lawn moss...keeping it away?

[steveo3002]

i get a fair amount of moss on the lawn , the weed n feed type stuff gets rid and i rake up the mess , but next year its thick again

is there anything i can do to help keep it away

[B17NNS]

The stronger the grass the less chance the moss has.

Regular work is required to keep a lawn in tip top condition.

Regular aeration, scarifying, top dressing and feeding will give the grass the best chance.

This is a cracking little book if you want to get into it.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lawn-Expert-books/dp/09035...

[Simpo Two]

Moss is a symptom not a problem. It results from poor drainage and/or compaction and/or shade and/or acidic soil - all of which favour moss and depress grass. So you have to fix the underlying problem first.

When I worked for lawncare company I was very interested in this. Now as long as it's all fairly flat and green and I don't really care!

Edited by Simpo Two on Friday 21st May 21:35

[steveo3002]

it is shaded alot over winter , not much i can do about that

[Simpo Two]

If you can't clear the shade then grass is not the best thing to try to grow underneath, unfortunately. Shade of course also leads to damper ground which doubles the problem.

There are 'shade tolerant' varieties of grass you coudl try but don't expect miracles.

[steveo3002]

yeah not expecting show quality lawns tbh

its just this time of year i manage to get it weed free and most of the moss gone , but next year its same again

i was just hoping theres some stuff i could sprinkle on to help fight it ...are the autumn lawn care products any use for that kind of thing

[SimonV8ster]

I think its something you just have to repeat every year, its not just a once only application and then rake up the dead moss afterwards.

Pain in the arse I know as I have to do it myself, fortunatley some tress that were causing the end of the garden to be in shade have just been cut back drastically so not expecting it to be as bad.

[spikeyhead]

I've reseeded my lawn in the most shady sections with some seed called "Canada Green" from Homebase.

It's growing much stronger than whatever was there before.

[Penny-lope]

I've just started on my lawn....and like yours it's full of moss, plus a few other unwanted guests.

I know my problem is lack of aeration.....when we get rain, the soil is so compact, the water just sits on top, and takes hours to absorb into the ground. Years of past owners not caring about the garden I suppose. So now I have the job of putting it right, along with making a scrap of grassland look like a garden.

[Deva Link]

Penny-lope said:

I've just started on my lawn....and like yours it's full of moss, plus a few other unwanted guests.

I know my problem is lack of aeration.....when we get rain, the soil is so compact, the water just sits on top, and takes hours to absorb into the ground. Years of past owners not caring about the garden I suppose. So now I have the job of putting it right, along with making a scrap of grassland look like a garden.

Could be poor soil drainage - our garden isn't great. My next-door neighbour dug land-drains into his and there's a huge difference.

[steveo3002]

what do you mean by digging drains ?

id be up for poking a fork in it here n there , not sure i want to hoof the lawn up for pipage and so on

[Penny-lope]

steveo3002 said:

what do you mean by digging drains ?

id be up for poking a fork in it here n there , not sure i want to hoof the lawn up for pipage and so on

Yeh what do you mean? I thought the old 'stab and wiggle a few times' fork action would help....but now your talking drains!

I stuck weed killer on my grass Friday morning, watered it in yesterday (by watering can I may add....20 trips up and down the stairs), and then it pisses down today....grrr

[Deva Link]

Penny-lope said:

steveo3002 said:

what do you mean by digging drains ?

id be up for poking a fork in it here n there , not sure i want to hoof the lawn up for pipage and so on

Yeh what do you mean? I thought the old 'stab and wiggle a few times' fork action would help....but now your talking drains!

He dug a herringbone pattern of trenches and put some drainage pipe in them, connected to a soakaway.

Lots of info if you Google - ie this: http://www.diydata.com/problem/drainage/drainage.p...

The soil around here is quite heavy clay, and the area is fairly low-lying. It's very noticeable now that my lawn stays suashy underfoot unless it's bone dry, whereas his is very firm to walk on. He did it because his labrador was tearing up the surface.

[Shaolin]

Try raking in grass seed for shade when you've pulled the moss out, you may just have a bog-standard grass mix there which isn't coping very well. Grass for shade may take over and help the problem. Also feed it, moss does better in conditions of low food while grass does better with high food. You won't solve it fully though unless you address the underlying reason for the moss.

[xllifts]

Depending on he size of your garden, it can be worth getting one of the lawn care people in to do the hard work for you.

We have a 8m x 5m garden but when the local Greenthumb quoted us £42 to aeriate (sp), scarify, weed and feed and generally faf about with it, I thought it was worth me getting the stuff to do it myself.

Most of them do a free quote service so it may be worth a try.

[V8mate]

spikeyhead said:

I've reseeded my lawn in the most shady sections with some seed called "Canada Green" from Homebase.

Also worth trying Afghan Black from Leroy.

[aponting389]

my grandad... 88yr old farmer, think hes finally lost it... collects his piss and uses it to kill moss on the lawn, incredible i know.

[Simpo Two]

aponting389 said:

my grandad... 88yr old farmer, think hes finally lost it... collects his piss and uses it to kill moss on the lawn, incredible i know.

The main thing in urine is nitrogen - it can certainly act as a fertiliser - it may be that there's a dose which is injurious to moss but helps the grass. Or maybe it just makes the grass stronger and so fights the moss that way.

[steveo3002]

spikeyhead said:

I've reseeded my lawn in the most shady sections with some seed called "Canada Green" from Homebase.

It's growing much stronger than whatever was there before.

when you say re seed , whats involed ?

needs to be covered with fresh soil right ? cant just sprinkle it on ?

[spikeyhead]

steveo3002 said:

spikeyhead said:

I've reseeded my lawn in the most shady sections with some seed called "Canada Green" from Homebase.

It's growing much stronger than whatever was there before.

when you say re seed , whats involed ?

needs to be covered with fresh soil right ? cant just sprinkle it on ?

All I did with mine was give it a decent aeration with a fork, raked out all the moss, which loosened the top bit of soil, mixed the seed with some compost and sand and sprinkled it on. It needs to be kept moist or it won't germinate.