With the first flourishes of spring finally appearing before us, it’s time for gardeners to race outside and become reacquainted with their green space.
It’s a time for planting spring blooms, tidying up the debris from a very blustery winter and preparing the garden for six months of sun and growth.
However, according to BBC Gardeners’ World presenter Monty Don, the extremely wet winter we just experienced may have led to some overgrowth of moss in your garden and between pavement slabs.
Writing in a recent blog post, Monty said: “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.”
How to safely get rid of moss
So, to get rid of moss in your garden, you just need to do a couple of small things. The gardening expert recommends working on the moss “at least once a year” by sticking a fork in the ground where the moss is, and wiggling it about, repeating this process every six inches or so.
Once you’ve done this, Monty recommends mixing up equal portions of sieved topsoil, sharp sand and sieved leaf mould or compost. Spread this across the areas you have pricked and brush it in with a stiff broom, filling the holes with the mixture.
Finally, to help your grass grow evenly, Monty said it’s worth giving the lawn “a good scratch” with a wire rake. This will get at all of the overwintering thatch and moss, letting light and water get to the soil and roots of the grass.
Finally, put the debris on compost and mow your lawn. Monty says that the lawn will look “a little bald” for a week or so but will grow back thicker than ever.
Brb, off to deal with some pesky moss.