short run. You just have to use it so sparingly- I think there are better methods.
This video has made me nervous about spreading peat moss to cover my newly seeded bermuda lawn, however from your comment it sounds like bermuda grass shouldn't be affected too much from the addition of peat moss to cover up the seed?
@@johnvollmer3441 Hi- the peat moss method *can* work, but my experience with it just hasn’t been that great. It was difficult to keep moist, and, when it dries in the heat of the summer sun, it tends to wick a lot of moisture from the soil. It doesn’t seem to contribute anything to the soil itself. If you do use it, I would consider spreading it with a large cylinder spreader (I bought one on Amazon) and limiting it to a very thin layer over the Bermuda seed and then keeping it super moist over the germination period. Otherwise I truly think you’re better off using a compost-type product to achieve the same goal. And that at least contributes to the soil. But the bermuda’s in general can tolerate much poorer soil conditions so it may not end up being as big a deal. I hope this helps.
Lol the peat has nothing to do with that problem , looking at his core sample he has 3 issues. 1 a overwhelming thatch layer 2. Clay soil that desperately needs amendment 3. Major compaction issues The first thing I would do in similar circumstances is First aerate the hell out of that running 3-5 passes with a core aerator . 2 I would not only dethatch and scarify but also use a liquid like aerate 3 I would till the top 4 inches adding gypsum perlite and compost to amend the top 6 inches improve the drainage and help break the clay stopping compaction. This is not an over night fix and you also don’t need to destroy the lawn . Using a sod cutter you can amend pieces at a time and allow it to root down after with heavy potassium fert . Stay away from nitrogen, inject some biostims , urea , and micro nutrients . Please stop watering daily !!! Improper mowing, watering lead to this issue in about 50% of lawns I fix.
Looks like when they made that house they dozed all the top soil off and left you all they clay. Your in need of some tilling with some added amendments! Everything is layered very shallow and when it hits that clay it might as well be concrete! There's no dept for roots to grow down into the moisture and the sun is baking the 1 inch of growing space you have to grow in! I would till about 6 inch deep and add some good topsoil and compost
You're definitely crazy, but that was the right move! get that peat out so it is no longer layered. next year you can look into deep core drilling and backfilling with sand to aid with drainage if you are still having issues. good work
Haha I sure am. But it had to be done. I think that’d be a good idea with the clay. But the rest of the lawn looks amazing so I’ll see what happens. Appreciate you watching!!
I’m still confused as to why the peat moss was under the top soil. Why not run an aerator across it, then manuar or top soil to sink into the holes. It should pull some of tgat peat out or break it up for roots to get past
You’re safe putting down peat moss. Theres a reason why they say light layer. This guy had like a half inch of peat moss when I should just be like 1/8”
Did you see the layers? That high organic matter is not good for the grass. Now that it’s removed the lawn is uniform and growing as it should. I also water deep and infrequently encouraging roots to seek water and grow.
THAT was some friggin work! I use peat moss 1 time a year down at my curb bc of slate rock drying it out and peats moisture retaining capabilities. Now I'm wondering if I'm creating a prob for down the road.
Your on a slope - water is hitting the clay and running down. Clay to hard imo. Dude I am now watching you strip the soil and your on top of sidewalk hard soil. Can you stick a screwdriver into it?
Peat moss is for new seeds. I don’t get how these guys can honestly post these clickbait videos with no scientific evidence. He used it 100% wrong. Wrong time and situation
Just be mindful of how much topdressing mix (or what ever you use) you are putting down. And stay consistent with that medium. Did that answer your question?
@@RootedLawnCo What a clickbait, uneducated video. Peat is the most used substrate for new seeds. It is not for top dressing an established lawn. Used peat moss wrong and then he makes a video about killer peat moss
@@anonymousdude1994 the point of the video was I did a renovation, used too much peat and layered it with another material causing laying, high OM, and poor roots. What question do you have that I can answer?
@@RootedLawnCo peat moss is for new seeds. Nobody just throws peat moss on a lawn, especially an established one. You mix seed with peat moss, aerate, rake it in for NEW seeds. You choked out your existing lawn YOURSELF and blame peat moss
@@RootedLawnCo you didn’t prep anything right, and you admit that. You over-layered, suffocated the roots, and then you blame the peat moss, not yourself. Gg I’m done
Damn I’m sorry you put in the work and now you gotta rip it out and start over. And the sod cutter failed on you… oh well, put the big boy undies on and get back to work. My neighbor thinks I’m a psycho too lol. Good luck and god bless you man!!!
That is not peats fault. That’s your cultural practices sir. Water deep and infrequent.. unless you’re putting several inches of peat moss that can’t be the reason. Topsoil Contains weeds. Peat moss doesn’t
Cultural practices have nothing to do with this. I explained in the video how things went wrong. It was peats fault bc it was too thick which regardless of how you water, the turf won’t survive well in high organic matter environment. Thanks for watching!
@RootedLawnCo are you serious. Having a healthy soil with some organic matter is the key. What research are you basing that conclusion on that too.much organic matter is not good for lawn? There'd quite a few soil based lawn care experts with perfect lawns due to organic matter. Whats your references on that. There has to be a balance and organic matter is important for microbes and soil health. Nice vid
@@RootedLawnCopeat moss is for new seeds and to aid germinating seeds. This guy suffocates his own existing lawn and acts surprised. And then claims no one should ever use peat moss. It’s something you add BEFORE a lawn is already in place
@@anonymousdude1994 they don’t NEED it. I seed lawns all the time and don’t use it. Almost every turf pro will not use Peat either. It’s a very DIY culture thing. A good timer, sprinkler and seed to soil contact, you’ll be fine. Hydratain claims to increase germ, and 02YS as well tho. Helps retain moisture when sprayed on.
@@RootedLawnCo yeah so why did you top dress your lawn in peat moss, which suffocates it. You made a whole video on how you killed your own lawn by using peat moss wrong lol.
@@RootedLawnCo you make no sense. Why would you knowingly add it onto a lawn when you’re not seeding anything. Peat moss will literally bake your lawn if it’s in full sun
@@colinmartin5994 it was hard clay for sure. But the layering what the root cause. Hop over to my instagram and check out the front lawn there. It came in great and is keeping color.
Thanks for watching. Although I would disagree. The build up of peat moss was exactly the issue. This gets 1-2” of water per week. Spoon fed bi weekly with high quality fertilizer, and supplemented with humic and sea kelp monthly (which those two aren’t needed but can help).
@@RootedLawnCo Thanks for the reply. I went back and re-watched the video as well as your more recent videos. I'm sorry for my initial post, it was premature and I normally don't post; not sure why I did... I do not have enough information or know the background history of your yard. It does still appear to have issues with the quality of soil though, IMO. at times, your yard looks really good, but other times you can see weak areas or areas not fully developed possibly, IDK. It almost looks like the video was edited from different times of the year. I don't know all the facts, so I won't make anymore claims without all the details. It seems like you know enough to have a good looking yard and it does look really good at times during your videos. Take it easy
Issue is, your dirt is trash. It's too compacted for anything to break down. You have a thatch issue too. It's not the moss. Geez man the amount of misinformation is Awful. This channel is what NOT to do.
Peat moss is organic matter it will decompose. I thought you were going to say it messed up your PH. Peat didn't cause that root issue. It really looks like a watering and/or a compacted soil issue. But hey what's more rewarding and fun than doing yard work.
Why is it only where he put the peat down
This is one of the worst videos I’ve ever seen on lawn care and diagnosis. Everyone uses peat for NEW seeds, they rake it in, mix it and aerate the lawn, and ensure soil contact to seed. He just throws it on an established lawn and suffocated it.
That's terrible soil. In fact I don't even see any soil, that's just clay and sand. Put down some compost and get some organic matter in that soil. When you do a reno and put down peat moss you only need about an 1/8 inch to cover the seeds. Peat moss is awesome stuff, you just have to use it correctly.
This is of the worst videos I’ve ever seen on RUclips. Peat moss is for new seeds.
Peat moss is supposed to be mixed into the soil, not layered on top of it.
@@marktep1225-xh2qh 1000% and this guy calls himself a lawn channel. Lmfao
Actually you would have made a difference with mixing a little sand deep into your soil. But after viewing the sample of your soil I observed that your lawn soil has a loft of clay which makes your soil non-porous and non loamy soil which is next to the worse lawn soils to grow a new lawn or maintain a old one.
What I typically do is rent a garden tiller from my local Home Depot and till the entire front, sides and backyard lawn area sq ft 6-8 inches deep. Mix in a good mulch like Kellogg’s Organic lawn Topper or some other high quality soil Topper. Then. Excavate and level the lawn surface areas. Spread the entire area with a Starter Fertilizer. After that, use a drop (this is the best way to build entire new lawns) or rotary spreader and spread the sq footage amount of seeds needed/desired. Take the owned or rented Pete Moss Spreader, fill it with a bag or 2 of lawn Topper soil and cover the starter fertilizer and desired lawn seeding (tall fescue, perennial, Kentucky Bluegrass, St Augustine, Bermuda etc).
Now immediately gently water (use the shower or flat mode on hand water wand/nozzle etc) by hand the entire area NOT to disturb any of the seeds or the lawn Topper soil you just spread on top of them.
Water this gently delicate and fragile grass type soil bed 6-8 time a day (depending on the size of your lawn) for 7-14 days!
And watch a beautiful sea of green grass seeds sprout up right before your eyes! 😲
Enjoy!
I use Pete moss and my grass is green I don’t have any issues
100%. This video is uneducated. Peat is for new seeds. It doesn’t kill grass. It germinates the seed
All you young bucks using gas powered sod cutters. I did my whole lawn 1,700 sq ft with a manual sod cutter 🤣. Yeah the tilling would have made a difference for sure but you got this bro and will be as good as new in no time. Come across any more Cicada Killer nest while doing that.
Haha, it didn’t work anyway. Did it manually. No more cicada killers thankfully! 🫣
Rooted LC- hi. You were 💯% correct to analyze the “dirt” composition and conclude that the peat and the clay are the problem. What you have in that center section is not “soil”- it is compacted clay and sawdust, also known as peat moss. All the grasses except the bermudas need rich fluffy well draining soil ecosystems- not a barren 5 layer bean dip. Take a pick axe and till that section to a depth of 24 inches. Add two 40 lb bags of gypsum and four bags of Topper. Mix throughly and let settle or tamp lightly but be very careful not to recompact. Overseed and cover with a final thin layer of Topper- not peat moss. Peat moss is 🤢and it can cause way more problems than it’s worth.
Wait is it really saw dust.... if so I would use that in my compost as a carbon source
Laughing! No, it’s not. I probably shouldn’t have said that. But it’s like sawdust in the sense that it can absorb a lot of moisture and really end up robbing the plant of what it needs. Yes it may help with germination in the short run. You just have to use it so sparingly- I think there are better methods.
This video has made me nervous about spreading peat moss to cover my newly seeded bermuda lawn, however from your comment it sounds like bermuda grass shouldn't be affected too much from the addition of peat moss to cover up the seed?
@@johnvollmer3441 Hi- the peat moss method *can* work, but my experience with it just hasn’t been that great. It was difficult to keep moist, and, when it dries in the heat of the summer sun, it tends to wick a lot of moisture from the soil. It doesn’t seem to contribute anything to the soil itself. If you do use it, I would consider spreading it with a large cylinder spreader (I bought one on Amazon) and limiting it to a very thin layer over the Bermuda seed and then keeping it super moist over the germination period. Otherwise I truly think you’re better off using a compost-type product to achieve the same goal. And that at least contributes to the soil. But the bermuda’s in general can tolerate much poorer soil conditions so it may not end up being as big a deal. I hope this helps.
Lol the peat has nothing to do with that problem , looking at his core sample he has 3 issues.
1 a overwhelming thatch layer
2. Clay soil that desperately needs amendment
3. Major compaction issues
The first thing I would do in similar circumstances is
First aerate the hell out of that running 3-5 passes with a core aerator .
2 I would not only dethatch and scarify but also use a liquid like aerate
3 I would till the top 4 inches adding gypsum perlite and compost to amend the top 6 inches improve the drainage and help break the clay stopping compaction.
This is not an over night fix and you also don’t need to destroy the lawn .
Using a sod cutter you can amend pieces at a time and allow it to root down after with heavy potassium fert .
Stay away from nitrogen, inject some biostims , urea , and micro nutrients .
Please stop watering daily !!!
Improper mowing, watering lead to this issue in about 50% of lawns I fix.
Are we sure it isn’t the slate like subsoil?
Looks like a hard pan issue. Hopefully you will till in the topsoil to help break up the hard clay below.
Yeah, i weaseled it up pretty good.
@@RootedLawnCoyou should honestly delete this vid. It’s embarrassing. Peat is for new seeds, not top dressing a lawn.
Looks like when they made that house they dozed all the top soil off and left you all they clay. Your in need of some tilling with some added amendments! Everything is layered very shallow and when it hits that clay it might as well be concrete! There's no dept for roots to grow down into the moisture and the sun is baking the 1 inch of growing space you have to grow in! I would till about 6 inch deep and add some good topsoil and compost
You're definitely crazy, but that was the right move! get that peat out so it is no longer layered. next year you can look into deep core drilling and backfilling with sand to aid with drainage if you are still having issues. good work
Haha I sure am. But it had to be done. I think that’d be a good idea with the clay. But the rest of the lawn looks amazing so I’ll see what happens. Appreciate you watching!!
4:01 You might as well try to grow grass on a sidewalk. That ground is super hard. Is the rest of the area the same?
How can you tell if it was the peat layer or sand layer or hardpack clay surface to blame?
A dually wheel barrel that is awesome lol 👍🏼 thanks for this tip buddy
I’m still confused as to why the peat moss was under the top soil. Why not run an aerator across it, then manuar or top soil to sink into the holes. It should pull some of tgat peat out or break it up for roots to get past
Previous renovations where is spilled peat. Then put topsoil over it.
Terrible video
😮😮😮, just when I was considering putting down some peat moss for an overseed. Thanks for sharing !
You’re safe putting down peat moss. Theres a reason why they say light layer. This guy had like a half inch of peat moss when I should just be like 1/8”
peat moss is perfect for reseeding and new seeds. This is a terrible video. Nobody wise throws peat moss on top of an established lawn
Looked like 80% of my lawn after my renovation. Too much water will cause that issue. Putting in the work bud!
Your clay layer looks like really hard clay. Sucks that this happened. It’ll look great when finished.
If it ain’t hard clay I don’t want it. Haha
How many bags of peat moss did you put down? I just put a bag down of peat moss on my new seeded lawn and I’m now regretting it.
If it’s a thin layer you should be ok
Gotta mix it in
Shallow roots means that you watered to frequently. I doubt it’s the peat moss
Did you see the layers? That high organic matter is not good for the grass. Now that it’s removed the lawn is uniform and growing as it should. I also water deep and infrequently encouraging roots to seek water and grow.
Dude that subsoil is like slate.
THAT was some friggin work! I use peat moss 1 time a year down at my curb bc of slate rock drying it out and peats moisture retaining capabilities. Now I'm wondering if I'm creating a prob for down the road.
Your on a slope - water is hitting the clay and running down. Clay to hard imo.
Dude I am now watching you strip the soil and your on top of sidewalk hard soil.
Can you stick a screwdriver into it?
thanks for sharing your lessons learned! that dang clay!
Yeah that clay is a bugger. I’ll take clay over 2” of peatmoss
@@RootedLawnCoyou can’t compare clay vs peat. Peat is for new seeds. Not an established lawn
Dang I've always covered my seed with peat moss but this kind of makes me nervous about doing it after my sand leveling this week 😬
Yeah, I think if you did a very light coating it could be okay.. but certainly over hyped and not needed.
Peat moss is for new seeds. I don’t get how these guys can honestly post these clickbait videos with no scientific evidence. He used it 100% wrong. Wrong time and situation
What if my lawn is already established St. Aug?
Just be mindful of how much topdressing mix (or what ever you use) you are putting down. And stay consistent with that medium. Did that answer your question?
Would I get the same thing if I put topsoil on top of sand?
Usually not recommended to use multiple mediums. I’d stick with sand if possible.
@@RootedLawnCo What a clickbait, uneducated video. Peat is the most used substrate for new seeds. It is not for top dressing an established lawn. Used peat moss wrong and then he makes a video about killer peat moss
@@anonymousdude1994 the point of the video was I did a renovation, used too much peat and layered it with another material causing laying, high OM, and poor roots. What question do you have that I can answer?
@@RootedLawnCo peat moss is for new seeds. Nobody just throws peat moss on a lawn, especially an established one. You mix seed with peat moss, aerate, rake it in for NEW seeds. You choked out your existing lawn YOURSELF and blame peat moss
@@RootedLawnCo you didn’t prep anything right, and you admit that. You over-layered, suffocated the roots, and then you blame the peat moss, not yourself. Gg I’m done
acidity issues from peat caused this id have top dressed lime worm casting and some clay/sand
Why not just till it all up?
Irrigation lines below and tilling would leave peat in the soil cause if high organic matter numbers.
@@RootedLawnCo Understand.
@@RootedLawnCoirrigation lines should be nearly 10 inches deep. Rototilling goes 2-3 inches. This is one of the worst videos I’ve ever seen
Damn I’m sorry you put in the work and now you gotta rip it out and start over. And the sod cutter failed on you… oh well, put the big boy undies on and get back to work. My neighbor thinks I’m a psycho too lol. Good luck and god bless you man!!!
Yep, some times you just gotta grab a shovel and do it yourself! 💪🏽 appreciate you watching! More to come!
Could have just turned the soil to mix it and reseeded over that & kept the peat moss.
imagine putting in all that effort and time to grow grass.
Nothing person, but you used too much Peat Moss from the beginning. Therefore, it's a user error! @RootedLawnCo
100%
That is not peats fault. That’s your cultural practices sir. Water deep and infrequent.. unless you’re putting several inches of peat moss that can’t be the reason. Topsoil
Contains weeds. Peat moss doesn’t
Cultural practices have nothing to do with this. I explained in the video how things went wrong. It was peats fault bc it was too thick which regardless of how you water, the turf won’t survive well in high organic matter environment. Thanks for watching!
@RootedLawnCo are you serious. Having a healthy soil with some organic matter is the key. What research are you basing that conclusion on that too.much organic matter is not good for lawn? There'd quite a few soil based lawn care experts with perfect lawns due to organic matter. Whats your references on that. There has to be a balance and organic matter is important for microbes and soil health. Nice vid
All in a day's WORK 💪🏾
Yessir! 💪🏽 always something!
Pete Moss is the worst. He literally is worse than Toby from the office.
His brother Randy on other hand, one heck of a wide out.
@@ScottGrass 🙄… 😂
I was literally about to cover my lawn in peatmoss. So glad you shared this video.
Compost would be a better option on an existing lawn vs peat. But peat is not needed on seeding or for general use. IMO.
@@RootedLawnCopeat moss is for new seeds and to aid germinating seeds. This guy suffocates his own existing lawn and acts surprised. And then claims no one should ever use peat moss. It’s something you add BEFORE a lawn is already in place
@@anonymousdude1994 they don’t NEED it. I seed lawns all the time and don’t use it. Almost every turf pro will not use Peat either. It’s a very DIY culture thing. A good timer, sprinkler and seed to soil contact, you’ll be fine. Hydratain claims to increase germ, and 02YS as well tho. Helps retain moisture when sprayed on.
@@RootedLawnCo yeah so why did you top dress your lawn in peat moss, which suffocates it. You made a whole video on how you killed your own lawn by using peat moss wrong lol.
@@RootedLawnCo you make no sense. Why would you knowingly add it onto a lawn when you’re not seeding anything. Peat moss will literally bake your lawn if it’s in full sun
pH of peat could kill a lawn. average is 3.5 pH
Peat Moss Killed My Lawn😂🤣😅😆
I think he is used way too much. Pemas that's a thick thick layer
Try a chemical aerator rather than doing this.
You think roots can't get through peat moss? yikes bro
@@brad9257 high concentrations of OM cause significant issues with rooting, plant growth etc.
Holy crap!
Holy peat!
you know why, adding too much sand on dirt lmao
I dont believe peat is your issue. Just my opinion.
No? What’s the issue then?
@@RootedLawnCo The ground looked hard-packed and there appeared to be quite a bit of sand present. Be curious to see the finished product.
@@colinmartin5994 it was hard clay for sure. But the layering what the root cause. Hop over to my instagram and check out the front lawn there. It came in great and is keeping color.
Nothing person, but you used too much Peat Moss from the beginning. Therefore, it's a user error!@@RootedLawnCo
Looks like clay.
Edited: I don't have enough info/ knowledge of your yard.
Thanks for watching. Although I would disagree. The build up of peat moss was exactly the issue. This gets 1-2” of water per week. Spoon fed bi weekly with high quality fertilizer, and supplemented with humic and sea kelp monthly (which those two aren’t needed but can help).
@@RootedLawnCo
Thanks for the reply.
I went back and re-watched the video as well as your more recent videos.
I'm sorry for my initial post, it was premature and I normally don't post; not sure why I did...
I do not have enough information or know the background history of your yard.
It does still appear to have issues with the quality of soil though, IMO.
at times, your yard looks really good, but other times you can see weak areas or areas not fully developed possibly, IDK.
It almost looks like the video was edited from different times of the year.
I don't know all the facts, so I won't make anymore claims without all the details.
It seems like you know enough to have a good looking yard and it does look really good at times during your videos.
Take it easy
Dangit Peat!
Peat at it again!
Issue is, your dirt is trash. It's too compacted for anything to break down. You have a thatch issue too. It's not the moss. Geez man the amount of misinformation is Awful. This channel is what NOT to do.
Look have a lot hard clay underneath that is real reason why u grass don't grow healthy
Doomed by clay
#Fact!
Terrible video