If you have an overgrowth of moss in your lawn, then don’t worry. Monty Don has an easy and effective trick to eradicate the damp nuisance from your garden in time for spring
As we come into spring and the weather begins to warm, many of us will be pottering out into our gardens. In fact, according to the Royal Horticultural Society, an incredible 30 million Brits practice gardening as a hobby.
It’s not hard to see why. Gardening comes with a host of benefits to not just your home, but also your health. It gets you moving on top of allowing you to soak up the elusive British sunshine. Plus, planting fruits, flowers and other plants will also beautify your garden, making it an even more pleasant space to lay out in once summer rolls around. The only issue? After a long winter, many of us discover that our gardens are in less than perfect condition. One prevalent problem is the overgrowth of moss, which typically occurs in cool damp environments.
Moss poses a problem in gardens as it competes with grass for sunlight and nutrients. It essentially suffocates the grass, as it siphons water from the surface before it can reach the plant’s roots. Even worse, grass doesn’t grow much when temperatures fall below 8C. This means that winter provides the perfect opportunity for it to spread. TV personality and host of BBC’s Gardeners’ World, Monty Don advises that you’re better off getting rid of moss sooner rather than later. Especially if you want to spruce up your lawn by giving it a springtime mow.
Monty wrote in his blog: “Moss is always a symptom of poor drainage, made worse by shade. Unfortunately even the best prepared soil becomes compacted by matted roots, rain and, especially, normal family use.”
He continued: “The best grass likes very well drained soil. Moss, for example, is always a symptom of poor drainage, made worse by shade. Unfortunately even the best prepared soil becomes compacted by matted roots, rain and, especially, normal family use. The answer is to work on it at least once a year by sticking a fork in the ground and wiggling it about and repeating the process every 6 inches or so.” Monty’s solution for addressing poor drainage that leads to moss involves one easy step. He suggests “sticking a fork in the ground and wiggling it about”. You should repeat this about every 15cm.
On the issue of mowing he said that the grass should be mowed in March, but not to cut it too short. Instead, it should be given a light trim, as this will encourage healthy root growth and as a result the grass will be a lot healthier and more resistant to summer drought. He explained: “To get a ‘good’ lawn you have to think positively. Put your efforts into healthy grass rather than fighting perceived ‘problems’ like daisies, moss, ants, worm-casts, moles, plantains, dandelions and fairy rings. Nine times out of ten if the grass is healthy then everything else will look after itself.”