Badly drained garden - How/When to kill off Moss

space2ground1

Hi all,

After the grass growth slowed down, big sections of my garden are being overrun with moss. The drainage has always been awful and I've done everything I can to improve that without much luck.

Here's a pic of the problem..


What should I use to kill off the moss and when's the best time to do that?
I'd imagine if I rake that ground now, I'll be left with huge bare sections. Re-seeding isn't the best plan as I've tried that every year in patches that get overrun again every winter with moss.

Thanks!

solargain

Put sulfate of iron on the grass , used to green up cabbage , it will blacken the moss. Don't spill it on concrete paths it turns them rusty

bytheglass

Following this because I have the same problem.

Is now the right time to treat it?

lazybones32

The moss is only the symptom; poor drainage is most likely the problem.

No easy way to ensure free-draining lawns (the excess water needs to drain somewhere other than down)

Don't be in any great rush to get stuck in...we're still in Winter and it'll be March before the soil is warm enough for grass to grow and repair itself.

https://www.pitchcare.com/ An excellent site that can help you with everything you need to know/do. I'd recommend following the rugby pitch maintenance programme but it might be more suited to intermediate/advanced gardeners...

http://www.howtogarden.ie/lawn-care-maintenance-guide/

solargain

I would wait until the real growing reason starts, put out the sulphate of iron, rake it after it turn black & shake grass seed on it. Like the last poster said its either bad drainage or no traffic on it like dogs & children.

vicwatson

With the SOI applied you'll see it turn black almost in front of your eyes

space2ground1

Thanks a lot for all the advice. I'll give it another few weeks and then get the SOI on it. It should be a little less boggy by then.

Once I've raked the black moss off, is it ok just to put seed down on the ground as it is or should I cover it in moss peat?

Dig all

If you can get a scarifier and go around the lawn it should take out a lot of the moss and get a box of lawn repair put on plenty of it , also get an aerator and aerate the lawn every week and it should stop the damp staying on your lawn.