Moss is indeed a weedy nuisance in our lawns whenever it appears, yet moss should be considered not just as an unwanted weed, but as a clear warning to us that something is very wrong in our lawns at whatever place the moss shows up.
Moss requires very specific conditions in which to propagate and grow, and these conditions are the same conditions which will lead to poor lawn health. The resultant bare patches in our lawn where we have the poorest conditions will be the same places where the moss will then present itself.
If that area of moss affected turf were instead in optimal conditions, there would be no moss present, instead our lawns would be thicker and healthier in that area. Even if the area in question were still susceptible to moss due to still having partially favourable conditions, the healthier turf would drown out any little amounts of moss which may appear.
In essence, an area welcoming to lawns is hostile to moss… and vice versa.
Solving Lawn Moss
The cure therefore for moss in lawns is to make amendments to the affected lawn area, to make the area more welcoming to a healthy lawn, and we can tackle this head on from a number of different fronts at once.
Before beginning with any amendments to improve our lawns and soils, we may want to dig out any moss already present, we can do this with a small garden spade or even a small hand spade.
Shade is by far the biggest contributing factor to limit lawn health and promote moss. We should then remove as much shade as we possibly can from that area, which usually implies pruning bushes or trees. If we cannot remove the shade, that perhaps it comes from a fixed object such as fencing or a shed, we could look at removing the lawn in that area and to instead install a path or garden bed instead. Another option may be to consider a more shade tolerant lawn type such as Buffalo grass for the affected area. The most shade intolerant lawn types like Couch and Kikuyu will always die out the quickest in shaded areas, thus making ideal conditions for moss.
Increasing lawn mowing heights in shade will also help improve lawn health in these areas.
Soil compaction is another condition which favours moss and hinders lawns. We can aerate the soil with a garden fork by pushing the fork deep into the soil and then pulling back on the fork to really get the soil well aerated. For an entire lawn which is compacted we can consider the use of a lawn coring machine instead.
Poor quality soils and soils which retain a lot of water, as well as overwatering lawns can all promote the growth of moss. Improving soils and reducing watering can help to control moss in lawns in these situations.
Lawn fertilisers will help to promote lawn growth and all round good lawn health throughout the entire year. A good year round fertilising program will also aid in improving lawn health to drown out the moss, and make the same more fertile area less favourable to moss. Soil pH levels, either too high or too low can also contribute to moss in lawns, fertilisers will once again help with correcting this situation too.
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