Moss is created by cool, moist, shaded areas around your lawn, or damaged areas of grass.  Moss is a symptom of unhealthy grass, resulting in poor grass growth, which in turn causes areas of moss to develop.

Things that create this problem may be one or several of the following:

• Water clogged soil in areas
• Shade created by large trees and shrubs
• Areas affected by grass-grub, brown beetle or piranha all of which then leaves your lawn exposed, with damaged grass and grass roots.

So how do you sort your moss issues out?

Start by pruning trees and shrubs to allow more sunlight and airflow across your lawn.  Check what kind of soil you have underfoot. Is it heavy, hard compact soil? Is there a lot of clay in your base soil that causes grass to have trouble growing? Does water pool in areas when it rains? If yes, these conditions all inhibit drainage/aeration.

To improve aeration in your lawn, take a garden fork and work it deep into the soil to create air holes for ventilation. To help keep these holes open, you can sprinkle sand or pumice through the area which will help with both aeration and drainage.  If your drainage problem is more serious, then you can try to encourage water run-off by digging small deep channels in your garden or edges of your lawn. If it’s pooling, creating large puddles or sunken areas, maybe having a reputable company advise you on how to take measures to deal with the problem, possibly an extra drain or soak hole will help tackle this issue.

If it’s grubs or beetles that are the culprits, which cause brown dead patches of grass, there are a couple of products at Oderings to help, so come on in for some friendly advice.

So now you’ve fixed the cause, it is time to treat the symptom... MOSS!

Try to rake out as much as possible with a good sturdy rake or scorer then apply some moss killer. Follow the directions and wait 2-3 weeks for results.  Once the moss has died, it’s time to sow more grass seed.  Rake the area again to remove any remaining dead moss spores and help prepare the area for sowing more seed. Oderings Special Blend Lawn Seed is ideal for this situation. Water well once sown. Once seed has germinated and has grown to approx. 5-7cm high, fertilise with Oderings Lawn Replenish, which can be applied to new or established lawns.  Water well especially if it’s hot/dry or windy conditions. Remember not to mow your lawns too short, as grass may become compromised resulting in damaged grass roots.

Within a few short months you should have lush, green, moss free lawn... EUREKA!

Important note: Without fixing the problem that has caused the moss in the first place, it is likely to return. Although products will kill the existing moss, they will not stop it from reoccurring if the cause of the moss is not fixed.