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Lawn Moss Removal Options

medoc

Hi guys,

Sorry for a question that's probably been asked here more than once. I've a large countryside lawn that's very badly covered in moss. I was wanting to finally try and do something about it. I was thinking of hiring a petrol lawn scarifier to remove the moss. Is it ok to do it now in September or wait till next spring? Should I treat the lawn with a moss killer first or after? And should I add some grass seed and maybe a lawn feed/fertiliser?

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Roen

I scarified my lawn two days ago. The lawn is approximately 1 acre. As it was my first time embarking on a lawn renovation program I only did the back half in case it doesn't pan out.

The amount of crap that came up was unreal. I'd say at least 5 times the amount of grass cuttings judging by the size of the pile up the back.

The ride on struggled to collect the pulled up thatch so I had to rake it up manually. Filled 35 300l garden trailers.
I'm guessing that this was the first time the lawn was scarified by the sheer volume of what came up. So in many ways I imagine this is a similar position to yourself.

As a test I used iron sulphate on one patch to kill the moss a few weeks back.
There's no real difference between the patch where I killed it and the majority of the garden where I just ran the scarifier over it. So from that I wouldn't bother going to the effort of killing the moss.

I would say that you'd absolutely need some seed. I put down 25kg on the just under half acre last night. I have another 25kg in reserve and will use in about two-four weeks if needed.
I also put down about 75kg of granular lime too.

If your lawn is really big get yourself a broadcast spreader.

September is a great time to do it. Although I have seen people mention that if you'll end up with a huge amount of leaves on your lawn in winter then you may be better off waiting till spring to scarify.
Best of luck!

kevin67

was going to start another thread on my question but will hi jack this one if ok

does moss on roof tiles cause damage

i was cleaning out gutters and i saw that the roof has hundreds of wee balls of moss
now TBH i am not worried about look of roof but just wondering do they cause damage.
if so how the feck do i get them off as i suffer from vertigo so no way will i be going up on roof. it was bad enough on ladder for cleaning gutters

medoc

Roen wrote: »

......

I also put down about 75kg of granular lime too.

If your lawn is really big get yourself a broadcast spreader.

September is a great time to do it. Although I have seen people mention that if you'll end up with a huge amount of leaves on your lawn in winter then you may be better off waiting till spring to scarify.
Best of luck!

Great thanks for the advice. It's just over half an acre at the front so similar size to your half lawn. Just to clarify I scarify the lawn and remove the moss and crap first then spread the lime? And how long after the lime would I spread the seed? Do I scuffle the soil and rake it in after spreading just spread it across the top of the lawn?

mikeybrennan

medoc wrote: »

Hi guys,

Sorry for a question that's probably been asked here more than once. I've a large countryside lawn that's very badly covered in moss. I was wanting to finally try and do something about it. I was thinking of hiring a petrol lawn scarifier to remove the moss. Is it ok to do it now in September or wait till next spring? Should I treat the lawn with a moss killer first or after? And should I add some grass seed and maybe a lawn feed/fertiliser?

Best bet is dissolved iron sulfate in spring

A good strong mix and 3 or 4 passes

The lawn will die back a bit but will recover and no raking needed

Roen

medoc wrote: »

Great thanks for the advice. It's just over half an acre at the front so similar size to your half lawn. Just to clarify I scarify the lawn and remove the moss and crap first then spread the lime? And how long after the lime would I spread the seed? Do I scuffle the soil and rake it in after spreading just spread it across the top of the lawn?

Yes, correct.

I spread the lime the day before I spread the seed and was lucky that it rained that night so it was washed into the soil a bit.

You can get a product called Mobacter too that breaks down the moss via bacterial action and feeds the grass. It gets expensive very quickly though for a half acre site.

A good thing about iron sulphate is that it greens the grass temporarily and hardens the grass too.
It can drop the pH though and grass does not like acidic conditions.

I got mine from https://mistralie.co.uk/ in powder form, dissolved it and applied via knapsack sprayer. It blackens the moss within a day but I have found that I had black patches 4 months on from applying it so I decided to go with the scarifier rather than more iron sulphate.

chicorytip

medoc wrote:

Sorry for a question that's probably been asked here more than once. I've a large countryside lawn that's very badly covered in moss. I was wanting to finally try and do something about it. I was thinking of hiring a petrol lawn scarifier to remove the moss. Is it ok to do it now in September or wait till next spring? Should I treat the lawn with a moss killer first or after? And should I add some grass seed and maybe a lawn feed/fertiliser?

Gouldings Lawn Feed is excellent for treating even the most difficult weeds and moss. Ideally it needs to be applied (using a spreader) once per month between April and September so it's not too late for one treatment which will help condition the grass and also toughen it for the Winter months.

Holy Diver

Roen wrote: »

I scarified my lawn two days ago. The lawn is approximately 1 acre. As it was my first time embarking on a lawn renovation program I only did the back half in case it doesn't pan out.

The amount of crap that came up was unreal. I'd say at least 5 times the amount of grass cuttings judging by the size of the pile up the back.

The ride on struggled to collect the pulled up thatch so I had to rake it up manually. Filled 35 300l garden trailers.
I'm guessing that this was the first time the lawn was scarified by the sheer volume of what came up. So in many ways I imagine this is a similar position to yourself.

As a test I used iron sulphate on one patch to kill the moss a few weeks back.
There's no real difference between the patch where I killed it and the majority of the garden where I just ran the scarifier over it. So from that I wouldn't bother going to the effort of killing the moss.

I would say that you'd absolutely need some seed. I put down 25kg on the just under half acre last night. I have another 25kg in reserve and will use in about two-four weeks if needed.
I also put down about 75kg of granular lime too.

If your lawn is really big get yourself a broadcast spreader.

September is a great time to do it. Although I have seen people mention that if you'll end up with a huge amount of leaves on your lawn in winter then you may be better off waiting till spring to scarify.
Best of luck!

What is the purpose of the granulated lime?

Roen

Holy Diver wrote: »

What is the purpose of the granulated lime?

Raises the pH and conditions the soil basically. Also adds calcium and magnesium (some types of lime). It can also help free up nitrogen in the soil for grass to use.
I've also heard it can improve the structure of the soil too.

Irish_rat

Personally I'd wait for the Spring when the growing season starts again you can treat the lawn and have it recovering going into the summer probably throw a bit of fertilizer down to get it in good nick.

SoupyNorman

Roen wrote: »

I scarified my lawn two days ago...

Hey that’s a great post, very informative.

My half acre is only ripe for scarifying, never been done I’d say. In terms of tools for the job what did you use to scarify?

I was looking at hiring one, €80 for a weekend.

Roen

SoupyNorman wrote: »

Hey that’s a great post, very informative.

My half acre is only ripe for scarifying, never been done I’d say. In terms of tools for the job what did you use to scarify?

I was looking at hiring one, €80 for a weekend.

I hired a petrol one, was the same price. Other than the scarifier I used a wide rake and a trailer for a ride on to collect the rakings. A wheelbarrow would do if you don't mind a lot of walking back and forth to the place you're heaping it.

The ride on itself wasn't picking up the thatch as the scarifier kicks it out in loose bales. The ride on was choking on these.

I thought about spreading these bales out with the rake so the ride on would collect them but I said feck it, manual labour it is.
That's about it really as far as the scarifying was concerned.

Scarifier
Rake
Trailer/barrow.
Best of luck and lay down plenty of cider!

macraignil

Roen wrote: »

Raises the pH and conditions the soil basically. Also adds calcium and magnesium (some types of lime). It can also help free up nitrogen in the soil for grass to use.
I've also heard it can improve the structure of the soil too.

I reckon that is all true if your soil is acidic, but if your soil isn't acidic then it's not much help. Some areas have limestone based soil and extra lime will be of no benefit. There are ways to test the pH of the soil to find out if raising the pH would be of help. Also some plants do better in acid conditions and they can act as an indicator of what type of soil you have.

macraignil

kevin67 wrote: »

was going to start another thread on my question but will hi jack this one if ok

does moss on roof tiles cause damage

i was cleaning out gutters and i saw that the roof has hundreds of wee balls of moss
now TBH i am not worried about look of roof but just wondering do they cause damage.
if so how the feck do i get them off as i suffer from vertigo so no way will i be going up on roof. it was bad enough on ladder for cleaning gutters

I don't think moss would cause damage to roof tiles and have seen some roofs with loads of moss with no damage done. Sometimes weeds will sprout in moss and root forming plants then might grow through the gaps in the tiles and cause a problem for the roof after a few decades. The tiles would probably have started to disintegrate by then anyway.

I've seen a window cleaning company with an extendable brush system that would reach up to 20meters plus from the ground but this might spray too much water through the gaps in the tiles. If you're concerned there is probably a roofing contractor you could hire out to clean the roof if you thought it was worth while.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

kevin67 wrote: »

was going to start another thread on my question but will hi jack this one if ok

does moss on roof tiles cause damage

i was cleaning out gutters and i saw that the roof has hundreds of wee balls of moss
now TBH i am not worried about look of roof but just wondering do they cause damage.
if so how the feck do i get them off as i suffer from vertigo so no way will i be going up on roof. it was bad enough on ladder for cleaning gutters

According to the UK National Federation of Rooming Contractors (120years in existence)

moss on roof tiles is rarely a problem and only needs to be removed if it is blocking gutters, outlets and other drainage points on the roof.

Roen

macraignil wrote: »

I reckon that is all true if your soil is acidic, but if your soil isn't acidic then it's not much help. Some areas have limestone based soil and extra lime will be of no benefit. There are ways to test the pH of the soil to find out if raising the pH would be of help. Also some plants do better in acid conditions and they can act as an indicator of what type of soil you have.

Yep, my soil is quite acidic clay, hence the lime. I should however have noted that it's not necessarily the case for everyone.
Most garden centers will sell soil pH tests quite cheaply as you state and they are available online too.

Mooooo

20 to 30 euro would get you a soil test that would tell you Ph and p and k levels available in most coops. Lime would be helpful to the majority of soils if fertilizing and cutting a lot. Just on the level of seed in the op, you could prob use less if you wanted, when seeding 15kg per acre would normally be about the run of it.