Moss in grazing ground

case5130

Have some ground that's getting thick with moss it's a peaty type soil but not deep peaty ground . got it soil sampled because of the moss thought needed lime but sample says it's fine .. Was reseeded 3-4 years ago .. Any advice on how to get rid the moss ,.. Can it be sprayed or will I harrow it and shake seed ...Tia

Sam Kade

Lime kills moss, it only grows in acidic soil so your situation is fairly unusual.

greenpetrol

Sam Kade wrote: »

Lime kills moss, it only grows in acidic soil so your situation is fairly unusual.

Sulphate of iron will kill it

Bass Reeves

Is your P ok as well. Was talking to a lad about sampling lately hew is of the opinion that in limestone area's that we may be getting false readings. He said that some labs are making the sample into a paste to test it. They are putting it through a machine that grinds the whole sample to dust. This breaks up any small splinters of stone and the resultants dust from the limestone gives a higher ph than it should.

Sami23

case5130 wrote: »

Have some ground that's getting thick with moss it's a peaty type soil but not deep peaty ground . got it soil sampled because of the moss thought needed lime but sample says it's fine .. Was reseeded 3-4 years ago .. Any advice on how to get rid the moss ,.. Can it be sprayed or will I harrow it and shake seed ...Tia

Very same situation here. Very black peaty soil sampled twice and never needs lime but lots of moss in it.

case5130

Bass Reeves wrote: »

Is your P ok as well. Was talking to a lad about sampling lately hew is of the opinion that in limestone area's that we may be getting false readings. He said that some labs are making the sample into a paste to test it. They are putting it through a machine that grinds the whole sample to dust. This breaks up any small splinters of stone and the resultants dust from the limestone gives a higher ph than it should.

P and k bit low be told go with slurry or 18-6-12 but the moss is what I can't understand

case5130

Sami23 wrote: »

Very same situation here. Very black peaty soil sampled twice and never needs lime but lots of moss in it.

Mine was covered with heather till we reclaimed it

Bass Reeves

case5130 wrote: »

P and k bit low be told go with slurry or 18-6-12 but the moss is what I can't understand

Low P will allow moss to grow as well I think.

case5130

Bass Reeves wrote: »

Low P will allow moss to grow as well I think.

Should I harrow it or spray it

Bass Reeves

case5130 wrote: »

Should I harrow it or spray it

Be slow to harrow it as you could spread it. I be more inclined to spray it.Is there a large area of it. Might be an idea to spread a bag of gran lime/acre on the effected area and give it some 10.10.20.

case5130

Bass Reeves wrote: »

Be slow to harrow it as you could spread it. I be more inclined to spray it.Is there a large area of it. Might be an idea to spread a bag of gran lime/acre on the effected area and give it some 10.10.20.

What spray would I use ... 4-5 acres

Bass Reeves

case5130 wrote: »

What spray would I use ... 4-5 acres

Do not know but there is a spray for moss out there. On an interesting point was looking at fertlizers there is a granuphos product by Gouldings, 32% cal and 11.5% P and 7.2% mg. It might be worth sampling that specific area again before you do anything it will only cost about 25 euro if you do it yourself. If it is an anomoly in the farm it may test different.

case5130

Bass Reeves wrote: »

Do not know but there is a spray for moss out there. On an interesting point was looking at fertlizers there is a granuphos product by Gouldings, 32% cal and 11.5% P and 7.2% mg. It might be worth sampling that specific area again before you do anything it will only cost about 25 euro if you do it yourself. If it is an anomoly in the farm it may test different.

Was tempted to do it again larkin the other fields I sampled I'd be happy with the results and agree with them ... Might try 18-6-12 and see if there's any improvement ...if not might hit it with 1 ton lime acre

RoscommonTom

ROUND up is the best bet

J.O. Farmer

RoscommonTom wrote: »

ROUND up is the best bet

To get rid of grass or moss?

blue5000

I reckon it's just the really wet winter that's caused it to spread.

djmc

I think some of the response might be a bit of an overkill unless you want a full reseed anyway.
I have similar ground and had a lot of moss on it in the past and usually found a covering of slurry or fertiliser like can or urea would turn it around fairly quickly
Grass will grow and smother out any moss once temperature picks up once it gets some nitrogen to do so.

CloughCasey1

case5130 wrote: »

Was tempted to do it again larkin the other fields I sampled I'd be happy with the results and agree with them ... Might try 18-6-12 and see if there's any improvement ...if not might hit it with 1 ton lime acre

Use 18-6-12+S or any fert with a S little and often and it will help keep it at bay.

J.O. Farmer

CloughCasey1 wrote: »

Use 18-6-12+S or any fert with a S little and often and it will help keep it at bay.

What is the benifit of sulphur other than keeping moss at bay. Also is there drawbacks if too much such as locking up other minerals such as molybdenum locking up copper at higher pHs

CloughCasey1

J.O. Farmer wrote: »

To get rid of grass or moss?

Sulphur is needed for protein which drives on growth. As grass grows both sulphur and nitrogen are used together so ground laccking in sulphur will decrease nitrogen use efficiency and reduce yield. One time grassland used to get enough sulphur from emmissions but as quality of air improves it needs to be topped up.