Front Garden Mainly Moss!

mike65

Anyone had to deal with mossy grass, my front is pretty much carpeted due to highish hedge. I'm not removing the hedge so a treatment that works is proberly what I need.

Mike.

Mailman

kill with moss killer, scarify a week later with hired scarifier or scarifying blade for lawnmower and rake up the moss.
Now is the right time of year and lawn will look horrible for months to come.

Avns1s

Get some ferrous sulphate (sulphate of iron) from your garden centre or agri store.

I wouldn't put it on now though as you'll be looking at a black garden all winter. Leave it till springtime - maybe about 4-6 weeks before the cutting season.

Dont allow it near tarmac, paths, walls etc as it'll turn them rust coloured - permanently.

The other advice you have been given about scarifying / rakeing out the moss is good.

Irish Gardener

Get down on your hands and knees to have a look across your lawn. If the lawn is totally infested with moss, say 75%, then it would be worth starting again from scratch and reseeding in the spring.
But with the hedge remaining it will mean that eventually you will return to a "moss lawn", usually within a short period of time.
There may be a case to be made for creating a border planted with shade tolerant shrubs and perennials in the darkest areas.
Then go ahead and reseed the lawn areas in reasonably good sunlight, a much smaller area which you can lavish with loads of care and seasonal moss treatments.

Eurorunner

@irishgardener: Is there anywhere in the West that hires out scarifiers (for small area) at a reasonable price?

Irish Gardener

Reasonable hmmmm, debatable.

HSS Galway
Unit 1, Tuam Road Retail Centre, Galway,
091 773 062
http://www.hss.com/g/62316/Lawn-Scarifier-Thatcher-Petrol.html

tampopo

Mike65,

yeah, causes of moss could well be (probably is) the high hedge causing shadow.My front garden faces north and has moss. But. But, you could treat the area to relieve the symptoms/cause. The grass is too wet, moss proliferates. Cause of wetness:lack of drainage in the soil. Try forking the grass and filling with a lawn sand. This will increase drainage and help reduce the friendly conditions for moss.

Also, if you go to a garden centre, or a Woodies/Homebase/Atlantic Homecare type shop, look at the back of the packages of moss killers. If it says apply in the autumn, then go ahead with it. It'll die off and go black. Scrape it out and reseed. It'll recover.

It may take a couple of seasons to completely eradicate it. There is no reason that you shouldn't have good grass, i.e. moss-free even if it's beside a hedge. Fork it.Sand it. Weed and Feed it.
Try it again next year. Actually, do it now and again in early summer next year, if it's a big job and you get sick of it! I often find I get fed up tackling a big project in one go, rather than bit by bit.

mike65

Cheers for the advice ( I think!).

Mike.

10-10-20

I noticed that my parents front garden is 80% moss following this years wet summer.
It was not like this previously. There is a small 3ft wall along the southern part of the garden and the soil could be described as moderately well drained, so I suspect that the cause of the moss growth this year is mainly down to the summer!

I'll have another look at the condition of the lawn in the spring and see if it improves when the weather picks up.

bmaxi

Eurorunner wrote:

@irishgardener: Is there anywhere in the West that hires out scarifiers (for small area) at a reasonable price?

If you know anybody travelling to Dublin, B&Q are selling an electric scarifier for €30 at the moment. Bought one myself and while I wouldn't tackle an acre with it, it'll do the job on a small lawn, you'll only need it once or twice a year.

magicbastarder

i believe moss likes acid conditions, so sprinkling calcified seaweed on the lawn should help.

Eurorunner

Irish Gardener wrote: »

Reasonable hmmmm, debatable.

HSS Galway
Unit 1, Tuam Road Retail Centre, Galway,
091 773 062
http://www.hss.com/g/62316/Lawn-Scarifier-Thatcher-Petrol.html

Thanks for that IG. Probably got my terminology mixed up though. I'm looking for one of those machines with the hollow core tines - that will take out 'plugs' of soil to a much further depth.

bmaxi wrote:

If you know anybody travelling to Dublin, B&Q are selling an electric scarifier for €30 at the moment. Bought one myself and while I wouldn't tackle an acre with it, it'll do the job on a small lawn, you'll only need it once or twice a year.

I think b&q are open in Galway now bmaxi (or if not, they will be before the month is out) so will check that out.

Irish Gardener

Eurorunner wrote: »

Thanks for that IG. Probably got my terminology mixed up though. I'm looking for one of those machines with the hollow core tines - that will take out 'plugs' of soil to a much further depth.

Like this? http://www.hss.com/g/62326/Powered-Lawn-Aerator-Petrol.html

It spikes as far as I can tell, but does not remove the "cores", unfortunately.

bakerbhoy

you are looking for a hollowtine/aerator.Your local golf club should have one.

Look up http://www.irishgrassmachinery.ie

They sell them , i don't know about renting.
I had a similar problem to you and battled for a number of years,nature always won. Lawn is now a nice rockery.

tampopo

Mike65,
the first 5 mins of How to be a Gardener on Friday night were about addressing problems with lawn/grass. If you can get it on YouTube or a replay from the bbc site, you should watch it.
t

GreeBo

I did this to mine about 2 years ago.
Use moss killer/feed and weed combination.

Moss all dies, raked it up with a metal tined soil/gravel (stiff) rake (not a leaf rake)
You will have bags of moss, handy for hanging baskets!
Then I spread a mix of soil/sand/compost onto the bare patches (pretty much the whole thing) mixed in some shade tolerant seed and bobs your uncle.

mike65

Cheers tampopo.

Mike.

blindman

My preferred option would be to treat your lawn to a good autumn feed, feed it again in spring then apply mosskiller and scarify. Your grass will then be in a position to fight back. A sprinkle of seed/lawnsand/aerate will help it along.