Moss control

[adders21]

Hi All,

I fight a continued battle with moss in our lawn.
In past years I have applied Evergreen 4 in 1 weed and feed. The downside is that no matter how much a plan to apply when rain is expected or how much I water in, I always end up burning the grass.

So, this year I was thinking of trying a soluble product like this
http://www.lawnsmith.co.uk/shop/mos...fertilisers/greenup-soluble-ferrous-sulphate/

I was also going to purchase a knapsack sprayer but I'm a little concerned about over spray killing plants.

What are your thoughts?

Has anyone experience in using the above?

Thank you for reading

 

[Deleted2797112]

An alternative way of limiting moss growth is to tackle the conditions that cause it to grow. Regular scarifying to remove thatch, spiking to open up the soil structure and removal / pruning back of shading plants / trees will go a long way to solving the problem. If you have heavy soil / poor drainage, brushing in sharp sand when you spike will improve it.

 

[adders21]

Hi Ceres,

I use a mulching mower. Could this be adding to my moss problem?

 

[Deleted2797112]

No, it shouldn't - the cliipings are chopped very finely and degrade very quickly into the lawn. Cutting too short will encourage moss as will over-feeding plus all of the previously mentioned - thatch, drainage/compaction, shade.

 

[roberta1000]

In my experience moss is sometimes very difficult to deal with permanently. Scarifying, hollow-tine spiking and so on only go so far if the ground beneath is heavily compacted clay for instance, and the winter months are certain to help the moss along.

I have a few problem areas and I find that a good dose of ferrous sulphate once or twice a year is the easiest solution. Evergreen doesn't have enough mosskiller (OR weedkiller for that matter) to do the job well. Ferrous sulphate is quite cheap and easy to get and the dose rate isn't very critical. It's pretty harmless to other plants apart from the moss (although it does turn the grass a fairly dark green for a while). The only thing to watch out for is that it stains paving and concrete so wash it off quickly if you spill it. I use around 10gm/square meter from a watering can. You should be able to get it considerably cheaper than your link though - it's often sold as ericaceous fertiliser.

A mulching mower is mostly fine but if you let the grass get too long between cuts, or use it too early or late in the season it'll tend to aggravate the moss problem as the mowings won't break down quickly.