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Lawn, moss

JoeXJoeX Posts: 1,783
in Problem solving
I could’ve sworn it was all grass but for a patch of moss last spring, now it seems it’s more moss than grass:



I havent really got time for a big piece of work on the lawn. Can I just ignore it until next year?
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Posts

  • Garden noobGarden noob Posts: 260
    Impressive moss!

    You can always ignore anything... It just depends on your goals and ambitions. Some people think a moss lawn is highly desirable so would advocate leaving it!

    If your aim is to have a grass lawn, IMHO it's better to act now before you end up with very little grass and need to start from scratch again.

    Depending on the size of the lawn, I would suggest you consider buying/borrowing/renting an electric scarifier. They're easy to use; it's much like mowing your lawn. In a few minutes you'll have cleared the worst of the moss, allowing your grass a fighting chance to recover. Give it some fertiliser, and hopefully it will bounce back. You might also want to overseed the worst areas to thicken up the lawn. NB: don't scarify until the grass is growing quickly, or else it'll take ages to recover.

    That should be enough to keep the lawn going through to the summer - perhaps 2 hours' work depending on the size of the lawn. In the autumn you can address the reasons for the moss (drainage/shade etc) if you have more time then.
  • JoeXJoeX Posts: 1,783
    It’s quite a big lawn imho so a bit more than 2hrs I think.

    Im considering your advice and wondering if I can reduce the lawn (see my design thread) and reseed a smaller area perhaps one at a time.

    my neighbour is messing about  putting foundations under my patio to support his extension next month which will interfere with access so this spring might be a good time to do major lawn work.

    cheers
  • Garden noobGarden noob Posts: 260
    I just saw your lawn in your other thread. It's large but not unmanageable. 

    Scarifying would probably take 30-60 mins depending on how frequently you need to empty it (i.e. how much moss is in the lawn). Personally I find it easiest to empty the moss into a wheelbarrow in the centre of the lawn, then empty the wheelbarrow into the compost bin (NB moss takes a long time to decompose - you may want to put it with your council collection to prevent further spread). 

    Fertilising is probably another 30-60 mins. Personally I like to use chicken manure pellets - it's just a matter of chucking them around the lawn, ideally evenly but it doesn't matter too much. A 10kg tub is probably about right for your lawn. They're on sale in Morrisons at the moment for £8, which is a decent price. Water the pellets to help them break down more quickly, and try to stay off the lawn for a week or more so you're not walking on manure...(!)

    As for overseeding, personally I would only bother doing this on the thinnest patches that don't look like it will recover otherwise.

    If the photo above is representative, it doesn't look like you've got too much grass there. If that's really the case, you might just want to postpone the whole project until you have more time, e.g. the autumn, and start from scratch with a new lawn (whilst also addressing the factors that have contributed to so much moss growing). Otherwise, if you take out your moss now and leave bare ground, you may find you've bitten off more than you can chew. At that stage you're either committed to spending the time getting the lawn back into shape, or you have to accept an ugly lawn over the summer.
  • JoeXJoeX Posts: 1,783
    Thanks, I’ll see if I can fit it in before long.
  • JoeXJoeX Posts: 1,783
    Garden noob said:
    I just saw your lawn in your other thread. It's large but not unmanageable. 

    Scarifying would probably take 30-60 mins depending on how frequently you need to empty it (i.e. how much moss is in the lawn). Personally I find it easiest to empty the moss into a wheelbarrow in the centre of the lawn, then empty the wheelbarrow into the compost bin (NB moss takes a long time to decompose - you may want to put it with your council collection to prevent further spread). 

    Fertilising is probably another 30-60 mins. Personally I like to use chicken manure pellets - it's just a matter of chucking them around the lawn, ideally evenly but it doesn't matter too much. A 10kg tub is probably about right for your lawn. They're on sale in Morrisons at the moment for £8, which is a decent price. Water the pellets to help them break down more quickly, and try to stay off the lawn for a week or more so you're not walking on manure...(!)

    As for overseeding, personally I would only bother doing this on the thinnest patches that don't look like it will recover otherwise.

    If the photo above is representative, it doesn't look like you've got too much grass there. If that's really the case, you might just want to postpone the whole project until you have more time, e.g. the autumn, and start from scratch with a new lawn (whilst also addressing the factors that have contributed to so much moss growing). Otherwise, if you take out your moss now and leave bare ground, you may find you've bitten off more than you can chew. At that stage you're either committed to spending the time getting the lawn back into shape, or you have to accept an ugly lawn over the summer.
    I’ve just been out and tried a bit to see what we see - looks like some areas are pretty bad, others not so much.

    Whats come out:


    The worst parts, only a bit of grass left behind:
    Not so bad after most of the moss is scraped out here:
    A lot of grass comes out as well as moss, is that the way it works?

    Some areas look like just grass but are quite springy under foot so there must be a moss base.
  • Dave HumbyDave Humby Posts: 1,145
    There's a lot of thatch there by the look of it TP and that is probably why it feels 'springy'. I think you're going to need to be very aggressive with it. I'd bite the bullet and hire a scarifier if you've got a large area to do. Damp, shade and thatch all contribute to the moss. I would suggest you aerate it also. 
  • JoeXJoeX Posts: 1,783
    Dave Humby said:
    There's a lot of thatch there by the look of it TP and that is probably why it feels 'springy'. I think you're going to need to be very aggressive with it. I'd bite the bullet and hire a scarifier if you've got a large area to do. Damp, shade and thatch all contribute to the moss. I would suggest you aerate it also. 

    Erm, this might get a giggle but is it possible that having moss instead of grass might work?  I’ve seen a few google results that talk about deliberately having moss ‘lawn’.

    As I want to divide the lawn i could have the bit at the back around the swings moss which is where it’s worst, and the front part proper grass.
  • Garden noobGarden noob Posts: 260
    Of course you can have a moss lawn! That was one of my first comments.

    I just saw that you've been using a manual lawn scarifier - don't bother starting the lawn with that. It will take hours and hours! And you'll really feel it. If you scarify the lawn, buy an electric scarifier or hire one.
  • UpNorthUpNorth Posts: 376
    I'd spend probably £80 or so and buy a scarifier, get the thatch and moss out each year in spring.  they come with aerator too.   It's one of the easiest wins in the garden in terms of making a huge difference ( about eight weeks after your hard work).  it will only take a few (hard) hours work.    use a moss killer/feed about a week before you scarify, it kills the moss, makes it a touch easier to remove, and the feed helps speed recovery.  expect to see very little grass remaining above ground in deep shade areas, but it will recover, it really will, grass is tough it survives draught, fire, flood.
  • JoeXJoeX Posts: 1,783
    Garden noob said:
    Of course you can have a moss lawn! That was one of my first comments.

    I just saw that you've been using a manual lawn scarifier - don't bother starting the lawn with that. It will take hours and hours! And you'll really feel it. If you scarify the lawn, buy an electric scarifier or hire one.
    So what do you do with a moss lawn?  How do you remove the remaining grass? Can you still weed as you would a grass lawn, or does it take forever for the moss to grow over?
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