moss/thatch problem

Hi all

im a noob and just moved into a 3 bed house with big garden front, back and side - theres lots of patchy yellowy areas and most of these seem to have moss/thatch underneath and weeds dotted all over (i think thatch is the right term?) - anyway I spread some soluble weed and feed in hope it would destroy the weeds and moss and also help grass grow... its only been 24 hours but i can see the weeds dying already but Im starting to worry that the moss has prevented most or all of the weed&feed getting into the ground/grass - the side garden has much less moss/thatch and can see the weed&feed starting to work on most of that but the front main garden and back garden has most the moss - theres no mention on my W&F that it kills moss I was told it would...

whats the best way to get rid of this moss/thatch?

the neighbour said its all dead moss and grass and a good raking will clear the way for sunlight, water and feed - should I just rake it?

I also read about scarifying but i dont have any money to buy one at moment and dont know if I need it? I dont even have a rake...lol

below are some shots of my garden(s) taken today

FRONT GARDEN


SIDE GARDEN




this one was taken yesterday

BACK GARDEN



any advice be great

THANKS

 

Snadge Weed and Feed will not kill the moss. You need to get moss killer. Leave it for now and concentrate on getting rid of the weeds and thatch. Thatch by the way, is the build up of dead grass in the lawn, this needs to be raked out. Anyway, back to the moss. The best treatment is to spread Lawn Sand in the Autumn.:gnthb:

 

the 'sand' - is that AFTER i use moss killer, let it turn black then rake it out (as per my dads info) and get the garden back to health..?

does this leave a sandy lawn? LOL :lollol: (as u can tell im a complete newbie..lol)
Ive heard about using sand for moss before but dont know much about it - I guess it just sits below the grass preventing the moss coming through and isnt visible to the eye...

MOSS KILLER and a RAKE is on my shopping list

thanks again

 

FORGET the mosskiller for now. Buy a lawn rake, not a garden rake. When I said Lawn Sand, I meant Lawn Sand NOT sand. Do not get it yet, THOUGH.:lollol::lollol::lollol::gnthb:

 

OK, many thanks for your help

 

Nice sized garden Snadge. I hope you'll have many happy hours in it.
Follow the advice you've been given above and next year your grass will look so much better. If you have children to run about on the grass you'll get a lot less moss.

 

I'd suggest buying an electric lawn raker/scarifier for that size lawn.
Best to do it when there's been no rain for a few days.
Give the lawn a good cut first, then use the scarifier. Set it on the highest level first and work down, be careful not to rip out any of the grass.
Get a roll of black bin bags in for the thatch. You won't believe how many bags you'll fill.

 

ive further investigated the lawn and it appears that the moss is in patches and MOST of the orange/white patches is from dead grass most of which appears to still be 'in' the ground (not loose/cut)
- the grass only seems to have grown on side lawn and patches elsewhere from the weed&feed I used

im gunna buy a lawn rake and cut the grass then rake it then fertilize it and see what happens - i'd like to get it all green before winter if thats possible

 

If you want a GREEN lawn pdq, rake out the rubbish then treat the lawn with Wilkinsons soluble lawn feed.:gnthb:

 

thats exactly the plan for tomorrow - AND our lass was at wilkinsons today and she said they had tons of stuff including rakes - we are off there tomoz to get a rake and some lawn feed if I'm a good boy... lol

 

Their soluble lawn feed is quick and good.:gnthb:

 

great - one problem , I experienced it with my weed&feed - the 10L watering can I got GUSHES the water out of the rose on end - I ended up taping most of it up from inside to restrict flow to only the outer, thinner holes but I dont think it spreads it well as instead of getting a FULL circle of product its getting a 'hollow' (if you will) circle of the stuff as the center is blocked, it required 5 Litres with 45ml of W&F for 15 SQM - I added more water to compensate

 

I'll second that, it's quite cheap and very good, as is their soluble "feed and weed" and "feed, weed and mosskiller."

I could never use the granular stuff without burning the grass a bit.

You do need a fine rose on your watering can and be careful not to let any slop over the top when the can is full. I prefer to make it a bit weaker than recommended and apply more frequently.

 

OK ive almost raked the whole front garden after many hours of hard work, it looks a mess with dark soily patches all over (where there was more moss) - it looks horrible :( - i may have overdone it but you wont believe how much stuff just kept coming out (moss and dead grass) - every square meter made a pile about the size of 4 big loafs of bread, i ive now been told by someone else i should have applied moss-killer first as raking it up without it will just spread the spores and make it even worse?? - is this true? or can it be controlled AFTER the rake up? - i will post pics soon

thanks

(is this wot its supposed too look like?)

PICS:

 

Hmm..

I did say you'd need a roll of black bin bags for the moss and thatch!
Making progress, well done.