Connacht Gold Garden Centres

Firstly we need to understand why moss grows. It requires moisture to spread and here in the West of Ireland we have the climate to give it plenty of that! This is why it comes to people's attention more in spring and autumn. Poor drainage compounds this, so it is important to help alleviate this problem, by aerating the lawn in the autumn. This is done using a hollow tine, or solid tine aerator or a garden fork. Afterwards brushing in a lawn dressing keeps these 'pores' open allowing excess water to drain away. Moss also loves shade so thin out any over hanging branches to allow more sunlight through. Lastly moss will thrive on poor quality soils, so ensure your grass has plenty of nutrients to out compete it.

Now that we understand why it grows its time to tackle the problem.

Treating badly effected lawns

In late march/early April apply sulphate of iron to the lawn. This is a white powder and is applied straight. For easy application use a lawn spreader. It may also be applied using a knapsack sprayer at the dilution rate of two mugfulls per knapsack. Be extremely careful handling the product, it is an irritant and will stain concrete, tarmac and clothing. Be careful near borders so not to scorch plants.

Overnight you will see the moss beginning to turn black. Leave for two weeks. After this period, rake up all the dead moss. This is very important. Failure to do this will just compound the problem in the following years. For larger lawns use a scarifier. These can often be rented from hire shops.

After all the moss is raked up your lawn will probably look bare and, the worse for wear. Fear not! Now apply Connacht Connacht Gold Feed, Weed and Mosskiller. As the name suggests, this contains lawn feed; this will feed the grass encouraging it to cover in the bare patches, weedkiller; this will kill and weaken lawn weeds before they can become established, and mosskiller; this will kill off any remaining moss and help green up the grass.

Re- apply Connacht Gold Feed, Weed and Mosskiller again in July. This will ensure a healthy grass sward, adding more nutrients to the soil and ensuring a healthy and lush lawn, decreasing the possibility of moss returning.

In September it is vital that lawns that are badly affected are aerated as explained previously. Autumn feed may also be applied. This will strengthen the sward for the harsh winter and encourages root development.

By regularly applying a three in one feed, weed and mosskiller every year to your lawn it will make it extremely difficult for moss to re-establish. One of the biggest mistakes people make is treating the problem one year, and not doing anything again for three or four years. As the saying goes prevention is better than cure, so improve the drainage and treat regularly.