A mossy lawn

Discussion in 'NEW Gardeners !' started by ScousePaul, Mar 10, 2025 at 7:07 AM.

  1. ScousePaul

    ScousePaul Apprentice Gardener

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    Hello

    Please allow me to introduce myself. I am a total novice gardener with a lawn issue.

    I have a medium to large size lawn and it is heavily infested with moss, is boggy underfoot and patchy in places. My garden is south facing and gets lots of sun in the summer. My goal is to have the lawn like a snooker table.

    Can anyone explain the process (an idiot guide if you will) to fix this problem as Greenthumb are too expensive and I am keen to have a go myself.

    I have researched some mechanical scarifiers as the garden is probably too big to do by hand. However I just need some guidance on where to start with lawn treatments etc.

    Many thanks

    Paul
     
  2. NigelJ

    NigelJ Total Gardener

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    @ScousePaul Essentially you have to make the lawn less attractive for moss and more attractive to grass. Moss likes damp conditions and shade, how much sun does the lawn get outside summer? Also what type of soil have you got?
    It sounds as if you might need to improve the drainage and light/ventilation over winter. Is your lawn level or is there a slope on it. Photos always help.
     
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    • ScousePaul

      ScousePaul Apprentice Gardener

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      Hi thank you for the quick reply.

      outside of winter only 50% of the garden gets decent sun. The garden backs onto a steep embankment then a railway line. As you can imagine the line is often overgrown with tall trees which shades this part of the garden. Network Rail have responsibility for these trees so they’re not trimmed often.

      The garden is pretty flat and level and the best way I can describe the soil is sandy and crumbly if that makes sense.
       

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    • NigelJ

      NigelJ Total Gardener

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      @ScousePaul sorry you've not had more of a response most lawn questions are leapt on with enthusiasm. Although I know the basics my method of dealing with moss is to grow the grass longer so you can't see it.
       
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      • Pete8

        Pete8 Super Gardener

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        My neighbour used MO Bacter a couple of year ago to rid his lawn of moss and recommended it to me.
        I treated parts of my lawn last Spring where moss was growing and was surprised how well it worked.
        No need to scarify/rake after either as the product breaks down the dead moss into nutrients for your grass.

        I like @NigelJ solution too :)
         
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        • Butterfly6

          Butterfly6 Super Gardener

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          Another fan of Mo Bactor here
           
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          • ArmyAirForce

            ArmyAirForce Keen Gardener

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            We just scarified our lawn at the weekend. We hired a large petrol powered machine, but you can get small garden electric ones. It has a rotating shaft with stiff wires than spin and pull up the moss. We got five half ton bulk bags of moss out of our lawn. Ideally we do it once a year, but last year was so wet until the end of June, it never got done.

            [​IMG]
             
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            • Mattyp

              Mattyp Gardener

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              There are a few websites out there with moss removal guides that I had a read of last year as we had heavy moss, a couple below. I bought a kit from Relentless gardener and followed the guide. I took action on the rear lawn and didn't touch the front lawn as an experiment to see the difference. Although the back lawn doesn't look like a golfing green there is less moss for sure and I might have less to do this year to maintain it. Just got to repeat on front lawn now! My feeling is it will always be about managing it year on year rather than, treat it one year and never again. I was raking out the moss on a lawn about 30m2 with a springtine rake and it was hard work, but it's also very satisfying Much bigger and it would need something mechanical. I may try mo bactor next, based on what's been said here!
              https://www.lawnsmith.co.uk/lawn-ca...l/moss-removal/?_gl=1*191hzm2*_up*MQ..*_gs*MQ..

              How to get rid of moss in your lawn | Best Moss Killer Removal Treatment
               
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