BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: JHW
Date: 15 Mar 21 - 07:47 AM

Brushed some John Innes No 2 into the mossy bits. (Didn't spot any actual No 2s) It was what I had. Front lawn can be cut with no box so leaving the trimmings behind. (When the crocuses are gone)

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: selby
Date: 13 Mar 21 - 04:03 PM

A mate of mine used nematodes and had no success, we dug a small part of our lawn up and left it for 3 years planting veg and in that area, they have gone from that area . They have now appeared on another area with a vengeance, the problem I have is my lawn is 30x150 uk yards = 4500 square yards . Thanks for the suggestions keep them coming
Keith

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 13 Mar 21 - 11:56 AM

Wiki:

"The present scientific consensus is that birds are a group of maniraptoran theropod dinosaurs that originated during the Mesozoic Era."

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: Jos
Date: 13 Mar 21 - 11:50 AM

I believe not all theropod dinosaurs were birds - but the ones that weren't, or their descendants, are unlikely to visit our gardens.

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: Raggytash
Date: 13 Mar 21 - 10:10 AM

Theropod dinosaurs ??

I take it you mean birds but I don't think birds classify as "Theropod Dinosaurs"

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 13 Mar 21 - 09:35 AM

The nematodes are expensive and they don't work when it's cold. I bought the ones last summer that deal with vine weevils in my containers, of which I have many. In a couple of weeks' time when I tidy up the pots I'll be able to see how well they worked. I'm hoping not to find any of those horrible little white grubs. As for your chafer grubs, try putting damp wads of newspaper over the affected area overnight. It encourages the grubs to come to the top. Take up the paper in the morning and let the theropod dinosaurs do the rest.

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: Senoufou
Date: 12 Mar 21 - 02:05 PM

There are products containing microscopic nematodes which enter the chafer grubs and kill them. I think one of these is called Nemasys. Better than chemicals or insecticides, it attacks them from within and doesn't harm the environment.

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: selby
Date: 12 Mar 21 - 01:34 PM

Has anyone had dealings with Chaffer beetle in their lawn and what did you do to eradicate it

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: selby
Date: 12 Mar 21 - 01:34 PM

Has anyone had dealings with Chaffer beetle in their lawn and what did you do to eradicate it

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: JHW
Date: 12 Mar 21 - 08:40 AM

Half a dozen purple crocuses blooming lovely about the lawn just now so no mowing yet.
Moss not that bad, 15% maybe.

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 10 Mar 21 - 08:01 AM

I got trimmed there... more abundantly each year.

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 10 Mar 21 - 07:58 AM

I think I do about 1/3 acre here. A large part of this is off the land we rent in the field and my efforts there are simply to ensure the track is kept wide and clear. One year we had by far the densest and tallest area of thistles I’ve ever seen and I don’t think the pickup that delivers our logs would have got through it although I guess the person who empties the septic tank would have made it – he uses a big tractor.

We like to keep our own bit looking tidy (although at the moment there are a number of bald patches caused by mole hills) but (while we might refer to some of it as our lawn) that doesn’t involve say trying to turn it into a bowling green.

Going back to my parent’s last property in N Wales (about ½ acre with much on a slope and little depth of soil), that had a lovely patch of cowslips that we didn’t cut until the flowers had died down. Mum used to make a wine with some of the flowers but the cowslips came back more abu

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 10 Mar 21 - 07:38 AM

I don't. I regard that as remedial action for a mossy or badly-drained lawn. Once you've speared it and top-dressed it, and after a summer of leaving the clippings, the worms will work their backs so that you don't have to. I never use weedkillers or chemical fertilisers.

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: G-Force
Date: 10 Mar 21 - 07:12 AM

I have almost half an acre of grass...

So how long does it take you to go over it with a fork? I get knackered after about 100 square feet. Or do you have some magic technique?

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: Jos
Date: 10 Mar 21 - 06:43 AM

Last time I sat on my grass a member of the 'wildlife' bit me, so now I sit on a bench or chair.

(I used to be able to sit down on the ground, or get up again, without using my hands, so I could do it holding a pint of beer without spilling it. How times change.)

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 10 Mar 21 - 06:01 AM

It's fine to mow little and often. Just keep the cut a bit higher. And a lot depends on what your lawn is for. I have almost half an acre of grass and I cut it fairly long about once every six or seven days in summer. The bits we sit out on or which are next to paths are kept free of clippings as we don't want them all over the house. The rest is a bit rougher and contains things that you might regard as weeds if they were on your pocket handkerchief picnic lawn. On the whole we sit out mostly on paved areas. The soil is clay and the climate is damp and we get to park our arses on grass only a few times in the summer. Anyway, I'm of an age now when, if I sit down on the grass, I can't get up again...

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: Senoufou
Date: 10 Mar 21 - 03:26 AM

I entirely agree with you Dave. It's ridiculous to lump all men together and give them a single character trait! Most of our male neighbours definitely hate mowing lawns. Many have put a permeable membrane down and covered it with slate chippings. I find this rather soulless and stark, but each person can do what they like with their own garden.
Alan Titchmarsh, another presenter of BBC gardening programmes including makeovers, usually lays large amounts of excellent turf to create lawns. And they're mown closely for the 'months later' shots.
In spite of his reluctance to mow, husband is very proud of our pretty garden and has taken many photos of it to show his friends and family in Africa, where lawns are very rarely seen. They always comment on 'la belle pelouse'.

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 10 Mar 21 - 02:04 AM

I like Monty Don and think he is a fine gardener but in this case I think he is talking out of his arse. I, and most men I know, would happily not mow the lawn if they could avoid it. I suspect he is doing his bit of putting down men in general as control freaks. Some are, some are not, most are somewhere in the middle. Just like women really.

I timed my mowing/mulching just right. It was dry yesterday and I managed to do the double mow in about 20 minutes, leaving the clippings on. Peed down overnight and is still at it :-(

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: Senoufou
Date: 09 Mar 21 - 02:40 PM

Monty Don from BBC Gardeners' World has commented that it's a mistake to mow lawns too often. He claims it's a 'man thing' and men like to control the lawn, wanting beautiful stripes and a very closely-mown surface.
His reason for 'men' to stop doing this is that it restricts the variety of wild creatures and flowers living among the blades of grass, and the appearance is (in his view) more relaxed and beautiful when the grass is allowed to grow fairly long.
I translated all this to my husband, and he did a little African dance of joy!!

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 09 Mar 21 - 09:30 AM

I think I may have hit on an idea. I'll mow once on the highest setting then drop it down and notch and mow again. It still won't take long!

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 09 Mar 21 - 04:26 AM

Thanks John.

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 08 Mar 21 - 10:59 AM

Just to give you a link, Dave I've no advice on it.

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 08 Mar 21 - 10:21 AM

This is, I think, the replacement model for the small one we have, Dave.

It comes with a catch though. You probably need to be or be prepared to be bought into the Ryobi One+ set up to make it worth while. I already was as the very happy owner of two drills (one hammer and one drill/driver) batteries and charger so it was a reasonable progression for me but starting from scratch and adding battery and charger would get towards doubling the cost!

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 08 Mar 21 - 10:17 AM

And never cut the grass if frost is forecast.

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 08 Mar 21 - 10:13 AM

Thanks Steve - Will do. I'll have to wait for it to dry a bit now though! I guess if it is too damp I can just use the collection box as usual.

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 08 Mar 21 - 10:04 AM

You said your lawn was little, Dave, so instead of mulching (all that means is that the mower chops the clippings up small), just mow it a bit more often so your clippings are small anyway...Don't cut it too short either, thinking you can spread the intervals out. That encourages moss too!

Using moss killer just leaves bare bits for the moss to grow back! You need to be thinking encourage grass, discourage moss - that means healthy topsoil (so topdress it once a year with that good ol' Mossers cheapo compost) and good drainage (a good forking-over and clippings to encourage the worms).

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 08 Mar 21 - 09:54 AM

OK - Things are now a bit more complicated as it looks like my mower does not do mulching. As a trainee Yorkshireman I should not spend any money at all but I suppose a bit of dosh followed by a quick "How fuckin' much?!?!?!?" may be acceptable. Cheapest I have seen is this on eBay -

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/203226171496?chn=ps&var=503616458569&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=710-134428-41853-0&mkcid=2&itemid=503616458569_203226171496&targetid=1140298853173&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9046590&poi=&campaignid=12125451044&mkgroupid=122515173971&rlsatarget=aud-629407026865:pla-1140298853173&abcId=9300480&merchantid=7131094&gclid=Cj0KCQiAs5eCBhCBARIsAEhk4r7g3C-mlf9PC5jSAGHeSHfYq5KNbUHxFYNEkNkC4eRLc8EntYbhSKMaAqfBEALw_wcB

Do yer own C&P as it doesn't fit in the clicky maker :-)

Is it worth me investing in it?

D

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 08 Mar 21 - 08:42 AM

I've never put anything on our grass or aerated it anywhere I've lived and not had significant (I have had and still have one odd tiny patch) problems with moss.

Next door has problems with the strip of grass that passes our kitchen window. They put something on it and it all went black and looking horrible for months. Grass has come back but I notice moss has too.

The mossy area stops around the gate to the field which is where I start cutting (it's all part of the same farm track/right of way). It think they have a bit of a disadvantage in that their tall wooden fence makes it the most shaded part but I think they are cutting their bit way to short. By my own (perhaps faulty...) way of thinking, the grass and moss are in competition and they are giving the moss the upper hand.

I've got 2 mowers, a 55cm petrol one which has a lever to set to mulch and a small battery one which needs (and always in place here) a bit inserted to mulch. I must admit I don't think I've ever particularly thought about it benefiting the ground. As long as you don't let the grass get too long or cut wet when you will get clumps, it is also a hassle free way of having a tidy(ish) cut without the need to empty a mower's grass collection box.

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: JHW
Date: 08 Mar 21 - 05:52 AM

Local Pub (for those who remember) had Early Bird menu.
Worm and Chips.

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 08 Mar 21 - 04:23 AM

Gotta be patient about worms, Dave. There not be many there right now. They'll build as you leave the clippings on. Maximum worm activity is in the autumn. I don't use any chemicals of any kind on my grass.

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: Senoufou
Date: 08 Mar 21 - 03:37 AM

Haha Raedwulf, he certainly has! I call him my 'pilier de sagacité'. (Pillar of Wisdom) But he mowed both lawns yesterday, in spite of starting with tree-pollen hay fever, poor man.
No moss in either lawn. That product I sprinkled on last autumn obviously worked well and the grass is extremely green. (Sounds silly, but here the lawns can be a bit yellow due to drought and rather sandy soil. Green grass is a luxury!)

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 08 Mar 21 - 02:22 AM

It has rained overnight so perfect timing to wash the compost in. The worms will be having a party. So will the blackbirds!

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 07 Mar 21 - 05:25 PM

Unless your lawn is pure moss (unattainable I should think) you'll still have to mow it because of tufty bits of leggy grass sprouting up here and there.

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: Raedwulf
Date: 07 Mar 21 - 05:02 PM

What's wrong with moss? Let the little devils thrive. You'll never need to mow them...


There was a waiting room & a magazine. If the writers / editors had been male, saying "Oh, women blah..." there would have been outcry. Instead, the writers / editors were two women, and the message was about how men obsess about lawns, see anything Not Grass as a Bad Thing & how wrong that is, etc. Sexist crap, frankly, and if it had been a male writer saying that of the opposite gender...

Moss is good, moss is healthy. Moss doesn't need mowing. To misquote Pink Floyd, "Hey, Keeper! Leave your moss alone!" ;-)

Sen - Husband has rather more sen(se) than you, lass! ;-)

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 07 Mar 21 - 01:58 PM

Got that - thanks Dave.

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 07 Mar 21 - 01:55 PM

WAV Mossers=Morrisons

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 07 Mar 21 - 01:50 PM

Just been up to the local offie. They used to be a Spar till they sacked him for doing something dodgy! Anyway, he has got in a very reasonable range of Italian wines by someone called "Di Marco". There was a Nero d'Avolo but I have gone for the Primitivo from Puglia. Very nice it is too but after a couple of hours gardening followed by a trek round the local hills and moors (or is it mills and ho... Oh never mind) I suspect anything would taste good :-D

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 07 Mar 21 - 12:56 PM

I don't use it for owt else but the Mrs might. I have not control over that :-D

Do I really just leave the clippings on the lawn now and nowt else? Sounds too easy!

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 07 Mar 21 - 12:31 PM

When I last visited Sydney in their summer 2019, I saw a lawn ruined by too much fertiliser and not enough watering.

And did Dave really end up going to a place called "Mossers" for his lawn?!

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 07 Mar 21 - 11:57 AM

Yebbut don't use that compost for owt else, Dave. As potting compost it's rubbish! Tha gets what tha pays fer, tha knows...

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 07 Mar 21 - 11:52 AM

As well as being forked it has now been covered in sh... errr, compost. Not sure if I put enough on but it's better than nowt.

Mossers have compost on sale at £10 for 5 s 40 litre bags. £8.50 with my staff discount :-D I put 3.5 of them on and brushed it in with a yardbrush. Looks a bit like the Somme now but I guess it will soon clear.

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 06 Mar 21 - 01:53 PM

Heheh!

JHW, did you list all your girlfriends in alphabetical order and were there plenty more after Girlfriend J? I don't think I ever got past Girlfriend E (aka Mrs Steve, I should think). Bloody Catholic Church... I did get a very nice gardening book off Girlfriend D just before she dumped me... :-)

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 06 Mar 21 - 12:39 PM

Gone all over the lawn with a fork now. Can I reuse the fork straight away or should I put it in the dishwasher first?

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: JHW
Date: 06 Mar 21 - 11:07 AM

Have used Weed and Feed front and back but not last year as I might not have survived the year and not seen the garden this year. I'm happy to see it this year in any state.
Once took girlfreind J round a garden with tumbled stones and statues, lots of brambles. Possibly abandoned in the 1700s. "See its not worth worrying too much about the garden"

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 05 Mar 21 - 05:55 PM

Trad Japanese or Chinese gardeners would definitely say "moss lawn"; in December 2019, I visited Nan Lian Garden in Hong Kong and took some photos of the moss lawns there, then attached them to my poem on "China and India in 1988"

Never been, but on TV I've also seen some excellent such gardens in Kyoto, Japan.

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 05 Mar 21 - 04:52 PM

Top dress, top dress, top dress, JHW! My front lawn is rocky subsoil three inches down, but I still got rid of the moss!

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: JHW
Date: 05 Mar 21 - 03:56 PM

Next door took out their lawn and put down sheet and gravel. Mine is mostly moss but the years I've put stuff on it there has been loads of brown to remove and look horrid until the moss comes back. Tried the fork aeration, could hear and feel the prongs scraping the rubble below.
Plant labels suggest 'moist but well drained' ground. Mine's moist I reckon, so not well drained.

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: Senoufou
Date: 05 Mar 21 - 02:52 PM

In our last house we had a huge garden of half an acre. Magical ride-on mower dealt with the grass. We had a wildlife pond (not ornamental, but natural, to encourage frogs, newts etc which it certainly did) But the nicest part was an area of grass only cut once a year (to deter nettles and other noxious weeds) All sorts of wildflowers grew among the grass, and of course all the pollinating insects frequented it. It looked a bit untidy but that didn't bother us. I believe they're very much in fashion nowadays (good thing!)
However, it all got a bit much for us (doddery old pair!) so we moved to this bungalow with a teeny weeny garden, small vegetable plot and these two small lawns. Husband does NOT like mowing them (electric push-mower, no ride-on) but bless him he does it.

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: Jos
Date: 05 Mar 21 - 02:22 PM

I'd rather have decent quality paving (and plenty of plants in pots) than artificial grass.
And I have seen artificial grass full of weeds after several years. Getting rid of them and whatever dirt and dust gets blown in by the wind could be a lot more work than brushing a terrace.

Subject: RE: BS: Lawn moss or a moss lawn?
From: Raggytash
Date: 05 Mar 21 - 02:10 PM

I'm getting a quote next week to replace the "lawn" in the back garden with artificial grass.

Now before you jump up in horror, my health is failing and I can no longer cut the grass and my good lady is not getting any younger so it seems a reasonable thing to do.