Any lawn experts on here
Discussion
Get some combined weed and feed and moss killer on there and give it another rake in a couple of weeks. Also give it a good forking all over to get some air in there.
Once you've raked away the dead moss re-seed and get some lawn dressing down.
Ive got a copy of this at home which I picked up at some school fete for 50p or something.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lawn-Expert-books/dp/09035...
Loads of good info in it.
Once you've raked away the dead moss re-seed and get some lawn dressing down.
Ive got a copy of this at home which I picked up at some school fete for 50p or something.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lawn-Expert-books/dp/09035...
Loads of good info in it.
Edited by B17NNS on Tuesday 30th March 17:11
ChrisnChris said:
careful with any weed & moss killer, if your lawn is mostly moss (like mine) you will end up with a black lawn.
Ferrous sulphate mosskiller can turn moss brown/black in minutes - that's normal. But don't use a weedkiller unless you have weeds - the OP doesn't mention any.I can recommend a comapny called 'Green Thumb' (I have no connection to them other than having been a customer!). They come out and assess your lawn (free of charge) and suggest how they will treat it and how much they will charge; if you decide to go ahead they treat, rake etc as required and tell you when they will come back to do it again (around quarterly) you can decide whether you want to continue with the service next time - they give you a week or so's warning before they turn up so you can cancel if you want to. My brother and I both use them and the lawns have improved in a year or so from being something like you described to proper, green, weed free lawns. My brother has a modern detached house with an average garden for that style of house and he pays £11 a quarter mine is quite a bit bigger and I still only pay £21 a quarter which, compared to what you'd pay for various treatments you'd buy from the garden centre, seems a good deal to me.
Simpo Two said:
ChrisnChris said:
careful with any weed & moss killer, if your lawn is mostly moss (like mine) you will end up with a black lawn.
Ferrous sulphate mosskiller can turn moss brown/black in minutes - that's normal. But don't use a weedkiller unless you have weeds - the OP doesn't mention any.Sorry, just to clarify. I re turfed my lawn 3 years ago and its been great. It's really boggy during the winter but this year it has been worse. It's now a yellowy colour and really patchy and has very few weeds and no moss now. So do I re seed and hope for the best.
When I was golfing at the weekend I noticed sand on the greens, any ideas what this does to a lawn
When I was golfing at the weekend I noticed sand on the greens, any ideas what this does to a lawn
Treating moss with mosskiller will be but a temporary fix. You'll do it every year unless you treat the cause. For now, you've got it so you are going to have to kill it with sulphate of iron.
In your case the cause is bad drainage. Get someone in who has a slitting device to fit to a scarifier and brush coarse sand into the slits, but do it when conditions have improved or the machine could make a bad job worse.
Get a ph testing kit. Moss like acid soils. If acid then treat with lime. Apply nitrogen. Moss hates it and grass loves it.
In your case the cause is bad drainage. Get someone in who has a slitting device to fit to a scarifier and brush coarse sand into the slits, but do it when conditions have improved or the machine could make a bad job worse.
Get a ph testing kit. Moss like acid soils. If acid then treat with lime. Apply nitrogen. Moss hates it and grass loves it.
Simpo Two said:
Verdone is lawn weedkiller. The OP does not have a problem with weeds but moss. Why have two people said to use Verdone? Read the goddamn question!
As you say what is it with people. The OP says he's raked out 3 barrows of moss and now doesn't have a moss problem and only a few weeds so forget the Verdone! He now needs to encourage good strong growth with a light feed, correct the drainage as he says it's boggy - by perhaps forking it and adding lawn sand and seeding any areas where it's patchy. Cut it at weekly (twice in the summer) and don't scalp it and then scarify it again in the autumn. Nicholas Blair said:
Simpo Two said:
Verdone is lawn weedkiller. The OP does not have a problem with weeds but moss. Why have two people said to use Verdone? Read the goddamn question!
because it works perhaps ?Aspirin works but I don't have a headache.
The lawn needs aerating to prevent the moss coming back, use a hollow-tine aerator to remove little plugs of soil, then brush in a mix of 50:50 sand and peat. It's probably nutrient starved too, so feed it in the spring, you'll help the grass out-compete the moss which does better in low nutrient conditions. Also feed in the autumn.
If it's in the shade however and the soil is against you, it'll probably never be perfect, but you can help it be better.
If it's in the shade however and the soil is against you, it'll probably never be perfect, but you can help it be better.
B17NNS said:
Ive got a copy of this at home which I picked up at some school fete for 50p or something.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lawn-Expert-books/dp/09035...
Loads of good info in it.
Good old DG Hessayon. He must be the world's best gardener.http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lawn-Expert-books/dp/09035...
Loads of good info in it.
Simpo Two said:
Nicholas Blair said:
Simpo Two said:
Verdone is lawn weedkiller. The OP does not have a problem with weeds but moss. Why have two people said to use Verdone? Read the goddamn question!
because it works perhaps ?Aspirin works but I don't have a headache.
Johnnytheboy said:
Good old DG Hessayon. He must be the world's best gardener.
Waddya know - not only is he a real person, but he's still alive .This winter has been bad for most lawns (mine included) so moss is not surprising, after all every time you walk on it you are compacting the ground. The wetter the winter the more a lawn will need work in spring ie scarifying, aerating and feeding. Scarifying is like raking only with more grunt and most hire shops carry scarifyers in their hire lists. This is the best way to get rid of moss and it should be done now because the grass is starting to grow so you need to make room (by removing the moss) for it to grow into. Hollow tining wil create air holes to allow the roots to breath a bit easier. Constant waterlogging suffocates grass roots leading to death whilst moss can cope with it much better - hence the imbalance. Clay soils hold the water more so if you have this then you need to work harder than those on sandy soils. Again aerators or hollow tining machines can be had from most hire shops but failing that a good fork will do as well.
Now just because grass can take being walked on doesn't mean it likes it so you have to encourage it also by feeding it! Spring and Summer lawn feed is Nitrogen heavy for good leaf growth whilst Autumn and Winter lawn feed is balanced to provide the right nutrients for root growth which is essential in the colder months. 2 other points are - if you scalp your lawn when you mow each time you the plants will struggle more over the winter. Better to raise the height of cut a little and keep the grass greener and healthier (cylinder and flymo's are worse for this).2 All the time you are cutting the grass you are taking away from the plants and they cannot keep 'giving' (growing!) without sustenance hence the need to feed regularly. Treat them like living things rather than bits of carpet and they will respond. Hope that helps
Now just because grass can take being walked on doesn't mean it likes it so you have to encourage it also by feeding it! Spring and Summer lawn feed is Nitrogen heavy for good leaf growth whilst Autumn and Winter lawn feed is balanced to provide the right nutrients for root growth which is essential in the colder months. 2 other points are - if you scalp your lawn when you mow each time you the plants will struggle more over the winter. Better to raise the height of cut a little and keep the grass greener and healthier (cylinder and flymo's are worse for this).2 All the time you are cutting the grass you are taking away from the plants and they cannot keep 'giving' (growing!) without sustenance hence the need to feed regularly. Treat them like living things rather than bits of carpet and they will respond. Hope that helps
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