dianne: that would be a relatively expensive mulch, in addition, the wind may blow it everywhere initially if placed on top of the newspaper. Might stay put better on the soil surface. How about wood/bark chips or even an inch or 2 of grass clippings?

That is truely one of the disadvantages of the peatmoss. I have loads of free aged horse manure that is mixed with pine sawdust. Do you think that would work better on top of the newspaper?

I'm just trying to think of easy ways to transport mulch myself. I know that bales of peat moss are light weight and will fit in the trunk of my car. I could haul bags of bark mulch, but I've done that before and I know how many bags it takes to cover any large areas, and the bags are heavier.

Peat moss repels water when it's dry, do you really want that on top of the bed?

I have peatmoss mixed into the soil and it is very moisture absorbing. It is a local spaghnum that is darker and more broken up than the baled type from Canada.

Peat Moss as mulch could be a very expensive material to use and since it would tend to dry it would be very water repellent, although as with any mulch it would tend to help hold moisture in the soil, especially if combined with newspaper. That Peat Moss mixed into the soil stays moist has nothing to do with Peat Moss layed on top of soil. If you have nothing else to use as mulch buying Peat Moss might be justified.
Any pre emergent "weed" killer has a life span of about 6 to 8 weeks so you would need to keep adding more of that expensive product over the growing season, on top of you mulch material not further down since the newspaper would do the job of the pre emergent.

It doesn't sound like a very good idea.

Shredded leaves, or shredded bark make a better mulch.

I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm trying to figure out what I have on hand for mulch. I'm thinking I might mix peat moss with some bark mulch and some aged horse manure? I think I'd be able to come up with enough mulch to cover some of my beds that way. I just don't have enough mulch on hand to go around. My husband won't let me have bark mulch delivered because if it doesn't have anything to do with a truck or his garage, he won't spend the money on it. I can haul peat moss in my car myself.

"I have loads of free aged horse manure that is mixed with pine sawdust. Do you think that would work better on top of the newspaper?"

Yes, definitely. :-)

It sounds like you need a new husband!

No kidding. I just put my foot down tonight and told him we are having 10 cubic yards of mulch delivered, no ifs, ands, or buts about it! He bought me a small tiller that was $200 and we had both hoped I could control the weeds with that, but its proving to be more trouble than its worth. I hurt my arm already trying to start it! I'm returning the tiller and putting the money towards some bark mulch!

Tilling actually brings dormant weed seeds buried in the soil, to the surface allowing them to germinate. Tilling is about the worst thing you could do for weed control.

Mulch, on the other hand, is an good way to control weeds. Realize that one application of mulch won't be the end to weed control. Its a continuing process, reapplying mulch periodically every year or two, depending upon how thick its applied, is probably the easiest way to minimize (notice I said minimize and not eliminate) weeds and has other benefits for the soil.

Here's a very interesting article on peat moss: http://www.thegardenofoz.org/peat.asp - after reading this, I think you'll decide to use a leaf mulch instead.

If you are going to advertise a product on this, or any other forum, you should buy space to help support the forum. While sea shells could be used for a mulch they are not a good substitute for vegetative waste since they add little os substance to the soil. So no we have two reasons why I would never recommend someone purchase from you.

Do NOT use peat moss as a mulch (top dressing). If you put paper down first (which I do) to smother weeds, the peat moss will just dry up and blow away. If you put it directly on top of the soil most of it will still blow away, and whatever remains will wick the moisture out of the soil as the air above it evaporates the moisture out of the peat moss. This would be the absolute worst thing in the world to use as a top dressing. Even allowing weeds to grow around your plants would be better because they would limit evaporation of the soil. Just buy bags of mulch - what you see is what you get size wise, whereas one bale of peat moss spread out will not go nearly as far as it seems in the store.

As for seashells, they gradually break down and add calcium and magnesium to the soil - they are very alkaline. They will NOT keep out weeds though (unless they are chipped into little bits and piled on thickly). However, this may be great for veggies, but it would probably kill most shrubs and perennials.

Just stick with cedar mulch - it is acidic, lasts a few years and keeps the soil moist. Use newspaper first, but be aware that weed seeds will still germinate in the mulch itself, but they are easy to pull because the roots do not penetrate through the paper.

Weeds will definitely grow if you use manure or compost as a mulch.

Compost is an excellent nourishing mulch as is hay, straw, leaves, and newspaper. Wood mulches take a very long time to break down, and complicate gardening if you believe in amending the soil regularly as I do. (I'm not unbiased on the subject; I despise wood mulches.)

Peat moss makes a terrible mulch. I've seen it in action once. It repels rain water and causes ditches in the surface where the water meets to run off. When it's dry, the surface cracks all over.

Peat moss repels water when it's dry, do you really want that on top of the bed?

Yes, and then it also becomes a fire hazard. A cigarette butt can set off a long lasting, stinky, smoldering fire that can't be extinguished by just applying water to the top.