moss in the lawn

Iowa_Lot

last year my lawn seemed to have more moss than grass in it
wht would be the best way to get rid of it and when should I start

TIA

Jayar

This link has some excellent suggestions

http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/basics/techniques/lawns_autumnlawncare.shtml

Good luck

Mr_Meanie

Sulphate of Iron mixed with water, cheap and very effective.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/gloucestershire/focus/regmoule/2005/september2.shtml

"The old gardeners' used to use ferrous sulphate (sulphate of iron) as a turf fungicide and moss killer and it is still in most brands of moss killer today. Take a watering can and put 2oz of sulphate of iron in it and then add some warm water and stir it well to dissolve the granules. Then fill the can - most are one and an half to two galls in capacity - with cold water, finally adding a dessertspoonful of washing up liquid. Gently stir this in. Water this onto the affected area at the rate of one gall per sq.yd."

mrs_baggins

I have learned to live with my moss. A couple of years ago I spent a small fortune on moss killers, raking it out re seeding etc but as I hadnt treated the underlying cause (namely really compacted clay soil) it just came back again. As treating it would probably mean taking up the turf , adding grit sand etc I feel its more trouble than its worth.Look on the bright side- at least its green and nice and springy to walk on!

heatherw_01

I once used a moss killer on it then raked out the moss and dead grass. It looked much worse after treating it and I think it has come back now.

conradmum

Moss in the lawn is simply the plant that grows best in the conditions (moss) outcompeting the plant that doesn't grow so well (grass). If you lived in Japan you'd be congratulated on how well you'd kept the grass from growing amongst the moss!
Unless you change the growing conditions, no matter what you do, the moss will keep returning year after year. Growing conditions that suit moss are damp shade. If the drainage is poor on the lawn (i.e. if it gets a bit boggy), you can try forking it all over and brushing lawn sand in. You could also try removing anything blocking the sunlight.
Personally, I prefer to moss to grass - it's so much softer and a prettier green!

angelavdavis

Its a tricky one as - has been suggested - it is usually the fact that the lawn is in the shade and/or has poor drainage that is encouraging the moss.

I recommend all/some of the following:

-Rake over the lawn, removing as much moss as possible
-Fork the lawn over with a garden fork - pushing the fork into the soil about 3 inches deep every six inches apart and then rocking the fork backwards and forwards to open up the soil to improve drainage. You can then sprinkle sand over the top to fill in the holes (else it just compacts to fill the holes again).
-Use a combined feed/seed lawn formula to fill in the gaps where the moss has been removed, and also build up the grass to fight the moss.
- Keep the lawn watered and try to stay off the surface until the grass seed starts sprouting.
-Don't cut the lawn on too low a setting as you are likely to scalp the lawn - pulling out the grass (especially if we have another summer like last year - the moss took over because the grass suffered so much from the lack of rain in many parts of the UK)

I actually don't do lawns any more - I don't have the time to spend on them any more and prefer to spend my scant time on vegetables and the rest of the garden, so I have actually removed my lawn and put in different surfaces. That's the final option!

greengrass

Can anybody tell me if the lawn under my daughters trampoline will grow back. it as completely turned to soil, I have moved the trampoline now over winter to see if it helps.

pioneer

Seems a good thread, I am suffering from a clover attack, there used to be good clover killers out there but my clover actually thrives on the new weak stuff and has taken over half the lawn and flower beds.

Are there any Percy's out there who can suggest a solution other than diggin the lawn up ?

Jayar

I would leave it: clover is nice and green. I am waiting for it to take over my small lawn completely.

Dustykitten

I agree leave the moss alone. I treated mine with lawn sand last year, raked it out, feed and cut the remaining lawn and it is now back worse than ever. I cannot solve the problem - shade from a neighbour's house and clay subsoil so will learn to live with it this year and just remove the excess when I scarify DK