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Treated dead moss coming out in divots

tricky_mortontricky_morton Posts: 23
in Problem solving
My front lawn is moss filled although this doesn't particularly bother me.  I decided however to treat the lawn with Evergreen Complete 4 in 1 due to numerous dandelions.  I followed the instructions with regards to both walking briskly up and down, and then across to ensure an even spread, although I will need to treat again after the allotted three months with a proper spreader as I haven't been entirely successful in treating the full lawn, giving it an unintended tartan look!  Anyway, I scarified with a rake and subsequent to this noticed a few chunks of turf loose, possibly birds.  On exploring further and getting a being a bit cavalier with the lawn, I've found by raking the dead moss with my finger nails, chunks of lawn come away easily, however the result of this is that the lawn has chunks missing with what appears to be the whole turf coming away.  Have I been too enthusiastic in my endeavours and is this easy fixed after I've treated again and properly scarified post treatment?  I'll include a few photos to illustrate in a following post.

Posts

  • tricky_mortontricky_morton Posts: 23

  • KT53KT53 Posts: 9,016
    You have areas where moss has taken over completely from grass, and the Evergreen treatment has done what it says on the tin and killed the moss.  Moss is very shallow rooted so will come up in clumps once dead.  You haven't done anything wrong.
    You do not need to treat it again, scarify to remove all the dead moss and weeds and post new photo's for further advice.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I wouldn't use that again this year, unless it's already nearly three months since you first used it. These products aren't usually suitable for using later in the year. 
    Better to just fill those dips with some soil, or soil/compost, with some grass seed. It should germinate well enough as long as it's kept moist enough. 
    If you have a mossy site, it suggests it's shady, and/or compacted, so pick a seed that's suitable for that, and broadcast some over the whole area so that it doesn't look odd. Even so, a mossy site will always tend to have moss taking over from the grass, because the conditions moss likes, is the opposite of what grass likes,  so by spring, you could use the 4 in 1 again, but make sure you use it appropriately. Then just mow regularly, not scalping it. That will encourage the grass rather than the moss. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • tricky_mortontricky_morton Posts: 23
    Thanks a lot KT53 & Fairygirl for your replies.

    That's reassured me a lot.  The reason I was considering treating again is because it appears that I missed a good bit of the lawn when I first treated, hence the tartan look.  It would be the end of September before I could treat again.  I'll borrow my dad's electric scarifier for another going over and hold off any further treatment till next year.  From what I've read it should be okay to reseed at any time of the year, although I appreciate that there will be optimal times.

    I forgot to say that sometimes it's not just dead moss that's coming away but also lawn, and I'm not exactly ripping it out for this to happen.

    The lawn is south facing and gets a lot of sun so it could be compacted.  I suspect that the lawn hasn't been properly looked after for years before I bought the property.  It's an older propertly and the woman who had it before me for many years just let things go.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Seed sowing can be done in September in many areas, but it's not usually suitable where I am, so just check that your conditions will make the seed viable. :)
    If it's not warm enough, it won't germinate, or might be patchy and poor. In colder areas, it's better to wait until spring to ensure the ground is damp enough, but also warm enough for good growth  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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