Moss removal

Dr. Nick

I have a lot of moss on my lawn of about 1500m2 - probably 70% has moss, some places right now there is ONLY moss to be seen.

What does anyone recommend, I hear a lot of promotion for Horkan's Zero but if I did go for this or a similar product what should I use then? I'm imagining a moss-free lawn but also a grass-free one too!

Any help appreciated.

Irishphotodesk

Weed feed and moss killer, you might be able to treat the lawn a few times this year and hopefully you may get all grass in a year or two.

Scarify and remove the dead moss and possibly lay grass seeds.

phormium

I have same problem and I'm giving up and embracing the moss! At least it's green.

I have done the weed and feed thing for several years, bought the lawn raker thing to rake out all the dead moss which it does very well, sowed more seed but it never actually works. I have come to the conclusion that I have bad drainage for starters I think, the lawn is also a good bit in shade so I'm going to start the whole cycle of killing the moss again, I just get all the dead moss, then the bare patches etc.

If I am trying anything else it will be Mo Bactor which seems to work a different way and you don't have to rake out the dead moss.

Wombatman

phormium wrote: »

I have same problem and I'm giving up and embracing the moss! At least it's green.

I have done the weed and feed thing for several years, bought the lawn raker thing to rake out all the dead moss which it does very well, sowed more seed but it never actually works. I have come to the conclusion that I have bad drainage for starters I think, the lawn is also a good bit in shade so I'm going to start the whole cycle of killing the moss again, I just get all the dead moss, then the bare patches etc.

If I am trying anything else it will be Mo Bactor which seems to work a different way and you don't have to rake out the dead moss.

Have you tried aerating?

kippy

Wombatman wrote: »

Have you tried aerating?

Does this help with moss removal/drainage?
How often would you need to aerate?
Have some moss issues as well this year, but not too worried about it, if I could keep it under control with some aerating.

PhilOssophy

Let it grow well! If you keep cutting it bare, you'll just keep having problems with moss. If you let it grow a bit, the grass will eventually break through and overcome the moss.
Any cutting should be to the highest setting on your lawnmower.

howsshenow

Sulphate of Iron

phormium

Wombatman wrote: »

Have you tried aerating?]

Yep, bought the yokey for that too!

PhilOssophy

At this time of year, lots of lawns are full of moss. Try some fertiliser, let it grow, cut it in a week when it has established growth. The powerful grass growth in the next month or two will outgrow the moss.

Dr. Nick

PhilOssophy wrote: »

At this time of year, lots of lawns are full of moss. Try some fertiliser, let it grow, cut it in a week when it has established growth. The powerful grass growth in the next month or two will outgrow the moss.

Any fertiliser recommendations or are they all basically the same?

Snotty

Ive heard it said before that you need to know the soil condition/ph levels before knowing what to put on to kill the moss, is that true or would putting on Sulphate of Iron be a good start for lawns this time of year?

PhilOssophy

Hadn't heard that - you need something with Nitrogen I am fairly sure. Any shelf in a Garden Centre will have things there for moss control.

cuculainn

PhilOssophy wrote: »

Hadn't heard that - you need something with Nitrogen I am fairly sure. Any shelf in a Garden Centre will have things there for moss control.

You don't want anything high in nitrogen, cause you won't be able to keep it mowed!!

You want high potash content so something like potato manure (7-7-16) it greens up the grass and the Moss doesn't like high potassium....

Jim_Hodge

Wombatman wrote: »

Have you tried aerating?

Never make a jot of difference for me.

PhilOssophy

cuculainn wrote: »

You don't want anything high in nitrogen, cause you won't be able to keep it mowed!!

You want high potash content so something like potato manure (7-7-16) it greens up the grass and the Moss doesn't like high potassium....

I have routinely put nitrogen on my lawn and the growth doesn't become excessive. I still only have to cut it weekly, and I find that letting it grow long to start with seems to get rid of the moss.

Maybe I have crap soil though

Zardoz

As other have said Sulphate of Iron is the best and most practical option for a large area like 1500m2.
A 25kg bag costs around 17 euro and will cover 5000m2 at 5g per square metre.

The first thing you must ask yourself though is why is there so much moss and try to improve the conditions for grass growth.

The number one reason I see causing too much moss is people cutting their lawns too low .
This weakens the grass and allows the moss to spread rapidly in wet shady conditions.
Moss thrives in these conditions.

Aerating with a pitch fork is useless, it actually only compacts the soil more, you need a proper core tining machine.

If your lawn is 70 per cent moss I'd scarify it to remove most of the moss, then spray with iron sulphate to kill the remaining moss.
Then overseed the worn areas, and apply a slow release fertiliser.

Repeat the process in early September.

Dont cut the grass as low as the longer grass smothers the moss.
Grass is resilient and hardy it will come good with time.

kevin306

Zardoz wrote: »

As other have said Sulphate of Iron is the best and most practical option for a large area like 1500m2.
A 25kg bag costs around 17 euro and will cover 5000m2 at 5g per square metre.

The first thing you must ask yourself though is why is there so much moss and try to improve the conditions for grass growth.

The number one reason I see causing too much moss is people cutting their lawns too low .
This weakens the grass and allows the moss to spread rapidly in wet shady conditions.
Moss thrives in these conditions.

Aerating with a pitch fork is useless, it actually only compacts the soil more, you need a proper core tining machine.

If your lawn is 70 per cent moss I'd scarify it to remove most of the moss, then spray with iron sulphate to kill the remaining moss.
Then overseed the worn areas, and apply a slow release fertiliser.

Repeat the process in early September.

Dont cut the grass as low as the longer grass smothers the moss.
Grass is resilient and hardy it will come good with time.

Just a question for a novice, rather than scarifying and using sulfate of iron. Would it there be any difference in performance of using something like mo-factor or gazon rooster to avoid blacking the lawn. No raking required either. Or would this not have the same results.

kevin306

Zardoz wrote: »

As other have said Sulphate of Iron is the best and most practical option for a large area like 1500m2.
A 25kg bag costs around 17 euro and will cover 5000m2 at 5g per square metre.

The first thing you must ask yourself though is why is there so much moss and try to improve the conditions for grass growth.

The number one reason I see causing too much moss is people cutting their lawns too low .
This weakens the grass and allows the moss to spread rapidly in wet shady conditions.
Moss thrives in these conditions.

Aerating with a pitch fork is useless, it actually only compacts the soil more, you need a proper core tining machine.

If your lawn is 70 per cent moss I'd scarify it to remove most of the moss, then spray with iron sulphate to kill the remaining moss.
Then overseed the worn areas, and apply a slow release fertiliser.

Repeat the process in early September.

Dont cut the grass as low as the longer grass smothers the moss.
Grass is resilient and hardy it will come good with time.

Just a question for a novice, rather than scarifying and using sulfate of iron. Would there be any difference in performance using something like mo-factor or gazon rooster to avoid blacking the lawn. No raking required either. Or would this not have the same results.

SouthWesterly

cuculainn wrote: »

You don't want anything high in nitrogen, cause you won't be able to keep it mowed!!

You want high potash content so something like potato manure (7-7-16) it greens up the grass and the Moss doesn't like high potassium....

Beet fertiliser is, similar. 8-5-18. Threw some in with some lime

Zardoz

kevin306 wrote: »

Just a question for a novice, rather than scarifying and using sulfate of iron. Would there be any difference in performance using something like mo-factor or gazon rooster to avoid blacking the lawn. No raking required either. Or would this not have the same results.

I've not used Mobacter so I can't comment.
For 1500 square metres though you would need 8 bags of it at around 30 euro a bag so it wont be cheap.

Scarifying removes thatch as well as dead moss though so I prefer it.

fryup

Has anyone used No Rake or Mobacter?? which is the best?😶

JimmyVik

We embraced the moss too. Its all green be it moss or grass to that will do now.

Spent years trying to get rid of the moss without any success.

I used a scarifying machine and it took up 30 (yes thirty :) ) black bags of moss in minutes that I had to get rid of.

The lawn didnt look any different even after that.

pdpmur

I agree with Zardoz - sulphate of iron and scarify.

What I do in late Feb or early March:

Apply FeSo4 to relatively dry grass, preferably with no rain predicted for the next 36 or 48 hours.

Scarify a week later when the moss is dead and much easier to lift.

Apply seed if very bare and fertilise.

If you don't scarify to get rid of the moss then the new grass growth is inhibited and will be very slow to improve, no matter what you use to kill the moss.

Blackened grass only lasts a few weeks.

Do this yearly and the moss will be kept under control and will be much less problematic next year.

Sulphate of iron is also non-toxic to animals so your local birds will be happy.

Seth Brundle

The previous owner of our house had a lot of ivy planted which by now has grown quite a bit and is home to wrens every year. The moss in our garden forms an integral part of their nest so I'm happy leaving it there.

looksee

I'm with the 'leave it be' people. My grass is more buttercup than moss, though I have moss everywhere else, on banks, trees, rocks, everywhere. While I like to see an area of green, I don't care what makes it green. I do have about 3/4 of an acre of grass though with a 'countrified' look to it, if it were a smaller, formal, lawn I could see why you might want to change it.

damienf1

Would be to early to apply mo bacter since temperatures are currently above 12c was thinking now good time?

Flinty997

I've never fixed it. Garden is poor quality clay and stone. Builders back fill. Poor drainage and not enough sun. On my third garden like this.

I get rid of it temporarily maybe for a year or to, then it creeps back in. Even where the grass is left long. Better in a sunny garden.

Unless I get the whole lot dug out and refilled and drain put in. I can't see any fix. At this point I can see me paving future gardens. Life is too short.

Moss killer and scarifier works for a while.