Mossy lawn - no chemicals

[UntamedWisteria]

Our lawn is full of moss.

I'm an organic gardener. DH doesn't like the moss. How to deal with it?

Scarify and improve drainage.

I quite like the feel of moss underfoot though.

Is it shaded?

In some Japanese (show) gardens, they remove the grass with tweezers from their perfect mossy lawns! I remember that when I look, and bounce, on my mossy front lawn.
They can also support quite a big range of beasties.

Scarify and improve drainage by spiking it all over and brushing horticultural sand into the holes. Remove overhanging trees.

studies suggest just 12 square metres of moss lawn can apparently absorb as much carbon as 275 mature trees Blimey!

( www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/jun/03/blade-runners-the-joy-of-moss-lawns#:~:text=Once%20established%2C%20not%20only%20will,a%20far%20better%20carbon%20sink. )

Chickens.

I have a mossy lawn and love it! It’s so springy and lush. I did try to rake it out and scarify etc but let it be in the end. Sorry not to be any help whatsoever!

Small children bounce straight back up when falling on moss. Still looks green in a dry summer, grass is overrated in my opinion

Why doesn't he like the moss? Honestly in a shady garden it's really a losing battle. And it looks so nice and green.

Maybe you could fill it with lady's smock, snakes-head fritillary and other damp loving flowers and turn it into a wildflower "meadow".

Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus is probably what you're looking at. I find interlopers become guests once you can put a name to them.

It's part of a formal area of the garden - I already have a wildflower meadow elsewhere, so that's not really an option.

DH would like a stripy lawn that we can play croquet on.

Dr Hessayon says: (I precis)
"moss is a symptom and not the primary cause of rundown turf.. The only way to ensure permanent freedom from moss is to find the cause(s) and treat them.

1. Dampness, coupled with compaction and poor drainage (scarify and aerate)
2. Underfeeding (top dress)
3. Overacidity (lime)
4. Too much shade (remove lower branches)
5. Cutting too closely which weakens the grass (cut at correct height ¼"-1¼")
6. Drought (water)"

Buy an electronic scarifier, don't try doing it with a rake.

Listening to the Ologies podcast about moss, learn to love it!

I'm going to give mine a good rake and poke today
Then try this. Has good reviews, but is just chicken poo and grass seed.

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06XGXMQ6Z/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_W17GBX62PDGF8JXZV6CP?psc=1&_encoding=UTF8&tag=mumsnetforu03-21

That looks good Notavegan. I already use chicken manure pellets in my veg garden, so this might work.

Moss flourishes in damp, poorly drained areas. Thyme likes well drained sunny areas. I doubt whether it would work.

That’s just in case it’s useful for anyone, the OP must be long gone!