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Mossy Lawn Limited Sunshine

arun_khanarun_khan Posts: 2
in Problem solving
So i have decided that this is the year i try and sort my lawn out im fed up of the spongy moss and thatch in my lawn. The trouble is it barely gets any decent sunlight in parts due to a massive tree blocking it, and ive not maintained the lawn in the last 3 years i have been at this property.

i have just cut the grass today… and im thinking what would be your next steps to tackle my issue?

my options are - 

I could either buy a scarifier from screwfix an scarify the whole lot first hopefully next week i need a day or two of dry weather… im worried im going to make things a lot worse as the scarifying is going to remove a lot of moss so il be just left with a bald patchy lawn just before we get into spring.


Or i could get some of that miracle gro 4 in 1 stuff which kills moss and feeds the lawn at the same time aswell and its perfect as rain is forecast in the next few days so shouldnt burn the lawn but attack the moss but as theres so much moss probably will look disastourus after this has been applied.

At some point i also need to start reseeding the grass with some special shady grass seed, can i do this straight after scarifying or 1 week after applying the moss killer?

Is this how you guys would tackle my issue or would you go about it different im a complete amateur and ive never scarified before but im keen on getting some decent results by summer!





Posts

  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    It seems to me that in the situation you describe, you are never going to get the perfect grassy lawn you desire.  You need to accept that your 'lawn' will be mossy or go for something else. 
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I agree. Shade isn't ideal for grass even with the right seed. You'll always be fighting it, especially if it's used a lot.

    You can do all the things you mention - scarifying, treating etc, and yes - it'll look bare, but the grass will grow. How well it keeps growing is another matter.  Your climate is a major factor in how well it grows  :)

    If it isn't growing, there's no point cutting. If you're in a very dry part of the country, you may find there's little growth in summer too. In a consistently wet part, you'll still be cutting regularly. If it's the former, keeping it slightly longer helps, and if you don't scalp it when you cut, that will also help.
    Little and often is always the best method with cutting grass. Never take off more than a third of the height. That helps to encourage sideways growth to thicken it.  :)

    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    Grass seed for shady places tends to be finer varieties like fescues, which can look ok  but they aren't hard-wearing so wouldn't really stand up to children, dogs, outdoor parties etc. I use it for oversowing because it tolerates dryness better than regular lawn seed with rye grass, and I like the finer blades, but I don't have children or dogs and it's only walked on to get to the borders, compost bin and washing line. Even then the bit under the washing line and the route to the compost bin are looking worn by the end of winter.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    edited March 2023
    1.  Fertilise.   Start March i.e. now.  I would use a high nitrogen product or even sodium nitrate, urea or ammonium sulphate.  That will get the grass growing.

    2.  Kill the moss as a separate operation.  I use sulphate of iron as a solution of 6 tablespoons of powder dissolved in a 1.5 gallon watering can.  This will blacken the moss but not the grass.

    3. Kill the other weeds with a proprietary lawn weed killer.

    4.  Don't scarify.  This only spreads the spores.  The blackened moss will die, rot and become peat.  Why throw that away.  In situ top dressing!

    5.  When all this has taken effect rake strongly to loosed the surface.  Seed, applyng more to the thinnest patches.

    6.  Never mow too short.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • detsnpowderdetsnpowder Posts: 38
    Ive got same problem on one of my lawns. Tried moss killer last year but the dry summer nothing grew except the moss and clover. With the  the decent weather this year 23 I have raked it four times now and aerated same.  My policy is raking regular now so see if the grass takes over again but its always there. Normally I haven't touched the lawn until April so I hope my heard start will help. The battle continues.
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    Grammar and punctuation is important:

    "Mossy Lawn Limited Sunshine". I read as: " Mossy Lawn Ltd",  and wondered why it hadn't been reported as spam.

    I think you meant:  Mossy lawn, limited sunshine


     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    Give it a rest @bede, you are not helping the OP, but are becoming very tedious.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    It can be very laborious if the conditions just don't suit @detsnpowder. You may have to rethink if the weather is the same for you this year.  :)

    Children playing/using the grass is certainly tricky @JennyJ. When mine were little, we were lucky that there was an area of grass at the front which they used quite a lot, but also - I didn't have boys bashing footballs around which is much worse for grass!

    I wish you well with tackling it @arun_khan , and it's surprising how you can get an improvement with a bit of feed/weedkiller  etc, but you'll just have to see how it goes, and if it isn't going to work, you'll either have to get rid of the grass - or the children.   ;)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • arun_khanarun_khan Posts: 2
    bédé said:
    1.  Fertilise.   Start March i.e. now.  I would use a high nitrogen product or even sodium nitrate, urea or ammonium sulphate.  That will get the grass growing.

    2.  Kill the moss as a separate operation.  I use sulphate of iron as a solution of 6 tablespoons of powder dissolved in a 1.5 gallon watering can.  This will blacken the moss but not the grass.

    3. Kill the other weeds with a proprietary lawn weed killer.

    4.  Don't scarify.  This only spreads the spores.  The blackened moss will die, rot and become peat.  Why throw that away.  In situ top dressing!

    5.  When all this has taken effect rake strongly to loosed the surface.  Seed, applyng more to the thinnest patches.

    6.  Never mow too short.
    Thank you for your advice, i think i may give this method a try as a couple of people have said to pass the scarifying process.

    steps in 1-3 can i do them close together or do i need to give it a week between each step?

    also when i apply iron can this be applied to the whole area or just the very mossy areas?

    Thanks all for your contributions you have all been very helpful!


  • rossdriscoll13rossdriscoll13 Posts: 234
    @arun_khan just to say scarifying will only spread the spores if you don’t kill the moss beforehand. Which is why you spray the moss with Iron Sulphate and wait until it turns black.  Then scarify.  Scarifying is done to reduce thatch in your lawn.  A little bit of thatch is fine but too much will stop water and nutrients from penetrating down therefore the grass will fail to flourish.  Once the moss has been treated you will need to scarify to remove it.
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