We moved house last summer and inherited a patch of deep fried crispy seaweed (well that’s what it looked like at the time!).

Its mostly moss with a few tufts of grass. Basically a gonner.

So what to do to get it looking half decent? I’d rather seed than turf, its very sandy soil (good for grass right?) But we’ve got 2 large oak trees which make it quite shady.

So after advice on preparation – would borrowing a scarifier break up the surface enough to rake in some seed?

And are there particular seed types/ mixes which are better for our situation?

Not looking for a bowling green, just something tidy and low maintenance (are slower growing grasses a thing?)

This is the current embarrassment.

Looks very similar to ours so watching with interest.

Looks very similar to ours so watching with interest.

I was just thinking that looks an improvement on ours…

What are you doing in my garden?

I’d put some weed and feed on in spring, that will kill off the moss and weeds. Then give it a really good rake with a wire rake to clear all the moss and dead matter.

At this point you will think you have gone too far and killed everything but fear not.

Next seed, adding fine compost to the worst areas as it will help the grass seed and stop the birds from eating it. Keep it well watered.

Unless you are looking for a bowling green, that should rescue pretty much anything.

Was about to start a similar conversation- front lawn is a sea of moss with isolated clumps of grass, which will become a sea of moss and weeds with isolated clumps of grass in the spring.

Bigger problem for us us that its on heavy clay soil, north facing so shaded half the year, and slopes as well.

So if I start with the feed and weed, presumably need to use a fork to aerate it and maybe add some sharp sand or something to help drainage? And seed it as well somewhere in the process.

A bit late now, but a late summer / autumn seeding would probably have been helpful.

‘Sulphate of iron can also be applied on its own by diluting the powder in warm water and applying in a watering can with a fine rose or in a sprayer with a coarse nozzle. The rate is 5 g/m2. The iron will rapidly blacken the moss which can then be left for a week or two before raking out.’

and it’s dirt cheap. Rake it all out and don’t cut it short

If it was me, I’d rotivate the lot. Start anew. Give the oaks a good trim to reduce summer shading. Returf. Choose wisely depending on use. Then religiously feed and scarify when needed.
Simply seeding and scarifying that mess will be a waste of time.

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/lawn-care/lawn-substitutes/moss-lawn/how-to-grow-a-moss-lawn.htm

It’s amazing how well a lawn will come back with some tlc.
Sandy soil will be lacking nutrition hence moss outcompeting them grass.

First thing to do is kill the moss. As mentioned, powdered iron sulphate is really cheap. A 25kg sack kept in a dry place will last you a lifetime. Apply as directed. Just take your time getting the dilution right then write it on the watering can in permanent marker. Sorted forever. You can do this now as you want cool, damp weather.
Leave it two weeks then hire a scarifier. Bribe friends to help rake up and get stuck in. Aim for at least 4 passes in different directions and don’t go deep into the soil.
Once it’s all piled up somewhere it’ll break down and reduce to pretty well nothing over the year.
Apply another dose of moss killer. This will properly get to all the little bits that remain.
If you moss kill once or twice a winter then you’ll never have to scarify again.

Next, learn how to feed your lawn. A rotary spreader is nice and buy fertiliser in 25kg sacks, it’s way more economical. Little and often is better than a load all at once.
Just buy the one called ‘spring and summer’ for now.
Once a year you can use a weed and feed granule. Around May is a good time. Never apply in drought conditions.

That should do it. Each individual blade of grass can spread around 6 inches over the summer. It’s rare to need to re seed.

I’m a professional gardener btw. Been doing this for decades.

Attack a square metre with a scarifier. Reslise there are better things to do with your life. Also miss is nice and spongy for barefeet.

Joshvegas +1 Young children that play in the garden all year round and a dog = trashed lawn. Moss looks nice and green in the summer 🙂

I reseeded last autumn but also covered with a ‘germination sheet’ to keep the temperature and moisture up and birds off. This can be expensive but on a recommendation from a groundsman’s forum I used scaffold netting, a roll cost me £40 and covered most of my lawn – you can still water through it, the light goes through and the grass grew up through it.

Prompted by this thread I chucked iron sulphate all over our grass moss the other day. It doesn’t half work fast! it looks like there’s been a terrible fire now.

I am not looking forward to raking it all up. Hopefully the job can be partially delegated to a four year old, kids love that kind of job, don’t they?

Hopefully the job can be partially delegated to a four year old, kids love that kind of job, don’t they?

I’d be encouraging a small person to at least wear a mask when raking it up though – iron sulphate is pretty non-toxic but can cause breathing problems and is mildly irritant to skin and eyes too.