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Moss is often a challenge for people looking to grow a nice lawn in the mountains. I often get calls from people looking to get rid of the moss in their yard so that they can grow grass. There are a couple of things that you’ll need to check to ensure that you can have a moss free yard. Oftentimes folks think that grass should be easy to grow, but given the right conditions, moss will be even easier, and can take over your yard. So let’s talk about moss, the things that enable it to grow, and what steps you can take.

Moss can form a thick mat over the ground, suppressing the growth of plants underneath it. There are actually many different species of moss, and some people collect them to create a moss garden. Moss does not spread by seed like most plants, but produces spores. These spores are blown around by the wind. That means if you have a spot that has the right conditions for moss to grow, there’s a good chance that the moss spores will find it and start growing. Moss will send up tiny stalks called sporophytes. The sporophyte is how moss reproduces and spreads.

There are four factors that create an environment that moss likes and grass will dislike. The first is compaction. Compact soils don’t leave enough space for grass roots to grow. In compacted soil, grass will get started but die out, because the roots are strong enough to support the plant. Tillage and aeration help alleviate soil compaction.

The second factor is pH. Grass, and most plants like a pH that is in the 6 – 6.5 range. Moss on the other hand likes a pH that is more in the 4.5 – 5.5 range. The 4.5 – 5.5 range is where our native soil will usually fall. Applying lime to bring the pH up into the preferred range will give grass a chance to grow. Bring a soil sample into the Extension Office to check your pH for $10. We’ll be able to tell you how much lime needs to be applied.

The third factor is shade. This is a big factor for us in the mountains with the amount of woods that we have. Moss grows very well in the shade; grass will struggle. Tall fescue will do better in the shade than most grasses, but will still thin out over time. Cut tall fescue to 4 inches in the shade to give it a better chance of surviving.

The fourth factor is drainage. Right now, everyone has a problem with drainage because of the amount of rainfall we’ve had. Heavy clay soil is going to have less drainage than loamy soil in river bottoms. Sloped soil has better drainage because there is more runoff. Creating a channel that allows water to flow out of your yard helps with drainage.

In situations that have a mixture of these four factors it will be very challenging to grow grass instead of moss. Ferrous sulfate can be used to kill moss, but if the environmental conditions aren’t changed, the moss will only return. The same thing goes for scraping moss off. If you have questions about moss contact you County Extension Office or email me at Jacob.Williams@uga.edu.

I was planning to have a Spring Garden Kickoff in Towns and Union. Due to COVID-19, I am moving that class online. It will be streamed on Facebook Live from Towns’ and Union’s Extension Facebook pages. Go to those pages or email me for more information on how you can ‘attend’.

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