Moss instead of grass?

bumpyphee · July 2021

Hi, looking for advice. Our small lawn is a mess, full of patches, dips in the soil, weeds, moss and some crazy fast growing grass. It was a mess.

I've had tarps down over the winter to kill it off and now it's time to do something with it.

I'd rather not have grass again and was wondering if it's possible to turn it all into moss (the mossy patch we did have in the corner was great, no crazy grass growing at that patch).

If thats not feasable, what kind of seed would i need for a short slow growing lawn?

We have kids and a dog.

Thanks

Buttercupdays · July 2021

Welcome to the Forum

If the conditions are right, shady and damp, then it is perfectly possible to have a moss lawn, Japan is famous for them.

However I very much doubt that moss would long withstand kids and a dog!

Also the Japanese ones are high maintenance: only one type of moss allowed at a time, kept swept clean of fallen leaves etc and a single blade of grass shows up more on a moss lawn than a patch of clover on a normal one and we all know much some people are upset by that

So overall your best bet is to improve what you have and you have already made a start. Improve drainage if need be, but digging to remove compaction, raking and leveling should help if it's not too bad. You'll have to wait until autumn to sow, for best results, and choose seed suitable for your conditions and the wear it will likely get. The dog and children will need to find somewhere else for recreation until the new grass is well established, so this may be a problem if they have been playing on the tarps.

Turf will be quicker but still needs some time to establish before being walked on and of course is more expensive.

There are loads of lawn threads for more detailed advice.

Bark or woodchip might offer an interim solution and is safer for play than gravel, but there can be problems with either if it is used for other purposes by dogs or their feline counterparts!

micearguers · July 2021

I love moss lawns but as @Buttercupdays says they are very high maintenance. With kids and a dog I'd advocate seeding your lawn area with, for example, white clover, yarrow (Achillea millefolium), and self-heal (Prunella vulgaris), taking into account all the advice from Buttercupdays. There is no need to worry about flowering and bees as such a lawn can simply be mowed. There would still be a need to keep out coarse grasses, at least, that's what I do, and it would not be slow-growing. However, a slow-growing lawn that can recover from kids and a dog might be a bit much to ask for.

Moss instead of grass?

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