Do I actually need straw to keep grass seed wet?

What people tried

Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.

1. 1
   Using peat moss
2. 2
   Using compost to cover bare areas
3. 3
   Relying solely on rain and manual watering without covering
4. 4
   Watering 3 times a day
5. 5
   Using a leaf blower on low or a light rake to keep leaves off
6. 6
   Applying starter fertilizer
7. 7
   Switching to deep watering once daily or every other day once the grass is an inch tall

In their words

Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.