Moss Control in Lawn
 

Looking for advice and suggestions.....
I have moss, creeping into part of may lawn, especially the 'backyard area closest to the woods, that has a lot of shade.

In the past I was able to control (somewhat), the moss problem.with 'moss killing' powdered product, but currently unable to find at Lowes or Home Depot.

Where can I purchase this type product? Also, are there home-created concoctions that can produce the same results?

Thanks for your feedback !

How did you do with getting rid of the moles ?

PondGuy,
Never go to treat lawn for Moles, but they never returned ! :)

Lime
 

Shade is always a problem. Depending on what creates the shade, pine, oak, their drops make the soil more acid. That means you need to add lime. That's a slow acting remedy and may have to be repeated annually. Using moss killers is really a temporary, small area fix. Maybe you can plant something besides grass? Pachysandra does well in shade and tolerates acid soil. Same with Myrtle (Vinca). I like both as ground covers because the fill in well after a couple of years and grow thick enough that leaves don't penetrate. Control the edges with your lawnmower, no trimming needed and no edging needed either. Scotts, probably others, offers a grass seed intended for shade, but high acid will still be a problem that needs to be resolved. Inexpensive soil test kits are available at local garden centers.

Agree, PH test kit and lime. And maybe more lime.

Alan

Excellent suggestions Descant. I've also planted many varieties of Hosta, ferns, Cranesbill (a shade-loving perennial geranium) and astilbe. Way easier than trying to grow grass in the shade. Spider Web gardens is my go to for this stuff. They also have an excellent shade garden inventory under the pines at Sias Family Farm. On Rt. 28 near the Hannafords on Rt. 16.



https://www.facebook.com/SiasFarmGardenCenter/

Middleton should either have on hand or be able to acquire rather quickly Bonide MossMax.

When purchasing lime skip the $4 bag and look for a product that is called "rapid" or "speed" lime. It is far more concentrated and much quicker reacting. Admittedly it is four times as expensive, but you will need to put down four times as much cheap lime to achieve the same ph correction as you'll get from concentrated lime. If you have a lot of clay in your soil mix the rapid lime about 50/50 with gypsum to break down the clay and improve the drainage in the shady areas.
You might also want to put down a shot of Milky Spore to get rid of the grubs. It takes longer than a product like Grub-ex, but it is far less toxic and safer. Milky Spore is deadly specifically for grubs and beetles, but inert for most other life.

Lime again
 

Sounds like everybody agrees on lime. So, it can have issues. Powdered lime will cake and be impossible to spread if it gets wet. If you have a metal spreader, left over time, lime will eat the paint and the spreader will be rusty very quickly. Lots of wash down needed after use. Plastic spreader is better but should still be cleaned/washed. Pelletized lime is a little easier to spread, and less prone to caking, but more expensive per square foot. So, lime is lime, right? If you're in a store that only knows one kind, you're in the wrong store. Should be a garden center where they specialize and don't primarily sell lumber and appliances with garden stuff on the side for 10 weeks in the spring.
Oh, BTW, Hosta and some of the other plant recommendations are great. Deer love Hosta and some other plants, so ask about that before you start planting. You can make a beautiful Hosta bed with a few different varieties. Once planed, just enjoy. No further work after the plants are established. Then you can cut them in half and trade with other perennial gardeners.
I guess that's a little beyond "How do I get rid of the moss?" Sorry. LIME.

Actually, he didn't ask us for lime.

Without a soil sample, no one knows what the pH is.
Without confirmation of the types of trees... no one knows how much damage changing the nearby soil pH will do to the trees.

What he asked for is a product similar to what he was purchasing.

Thanks everyone for your great suggestions, much appreciated !

The last time I was in Heath Ace hardware I saw a couple of bags of Scott’s Moss control on the shelf.

If you wanted to test the Ph you can take a soil sample to Osbornes Agway in Tilton. They will test it for free.

An equally important question is what happens after you kill the moss. If, say, you remove it with a detaching machine, don't you then have to add a lot of topsoil to plant grass or whatever if the moss was extensive? Especially if your property is on granite ledge with a thin layer of soil. This could be expensive and labor intensive.

Hit it with the Moss Control or Moss Out. You need to do it in spring. Best applied after a light rain or drizzle when moss is wet. It will dry on the moss and a couple days later (without additional rain) you will see the moss turn black and die. It can then be raked up. After that lime the heck out of it. Like above I prefer the concentrated pelletized lime. Ph test is a good idea but as mentioned above if it’s shady poorly drained etc it will likely be a process that gets repeated.

I used a product called "Wet and Forget" on my roof a couple of times and it did the trick. Of course it helped that we had a huge oak tree cut down (that was threatening the house). That would be another option......get rid of the trees? :confused: :laugh: Protect or cover any surrounding plants or bushes from the run off. Anyway they have a whole series of products to address moss on different kinds of surfaces such as masonry, shower stall......and others

One of the few products that works EXACTLY as advertised.

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Not really. The moss doesn't root that deeply. It especially likes thin soils or soils with high compaction. The depth of the soil after its removal is more about what you would like to see grow there... differing plants have differing root depths. Turfgrass would need about four inches... topsoil not being the best choice with the ledge below.