Mulch With Peat Moss

The soil in my Upstate New York property is mostly heavy clay. There’s a high water table here (we get a LOT of water running underground in these parts!) and we also have had record rainfall for about ten years. The soil is packed in pretty hard.

I have been adding peat moss to my garden for two years now, and all I can say is: what a difference! The first year, I tilled in two bags (7.5 cubic feet each) per bed (300 square feet each). This year, we tilled the beds, but did not add peat to the mixture. Rather, after I planted the seeds, I placed peat moss on top of the beds as a mulch (it took four bags per bed to cover the beds). Next year, we will till it into the soil when we do our spring tilling.

Here are my snap peas. You can see how well they are growing and how few weeds there are.

I’m very happy with how the peat moss is working! There are fewer weeds, and what weeds grow, they are much easier to pluck out. It is amazing. Buying peat moss has proved to be one of the best buys I’ve made for the garden! The peat was a pricey, but I’ve spent only an hour SO FAR weeding the garden this year! Phenomenal! And the veggies are just popping up very quickly. Plus, the peat helps to retain moisture, so I water less. Plus, I won’t have to purchase peat for spring tilling next year.