Lawn Sand for moss. Spring or Autumn use?

[Blair]

I intend using lawn sand to kill the moss on my lawn and wondered what the best time was for spreading it? Spring or Autumn?

[Christian McArdle]

Try uk.rec.gardening.

Christian.

[Neil Jones]

If you really must use this, then spring would be best.

If you use it now it will kill the moss, but then the bald patches will just encourage more moss to colonise your lawn and in 6 months time you could be back where your started.

If you wait til late spring the grass will be growing strongly and if you regularly cut your lawn you will encourage the grass to move into the unoccupied areas. Mosses usually come off second best compared to healthy grass in the growing season.

However, remember that moss is a symptom of an underlying problem. If you do not identify and rectify this problem you will get moss back in your lawn.

[Blair]

Thank you Neil for your help.I will take your advice and spread in the Spring. I live in a countryside area that appears to affect everyone. The lichen grows really well on the trees so had assumed that the moss was a symptom of clean air. My drainage is very good. What else could cause the problem? Regards Blair

[Neil Jones]

If you have a compacted lawn, the grass may well be very shallow rooted. In times of low rainfall (ie the summer) the grass will find it harder to survive and can suffer significant dieback or suffer other stresses which allow lawn weeds, including moss, to move in. If you spike your lawn and top dress it with eg sharp sand you will relieve compaction, allow more gas exchange, and improve the drainage. All of these will encourage the grass to root more deeply, meaning it is more able to survive periods of stress and leave smaller opportunities for mosses to get a look-in.

Do you know what type of soil you have?

Neil

[Blair]

Very sandy soil Thanks for the advice Blair

[Blair]

You are right Christian I should have! But Neil has replied so I am staying at present. In the future I will do the right thing! Blair

[Neil Jones]

With sandy soil it's almost certainly not waterlogging, as you have indicated, so without anything else to go on I suspect soil compaction is your problem.

[Andy Dingley]

What does "lawn sand" do ? I thought it was just sand, to encourage better drainage on clay soils ? My understanding was that moss, like dry rot, was basically inevitable if the drainage was poor, and that improved drainage was really the only way to go. Does this lawn sand have any "active" effect too ?

My knowledge of gardening is admittedly negligible. If I ever wanted to kill moss, I'd just try watering it. No plant has ever survived that.

[Blair]

Lawn sand has a chemical in it which kills the moss and it turns black. Blair

[Thomas Prufer]

Or low nitrogen? Sand wouldn't hold nitrogen well -- and isn't lawn sand a mixture of sand, iron sulphate, and some nitrogen fertilizer (ammonium sulphate, something like that). Maybe addition of something organic would help, in releasing nitrogen slowly, or a timed-release fertilizer.

Thomas Prufer

[Neil Jones]

compaction

Could be - my experience of light soils is limited to say the least.

[Derek]

It contains ferrous sulphate which turns the grass a vivid green, but the effect is temporary.

The sand/ferrous suplhate mixture collects in the open texture of the moss and poisons it, whereas it does not stick to the blades of grass.

DG

[The Natural Philosopher]

Thanks for that Thomas. I believe you are right. I laid a lawn on tposoil over old builders sand and other crap, and one area seems mossy and poor growing: I assumed it was poor drainage, but even when sopping wet it doesn't perk up, and when the cats crapped on it and made a little pile of soil and crap, the grass shot up!

If you can't find cat crap, fish blood and bone seems to encourage grass, and once the grass is there, the moss cannot cope.

Don't over do it though. I spilt some and the grass died off, except or a ring round the spill that shot up!

[adder]

Dog p!ss has a similar effect - I now have brown circles of dead grass surrounded by rings of grass that are growing about twice as fast & thick as the rest of the lawn thanks to a visit by my parents dog.

[Andrew McKay]

Female dog p!ss, as far as I know. Male dogs don't cause grass discolouration. And that isn't because male dogs don't squat either.

I could be wrong though.

Andrew

If you need help with those general DIY projects you can give me a call. More information about what I can help with can be found on my web site:

[adder]

This was a female dog yes. bitch.