Unfortunately, my lawn has a lot of moss (if you look closely) this is because I’ve gone for the ‘wildlife effect’ i.e. too lazy to mow the lawn.

Moss is a signal of a lawn with problems. To control the moss, it is important to tackle the underlying causes of moss.

Causes of Moss

• Damp, poorly drained soil.
• Dry sandy soils which are infertile.
• Acid soil
• Too Much Shade. Moss is almost inevitable in heavily shaded areas. You could cut back the trees, but, it can be a shame to remove a shady spot on the lawn. Don’t forget moss is not the end of the world.
• Infrequent Mowing
• Cutting too low

Basically, moss thrives where grass struggles to grow. The best way to prevent excess moss growth is to provide conditions for strong grass growth. This involves.

• Well drained soil
• Watering in dry spells
• Regular grass feed and use of weedkiller.

Moss Killers

Spring is the best time to apply a moss killer, you could use a lawn sand (ferrous sulphate). This burns the moss and provides a boost to growth giving the lawn a rich green colour which is the envy of many gardeners. Alternatively, other more general lawn weedkillers will contain an active ingredient such as dicholorophen. Many commercial lawn treatments include several active ingredients to kill a variety of weeds and moss and provide food at the same time.

Other Tips for Dealing With Moss

• Rake the lawn. After application of weedkiller, you can rake away the dead moss. There will be spare patches of soil which may attract weed seeds, so try adding lawn seed at the same time.
  Scarify and aerate the Lawn. This procedure helps improves drainage and makes grass stronger. You can also try forking the lawn in autumn and adding sand.
• Lime if necessary. If your lawn is very acidic try adding lime to reduce the acidity. However, don’t lime unless you do a ph test and find it really is acidic.

Moss Control at Amazon.co.uk

Related

• Composting Moss
• Common garden weeds
• Weeding a Garden