Moss!!

We have always had moss on the lawn but never this bad!
I have bought some moss kiler - should i just apply it and then rake the dead moss up?

 

hi wilroda

i had alot of moss in my front lawn i used a moss killer and waited untill it went black which took about a week ,

i then left it another 5 days and raked it all up if you don't wait long enough then you can just spread the moss around so make sure its dead before raking,

i then went round with a garden fork to allow some air as moss thrives in moist and damp lawns and then gave it a good feed with fish blood and bone as poor soil allows more moss to grow,

my lawn is fine and dandy now still a little bit of moss but nothing like before ,

if you do decided to feed it using blood and bone don't use it when its hot and sunny as it will burn best time i have found it a cloudy damp day after a couple of days if you can still see it give it was quick wazz over with the hose.

hope that helps

 

Thanks for that- just needed to check as OH seems to be of the opinion that you should rake it first - then apply the moss killer! - so really he is wasting his time....he isnt a gardener!

 

your welcome

 

I apply weed feed and moss killer ever April (B&Qs) and never have problem with anything the rest of the year, just get moss in the winter when one side is shaded by the tall hedge, but after April killed off and raked out!

 

Spray on your moss killer then leave for a week or so before you scarify.

Id leave it a few weeks yet until mid march as grass growth is still slow due to the recent cold spell.

 

Pro gard. Just out of interest, do you rake over a lawn before applying moss killer. Or is it better to have the moss growing for the treatment to be more effective?

 

No, Ive always avoided raking first as even a corectly set scarifyer tares the grass a bit and Ive always woried that the moss killer might scorch it.

Most of the selective turf weedkillers seem to recomend you leave several days between cutting and aplication so i use the same principle for the mossd killer.

It probably says so on the data sheet but in all honesty Ive never botherd to read it all only the dilution rate!

Also the more moss the graeter the surface area for the chemical to be absorbed by.

 

When is the earlist time I can put lawn seed down

 

They suggest early to mid april

 

Any time from now onwards (except for shady areas where I would wait for another 4 weeks).
If the area to be sown gets good sunlight and the ground is well prepared then there is no reason not to sow while conditions are dry but cool. It can only get warmer and wetter in the coming weeks. Perfect

 

Controlling Moss in your lawn with Sulphate of Iron
In my previous post "When to Scarify your lawn" I emphasised how important it is to remove dead grass and lateral grass growth in your lawn.

Too much thatch and lateral grass means the that the desired grass has to work very hard to push through and reach the air and also absorb sunlight.

Sunlight is essential for Photosynthesis to take place and if your grass has to work too hard it will weaken and non desirable grass species start to colonise as well as moss.

Moss is often wrongly described as the cause of a poor lawn. In fact moss has colonised as a result of a poor lawn. Keep your grass growing strongly and moss is incapable of competing and should never be a problem.

Good aeration is essential but sometimes, for reasons that are out of your control, moss will start to creep into your prized sward.

One simple treatment is the application of Sulphate of Iron to suppress the moss.
The common moss in many lawns is Springy Moss which is 90% water. Sulphate of Iron will quickly expel the water (it will take less than an hour to start to work) and allow the grass to strengthen.

After an hour the moss will start to go black and after two days the grass will turn extremely green.

Always try to apply Sulphate of Iron on a dry still day but with rain imminent within 12 hours.
The water will quickly dissolve the Sulphate and stop the grass from scorching.

Once the moss starts to die back you can scarify out the debris.

Some thoughts on Sulphate of Iron.


Some people refer to it as Iron Sulphate - either or really.

The material is very fine and will easily blow everywhere if applied in windy conditions so be very wary and try only to do this job on a still day.

Do not rely on the gate calibration and always follow a simple calibration method as I described in this post.

Do not try to store Sulphate of Iron through the winter. It will attract moisture and become lumpy and unworkable using a drop spreader.

If you do find yourself forced to use material that cannot be distributed through a spreader then it is possible to apply as a solution. Measure out the required amount of material and water that is needed if you wish to apply as a liquid, add the Sulphate of Iron to the water and stir until all of the lumps are dissolved - let stand overnight.

The following morning, sieve out the liquid using a funnel and old stocking. You will have noticed that there will be residual powder at the bottom. This can still be used later.
Calibrate your sprayer and apply the solution to the lawn.

 

I always spray ferrouse sulphate, using a drop spreader is asking for trouble.

if the dust blows onto paving you end up with an unnshiftable stain.

Most spreaders arent acurate enough either. Spraying alows a more acurate aplication.

I use a knapsack sprayer, 10 litres of water to one tea cup of iron sulphate, dilute the sulphate crystals in a jug adding water and stiring to a paste before adding to half the water then topping up. Never needed to strain the mixture.