Killing moss in lawn.

 

I've got a lot of lawn and a lot of moss. What is likely to be the most cost
effective way to get rid of the moss chemically,  granules or spraying?  And
any recommended product?

Mark

 On 23/02/2011 15:30, mark wrote:

If the conditions are right for the moss to grow then no amount of
chemicals will make any difference. The moss will come back quickly.

Hitting it with any of the generic spring weed and feed will get it
going again and give the grass a head start as will adding a bit of
cheap lime, but to banish moss forever you have to improve the drainage.

This is easier said than done. A strong hollow tined fork used manually
or for a big lawn an industrial grade equivalent and some very sharp
sand or fine grit to rake over it afterwards is your best bet.

I find on my heavy clay soil with small pebbles in it that hollow tined
forks tend to deform rather than go into the ground. YMMV

Don't get suckered by the promises of the likes of "ChemLawn" franchises
and their equivalents which mainly appeals to Merkins.

Regards,
Martin Brown

 On 23/02/2011 15:30, mark wrote:

Sulphate of iron will check the growth of the moss and Sulphare of
ammonia will encourage the grass to grow.  You can mix these safely and
apply with a watering can (they are solids and cheap to buy).  I then
rake the lawn after a few days to remove the moss and seed any bare
patches.  This keeps the moss at bay.

Malcolm

 On Wed, 23 Feb 2011 15:30:26 -0000, "mark"


Killing the moss before dealing with the conditions that promote its
growth is a total waste of effort. There are four steps you need to
take:
1) Identify the cause of moss growth
2) Deal with the cause of moss growth
3) Provide conditions which will promote the growth of grass
4) Deal with the moss.

1&2) Poor drainage and/or compaction are the usual causes. Is the
ground "squelchy" when it rains, do you have children running over the
lawn where the moss is growing? If so, the usual remedy is to spike
the lawn (I've never got on with one of those hollow tine things so I
just shove a garden fork in to about 2-3 inches and wiggle it about to
make some decent holes all over the area) then fill the holes with
something that promotes drainage such as  sharp sand. At this time of
year I wouldn't mix anything in with the sand though I'd be repeating
the process in the autumn with a proper top dressing mix. Simply chuck
handsful of sharp sand over the lawn where you've made the holes and
use a broom to GENTLY work it into the holes. For want of a better
description, use the broom as a "vibrator", don't use long sweeping
strokes as this will also spread moss.

Other possible causes are poor feeding (if the grass is a very light
green), shade or too acid a soil.

3&4) I think it's just a bit too early now so I'd leave it until late
March but then apply a combined moss killer and feed to the lawn. I
find a soluble product is better than granular simply because I can
never avoid the narrow over-application runs when using a wheeled
feeder. Scott's Evergreen Moss Killer is soluble so apply by the
watering can full, preferably when the soil is moist on a damp day.
Repeat again about 4-5 weeks later if you've got a lot of moss.

The combined "weed and feed" approach should start your grass growing
away as the moss dies. Help it along by raking out the dead moss as
soon as it dies (it goes black) with an ordinary grass rake. Once
you've raked the moss out, give the lawn a good watering (plain water)
and then a couple of days later, overseed it with a suitable  grass
seed - your local garden centre will sell fast-germinating mixes
suitable for overseeding at any time of the year. GENTLY water the
seeded area to push the seed in contact with the soil. Depending on
the size of the patch you may want to put some (fine mesh) netting
over the seeded area to stop the local bird populatoin consuming the
seed and the local cat population using the bare soil as a loo.

Keep the soil moist and, hopefully, you'll have a decent lawn within a
month or so.

If you're  new to lawn maintenance, may I suggest that a copy of
Hessayon's  "The Lawn Expert" will guide you through the process of
making the lawn what you want it to be.

 On Wed, 23 Feb 2011 15:30:26 -0000, "mark"


Others' experience will, of course, be different, but I've found the
organic product known as "Elbow Grease" is best. Even if your
commercial product kills the moss completely, you'll still have to go
in with the rake to get it out; and in a few months it'll be back,
anyway. There are power rakes, but I've never used one.

The moss grows there because the habitat is right. Shade encourages
it; and they always say you should improve your drainage, but in
theory you should do that for the lawn anyway, and it may not work if
the underlying geology or the climate's against you. You can't get
better drainage than a concrete yard such as I had at one side of my
house in Wales, and it wasn't particularly shady: moss used to grow on
it in profusion. If I'd been in dry Norfolk, I daresay it would have
been another story.

--
Mike.