large areas of moss
Hey, doctordog. Ken here with The Home Depot in the Chicago area. Sorry to hear about all the moss. Moss is a product of not enough light, too much water (soggy soil), and/or low ph of the soil. You can kill it with moss killer but if you don’t change anything it will grow back. Chrisn is right. You have to change the ph of the soil. Go to your local garden center and get a bag of lime. Moss loves a low ph, but lime will raise the ph of the soil. Spread it down and water it in.
When the moss starts looking bad, get out your hard rake and rake it off the soil. Throw it on your compost pile or dispose of it. Now get out your tiller and till up the soil. Smooth it out and throw down some dense shade grass. Cover the seed with no more than a quarter inch of soil.
This will keep the birds from eating the seed and help keep it moist. In a week or two you should start seeing some sprouts. Remember to not mow for 3-4 weeks to allow the new grass to set its roots. By the way, since you put down lime, the soil ph will be much better for grass growth. I hope this helps. Good luck and take care.
Hey, doctordog. Ken here with The Home Depot in the Chicago area. Sorry to hear about all the moss. Moss is a product of not enough light, too much water (soggy soil), and/or low ph of the soil. You can kill it with moss killer but if you don’t change anything it will grow back. Chrisn is right. You have to change the ph of the soil. Go to your local garden center and get a bag of lime. Moss loves a low ph, but lime will raise the ph of the soil. Spread it down and water it in.
When the moss starts looking bad, get out your hard rake and rake it off the soil. Throw it on your compost pile or dispose of it. Now get out your tiller and till up the soil. Smooth it out and throw down some dense shade grass. Cover the seed with no more than a quarter inch of soil.
This will keep the birds from eating the seed and help keep it moist. In a week or two you should start seeing some sprouts. Remember to not mow for 3-4 weeks to allow the new grass to set its roots. By the way, since you put down lime, the soil ph will be much better for grass growth. I hope this helps. Good luck and take care.
