kill the moss b4 I scarify?

basic question I know! Should I put moss killer down and let it do its thing before i scarify? My lawns a right mess -lots of moss which actually I quite like as its nice and springy!_i dont wantto play bowls or anything on it so I am not going to spend a fortune but thought i would give it a bit of a scarify and a feed b4 the season gets going properly as its a bit neglected of late.

 

yes, put LAWN SAND on first with a cyclone spreader is best, leave for a good month, the lawn will go nearly black, this is the moss dying, then scarify in a criss cross method, up and down then side to side.
leave another month, put on a good LAWN WEED & FEED with the spreader in the same way as before. repeat this each year.
AS FOR ALL TREATMENTS, FOLLOW MANUFACTURERS INSTRUCTIONS.

 

on the subject of lawn sand, why does this work better than ferrous sulphate, which is also a moss killer, i mean the amount of actual sand is minimal, but the effect does seem to be dramatic [tho i must admit i prob overdosed an old lawn which had already had lawn weedkiller and a light feed to little effect!

 

usually I bung on feed'n'weed, then scarify after a couple of weeks

 

I watched a gardening programme on telly last year about lawns. It recommended feeding a tired and sp**** lawn which had moss in it a few weeks BEFORE applying feed and weed.
This would thicken the weak grass up and make it strong enough to stand up to the scarifier once the feed and weed had done its job
Has anybody else heard of this?

 

Have I said a bad word? If so I am sorry!!!!
maybe I should have said thinning lawn.

Have given up on the avatar. :( :( :(

 

Nobody said it would be easy,but if Charlie Dimock said it ,it must be right.
Heres to you Pal..................

 

Established lawns..
Lawn Sand is mainly for the eradication of moss, and some minor weeds, if you put on weed and feed you are feeding the moss and you wont get rid of it even if you scarify.
you need to follow a few simple guidelines.
KILL MOSS ....NOW! while in active growth
SCARIFY
WEED AND FEED
SCARIFY AGAIN IF NEEDED
HOLLOW TINE OR SLIT
TOP DRESSING, BRUSHED IN
AUTUMN FEED
Dont leave clippings on lawns as this only promotes more moss and thatch.
if you already have a sparce lawn, or a lawn with sparce patches, there could be some other problem causing this.
if you have bare patches i will not matter how much feed you put on, if there is nothing there..nothing will grow.
you need to put some seed down in september to get grass growing again

 

i would nt have thot that moss would like the feed part of weed n feed, tho i dont like the effect it has, i must say, so lawn sand is better cos there is no feed?
i think it is not worth the effort required in a badly situated lawn, i have one which was turfed and laid on well drained bed, it is choked with moss after 2 seasons, its the shade and the rain imo, two things which cant be altered
what about the effect of liming .... moss would not like lime?

 

Thanks for help Rossco and lady gardener. I didn't think feeding the moss first was a good idea. Perhaps the programme meant we should feed the grass before I scarify(After moss has been removed) as it is so thin and weak I usually manage to remove most of it with the scarifier. It is usually about August before it is looking nice again.
This is the lawn this morning there is also a lot of thick leaved grass it it.

 

This was lawn last year

 

Well looking at that winter lawn - it isn't too bad at all for this time of year - certainly better than mine :D .

If it was mine - I would scarify it to remove the thatch and any moss (though there doesn't look like much), aerate it if you didn't in the autumn - and then apply a good general lawn feed, water it in if there's no rain. There don't look to be many broad leaved weeds - so any that there are, I'd use a weedkiller gel painted on.

This time of year, and after our cold spell, the grass is only just starting into growth again. Usually by now I would have cut the lawn a couple of times - but haven't been near the lawn mower yet.

 

thing is, if it takes till august be4 lawn recovers from scaryfying is it worth it
any1 comment on liming ?

 

Sorry - am I missing something here LG. Why would it take til August to recover from scarifying. I scarify with a spring rake - the lawn is fine afterwards - and I have a lot more moss than the lawn pictured. :(

 

it was laburnum who said it took till august to look good,
i am very concerned cos i ve put weed n feed on a customers newish lawn, assuming there was no moss when it was laid as turf, and now its chock a block, i m concerned that scaryfying will damage the grass, but the moss will jusr recur anyway

[ 26. March 2006, 09:31 PM: Message edited by: Lady Gardener ]