Sawdust is also another great alternative to straw for covering grass seed. However, you should ensure to apply it very lightly to avoid triggering a matting effect that will discourage seed germination and seedling growth. Since sawdust is much finer than straw, the particles can form a barrier that will affect evaporation. As a result, you may end up with excessive water in the soil due to slow evaporation, leading to damage of the young roots of your grass seedlings.
Typically, sawdust mulch should be no more than a quarter of an inch thick. Finally, remember that sawdust mulch tends to leech nitrogen from the soil and should- therefore- be paired with a regular fertilizer application schedule.
However, for peat moss to effectively facilitate grass seed germination, you have to apply it correctly. On the other hand- loosened peat moss easily allows for moisture to seep through its airy structure into the soil beneath. Regular compost and mushroom compost are some of the best straw alternatives for covering grass seed.
Applying a quarter-inch layer of compost over your newly-seeded grass lawn will help keep the lawn moist while simultaneously feeding the soil with the nutrients necessary for grass seed germination.
Leave the straw mulching in place until the new grass seedlings have grown to a height of about 3 inches. This is usually anywhere between three-five weeks post-planting, depending on various factors such as weather conditions.
By the time the new grass reaches 4 inches in height you can mow it but try not to mow it shorter than three inches. The mowing will stir up and remove a lot of the straw. Areas heavily covered with straw can be gently raked. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
Do you need to put straw over grass seed? The most important time to use straw or a mulching material is when planting on a slope because it helps keep the seeds right where they belong. Applying straw atop a flat seeded area is optional and generally beneficial to the seeds, but you should make sure the straw is dry and free from mold so it does not introduce mold to the area.
There's no benefit to using straw in humid or extremely wet weather, as the soil will already have all the moisture it needs. Some people use the terms hay and straw interchangeably, but the two are not the same.
Hay is fresh cuttings of grasses and seedy plants, primarily used for feeding farm animals. It contains the seeds of the plant cut down. Because it contains seeds, these seeds could sprout elsewhere, meaning this type of hay is not a suitable mulch.
Straw, on the other hand, contains dried stalks of plants such as wheat, with no seeds or weed matter present. Straw will not sprout when used as a mulch. Not all hay is created equally. Pasture hay, the type used used to feed farm animals, is full of seeds that could potentially take root in your lawn, making it less than ideal when seeding a lawn.
Another, BETTER option for mulching newly seeded areas: GreenView Fairway Formula Seeding Success is a seeding mulch alternative that combines paper mulch with a starter fertilizer and a tackifier to keep the seed in place. The pellets in this bagged product absorb three times their weight in water, which helps keep moisture in place at the soil surface.
The pellets protect the seed from sun, birds, and soil erosion, and they break down to add organic matter and nutrition to the soil. The starter fertilizer also releases into the soil to get new grass off to a fast start.
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