What to do After Getting Rid of Moss

Timing

After any invasive treatment you should always assist the lawn to recover. This is easier if you’ve been wise with your timing and nature is helping by providing some warmth, sun and rain to speed things along.

As far as I’m concerned the lawn is there for my benefit and I want it to look respectable all year round. You should be able to achieve the same regardless of whether you’ve got a kiddies play lawn or a masterpiece. Just get your timing right!

Kill the Remaining Moss

If you have or had moss in the lawn a dose of ferrous sulphate or MossOff applied by watering can or sprayer after raking will kill any moss left in the lawn. It should penetrate deeply into the moss now that you’ve thinned it with your raking. This is one of the best ways of reducing moss infestation. If you applied ferrous sulphate prior to raking ensure at least 4 weeks between applications if using it twice. MossOff can be used without regard to leaving extra time.

Over Seed

Add lawn grass seed. If damage is patchy then a light sprinkling (10 to 20 seeds per square inch – no more) into those areas may be all that is needed. However, if you’ve done a thorough de-mossing or de-thatching then it’s risky to expect a full and uniform recovery so get some grass seed into the whole lawn.

If you’re going to be using iron sulphate or an iron fertiliser AND over seeding then put the seed in a couple of days afterwards. 

Aid Recovery

Get some fertiliser into the lawn. I always use a fertiliser containing potassium (all Lawnsmith fertilisers contain potassium) as this helps the grass fight off the stress of the raking and will help protect against disease. In addition a fertiliser for sandy soil, even if you have clay soil is most beneficial when seeding as it contains more of the nutrients required by young seedlings. This means in spring or summer using our Spring & Summer for Sandy Soil or our Natur and in autumn using our Autumn feed. You can apply the fertiliser on the day of seeding but better results can be obtained by fertilising when the seed has germinated. Walking on seed or seedlings is not an issue if you wear smooth soled shoes and tread gently without twisting or turning.

Finally, pray for gentle rain and be prepared to get the sprinkler out if you’re the unlucky sort!

Mow the lawn on a normal schedule to keep your original grass from over powering the seedlings. Mow high, with sharp blades on a dry day.