[AlaninCarlisle]

I've never known one of my lawns to be so full of moss. The lawn itself is about 20 metres x 20 metres and is on about 20cm of soil on top of what was originally a cobbled yard 100 years ago. Most of the lawn is south facing.

Is there a better plan than watering iron sulphate solution (about an egg-cup full to 10 litres of water) into the lawn to kill off the moss and then scarifying it out?

Given the size of the lawn, I'd dearly love to find a quicker solution as the watering itself at 10 litres to 2 square metres will take the best part of a day? After that the job gets a bit quicker as I have a petrol driven scarifier.

Also, is there an ideal time of the year to do this? I've usually done it about now to give the lawn a chance of recovery and for any re-seeding to take effect but everything is so darn wet.

Any tips will be really welcomed

[tosca100]

Wouldn't a dry moss killer be better? It has been a bad year for moss, though we only have a small lawn and now we have chickens the moss seems to have been scratched up.

[AlaninCarlisle]

The reason for ferrous sulphate is because it's cheap as chips if you get it from a farm-supply outlet and it blackens the moss overnight. I bought a 25kg sack of it, admittedly  a few years ago, for a tenner and still have half left. I have only seen dry moss-killer (from memory it relies on urea to kill the moss) in B&Q and enough to treat the area in question would cost about £50

[Diddy Gardener]

Stick with the iron sulphate - it really works... Mr Diddy started with that this spring and our lawn has turned from a pale yellow spongy mess in to a real lawn... lots of other steps involved though, like aerating, and reseeding... looks great now though. 

[AlaninCarlisle]

A neighbour recommends that I leave the grass a bit longer at say 2" as he reckons that cutting it short encourages moss. Any thoughts on this?

[arugula]

A neighbour recommends that I leave the grass a bit longer at say 2" as he reckons that cutting it short encourages moss. Any thoughts on this?

I'd say that is nonsense, from my own experience. Grass is a strong plant and will normally take over. As said, the moss is taking over a bit this year with the damp and cool conditions..

[Ice]

A neighbour recommends that I leave the grass a bit longer at say 2" as he reckons that cutting it short encourages moss. Any thoughts on this?

I read that somewhere as well, they said leaving it longer would cut down the light on the much shorter moss and inhibit it that way.  Have no idea if that is true but it sounded reasonable.

[fatcat1955]

Do a soil test. Liming the lawn could be a easier solution

[AlaninCarlisle]

Does moss thrive on low pH soil?

[allotmentann]

I have terrible moss problems! It is certainly true that mowing too short is a big cause of my problems (I know this - but like to see the grass short, the garden feels untidy when it is even a little longer). I have researched a lot about it and know that I should set the blade higher and I might have less of a problem. I removed every bit (thirty stuffed full garden sacks in spring) but it is back again (although not so bad). I now try to get the rake over a section of lawn thoroughly each time I mow so that it does not build back up too badly anywhere and am now concentrating on getting the grass in better condition - theory being that if the grass is stronger it will compete better with the moss. I think, alas, that if the soil and conditions favour moss the best you can hope for is to keep on top of the problem. I have tried moss killers, raking, spent hours pulling it out by hand and the best a Wolf Garten moss roller (that I got the thirty bags out with), it comes back! At least moss is better than the yarrow which is also invading!

[fatcat1955]

Never cut the grass less than 3/4 of an inch, mow at least once a week, feed at least once a year, spike in spring and never rake the moss as you will only spread it all over the lawn. Use a good weed feed and moss killer in the spring, wait a week till the moss goes black then rake or better still use a scarifier. Check the ph, anything around 5 and you need to lime it.

[allotmentann]

Nice simple advice Fatcat (the kind I like!),not checked my ph, I will have to get a kit and see. If I don't rake, my lawn would be like a trampoline within a couple of weeks! Moss killer has never worked well for me, but I could try a different type. Would have to remember not to compost the grass clippings then though!

[Scotch Thistle]

I suggest you buy a 25kg of bag of hydrated lime from a builders merchant, and spread that over your grass. Shouldn't cost you more than a tenner.
Moss is an acid loving plant, so this should see it off. Anything you buy to kill lawn moss will have a lot of (much more expensive) lime in it anyway, so this isn't an unusual method to kill moss.
After that, keep your grass at a fairly long length, there's no need to cut it shorter really anyways, this will make it look greener, and anyway, short grass allows moss to thrive.

[JayG]

Moss is very good at out-competing grass in conditions which don't suit the latter, and it's not always damp, shady conditions that cause it.

My sandy soil provides poor conditions for grass growth as it dries out and also loses nutrients very quickly - the moss greens up nicely in autumn through to spring and although it dries out in summer the grass doesn't grow strongly enough to swamp it.

I used to borrow a scarifier, then feed the lawn to encourage the grass, but as soon as I stopped feeding the grass would stop growing again! Weed & feed/mosskillers are a no-no because of the nearby fish pond, so basically I've given up (at least it's always nice and springy!) 

[Henry]

If it really bothers you kill the entire area off rotovate and lay down some new clean turf of a good quality and feed the lawn as required costs abit but good maintenance is the answer to every good lawn .

If the area is to shaded maybe remedy this by sorting out what is causing the shade, if this can not be done they maybe a lawn is not to be unless you buy the artificiall grass covering could be a solution .
Good Luck