EXCLUSIVE: Expert gardener Peter Dowdall says the most common question he is being asked at the minute is from people wanting to know how to remove moss from their lawns
EXCLUSIVE: Expert gardener Peter Dowdall says the most common question he is being asked at the minute is from people wanting to know how to remove moss from their lawns
An expert gardener has revealed the most common question he is being asked currently — and it is how to remove moss from lawns.
Peter Dowdall, who is affectionately known as The Irish Gardener, said moss was a perennial problem in the UK and Ireland because the climate is both damp and warm, two conditions that the stubborn flowerless plants love.
However, with spring well underway, many homeowners are looking to combat moss growth, especially after cutting their grass, but Peter insisted that simply throwing something on the lawn to fix it should not be the answer.
Speaking exclusively to the ECHO, he said: “What I do like to avoid, most moss killing or moss treatment products that you get in garden centres are based on sulphate iron.
“I don’t like to use sulfated iron in the treatment of moss because of what it does. It does turn the moss black and kills it, but it works by acidifying the soil so it decreases the PH of the soil, and what that does is it creates the ideal conditions for moss to come back because moss likes a low PH.”
Peter explained that moss is usually a symptom of what is beneath the grass and that compacted soil, which is common in new builds, leads to poor drainage which then results in conditions ideal for moss growth.
As for what people should do if removing moss is important to them, Peter advised: “First of all you scarify the lawn, which is really like a mechanical rake, it is just physically removing the moss and the patch from the surface of the lawn.
“Once you have done that then, you try and improve the soil structure by erasing it so erasing it really is just creating many tiny tiny little holes in the top two inches of the soil and you can either leave those holes open or you can push grit or sand into them to help with drainage — this will certainly help.”
However, he did say that the above is an annual job if you were keen on constantly keeping your lawn moss free.
He then posed the question on whether we needed to hate moss and whether it is necessary for gardens to be completely weed free.
Peter, who has worked on Irish gardens for over 30 years, said moss is beneficial for several reasons including for cleaning the air.
Finalising his point on moss, he concluded: “If you want a perfect moss free lawn, I am not going to judge, but it is just important you do it in an ecologically sound way without using chemicals and do it in the way I have described there.”
He said our desire for moss free lawns could be down to marketing over the years but he laughed: “We are giving ourselves hours of more work every year, days more work every year, and really, if the lawn is just something that you are happy to look out on and for it to be green, maybe moss isn’t a huge problem, and maybe have a moss lawn and get rid of the grass!”
For more practical garden advice, see Peter Dowdall’s Garden Q&A
