Growing live moss in your garden as mulch

I found this post but it was using moss as defense against slugs: https://permies.com/t/56307/moss-mulch

No reply to there, but I was thinking this otherwise, that you could use it as mulch.

It will use some of the water, but also I think it will be good that the soil breathes: so it will let the air exchange also under the moss.

But also, it will help to keep the moisture longer as moss is like a sponge, so when it rains it will also release the water to the ground a little bit when it gets dryer.

Also I think it would improve the microbes activity in soil and provide good place for bugs to live.

Has anyone cultivated live moss with plants, using it as mulch?

I am planning to do hugelkulture beds this spring, and was thinking that when the moss grows a blanket on the bed, it will help to make the soil more steady in case of heavy rain.

Also I think they are good biological filter, so the pollution from rainwater would not go directly to the soil, but has to first pass through the moss-layer.

Some links:

"Mosses obtain all their nutrients from the air rather than the soil, which is why it is able to grow on rocks!"

http://www.thegardenhelper.com/mosscare.html

More on permies:

https://permies.com/t/13614/sculpture/art/Moss-art

https://permies.com/t/12289/Spanish-Moss-Tea-good-fertilizer

https://permies.com/t/33/Moss-propagation

Not on purpose.. but the bit of garden that is still 'lawn' is almost entirely moss, rather than grass.

I do on-purpose grow moss on a shaded shed roof, periodically I harvest it to make terrariums and suchlike. I just put wood on the roof to hold some 'media'- which was old potting soil and sand, put moss on it and put bean netting on top to keep it in place. The moss grows and I can take handfulls when I need it. I water it in the summer- it grows faster this way, it wouldn't die if I didn't water it.

Moss doesn't like really direct sunlight in my experience, and most crop plants do.

I know this is an old post but i just found it. Did you ever find out if living moss compost works well?

John, welcome to the forum.

To me, moss would compost very well even if it is slow at decomposing.

Thanks for bringing back this article on moss.

I have seen a little moss growing in my hot dry area, will it grow well where you live?