Lawn Moss
Lawn Moss - The Grass is Always Greener
As the saying goes, the grass is always greener on the other side where there is no lawn moss. The neighbors always have a nicer lawn! Moss on a lawn can be unsightly, aggravating and sometimes even dangerous. It can also be resistant to removal as the seeds will remain in the soil mixed with the grass. It often needs to be killed with a chemical formula, but this is more often just a short term fix as well as the moss will continue to return if the basic underlying problem is not found about its appearance in the first place.
So How did the Moss Get There?
There are a number of reasons why moss can grow in lawns. Waterlogging is one reason - especially after winter when the snow melts, the grass can be filled with water and will take a while to disperse. Also in summer after heavy rains and hailstorms the promotion of moss growing can take place. One can simply wait for the condition to pass if it naturally does anyway, but if there isn't much of an incline and water remains on the lawn some kind of irrigation or pump system should be used to remove the waterlogging.
Light green grass is an indicator that the grass is not getting enough nutrients and isn't being fed well. Lawn moss will thrive in these kinds of situations. Simply supplying the grass with plant food or even changing the soil under the grass to a more nutrient-rich variety will attempt to combat this cause of lawn moss.
Acidic soil is often the result of a number of things - it can be naturally occurring or the consequence of people emptying the ashes from their wood fires onto the soil. While raising acidity levels is certainly good for some plants (such as strawberries) it's not the best for grass because it promotes the growth of lawn moss. Acidity can be measured using commonly available litmus paper and can be corrected by using basic substances in the soil, commonly available from garden stores.
The Grass is Too Short!
Another common cause of lawn moss is mowing the grass too short. While lengthy blades of grass can be unsightly and hide dangerous forgotten objects and insects, if the grass is too short it won't take hold and moss may begin to grow. The correct balance needs to be found.
Grass that is often used by pets and children undergoes a process called compaction (which is simply the soil being flattened together). This soil then needs to be aerated every autumn to encourage grass to thrive and moss to die. This can be easily done with readily available machines from home improvement stores.
Other adverse conditions that can affect the growth of lawn moss and the depletion of grass are the quality of the soil (easily remedied by using better soil) and natural conditions such as drought which may kill off the grass. There is not much one can do about this last problem, unfortunately.
In General and Controlled Chemical Usage
Lawn moss thrives because of certain conditions and finding out what these conditions are and responding to them is the best way to remove it from the garden. If, however, there are small patches of moss that can be isolated and killed using chemicals, then this is certainly a viable option. There are chemicals available such as Dichlorophen which will kill the moss but probably some grass as well. The best strategy here is to use the chemical and then a few weeks later take out the dead plants and reseed with grass. But only use chemicals as a last resort: even the toughest lawn moss can be fought with a simple strategy of identifying the problem and tackling it using natural means!