Moss attack

Plenty of moss in the lawns here too. It's probably no co-incidence that we have a "Black Moss Lane" nearby! I took advantage of the dry days earlier this week to give the worst patches a light raking by hand,  and then gave them their annual lawn sand dressing. On my lawns, I find this takes care of liverworts as well as moss.

Lots of rain and low sunlight in Winter, so the ground never drys out, seems to be the main cause. Also, moss doesn't survive regular wear and tear in the lawn, and in Winter we aren't out very much walking on and mowing the lawns, so they get little wear.  In this respect, I think a cylinder mower can be helpful, rather than a hover mower.

Lots of articles mention poor surface drainage, but I'm not so sure about this; my Dad's lawns get just as much moss as mine at this time of year, and they live on the coast where the soil is basically just grey sand, that gets very dry indeed in Summer. So I'm not sure how he could improve the surface drainage any further.

G&R
 

 

Wet, shaded lawns will get moss because it loves shaded, moist conditions.

Dry, sandy, well-drained lawns like mine also get it, although it does die back in summer. My theory is that sandy soils tend to be low in nutrients so the grass doesn't grow well enough to out-grow the moss.
My lawn only needs mowing about 4 or five times a year unless I keep feeding it, which tends to get a bit expensive, so I just console myself with the thought that at least it's nice and springy to walk on! 

Thanks all. Looks like I just have nuke it with killer then rake it out on lawn.
Not sure about what to do on plot will,see whether it annoys rhubarb and maybe just remove by hand

Cheers HH

What about in the fruit beds? Never had it before but this year there was lots... I have raked it all out for now