Q&A for How to Get Rid of Moss in Your Lawn

I am by no means an expert, but this what I have learned. If you want to fix your lawn, it isn't a one and done or one month of work and done thing. It is providing the proper type of care needed, only if needed, and during the right season. Thatching is best done in spring. Overseeding is best done in fall. Overseeding should be coupled with topdressing. A very sparse amount of top dressing at that, not even complete cover, just enough to protect some of the seeds, hold moisture, and provide nutrients. The best time to take care of moss is during a dry spell.

Spring is the time to do it and, yes, you should cut the lawn first. What I do is, at the start of the growing season, I cut the lawn on a low setting, collecting the cuttings. Then I spray on an iron-based moss killer and lawn tonic and leave it for two weeks. Then I use a power rake to get the moss out. Next I overseed, but don’t use any fertilizer for six months. At the end of the growing season, I use a winter fertilizer after doing an aeration with a bladed aerator.

Quality fertilizer every three months applied liberally or to manufacturer's directions. Water thoroughly at least every hree days during all dry spells. Water in the morning, the earlier the better. Mow your lawn long (NOT shaved to the ground) but at least 50 to 70 mm long. Talk to your lawn and love it.

Anytime between spring and fall. You can even use lime and overseed at the same time, if you have a lot of moss go heavy on the lime and do this yearly until moss clears up. Then every 2-3 years add a light to moderate amount of lime to your lawn.

Only with starter fertilizer. Regular fertilizer or weed & feed fertilizers can burn and kill seeds and new grass.

You can purchase moss soap at most home improvement centers or landscape supply stores.

Read the packaging of the moss killer, but usually you have to wait 1-2 months before you can plant anything new.

If your lawn is not growing grass at all and obviously has compacted thatch, then yes, for best growth, dethatch and aerate. Before putting any fertilizer down, send a soil sample to your state extension service or state university soil lab; they'll give you better advice than a private company. You need to know the acid/alkaline composition before fertilizing. Beware of fertilizers with high nitrogen (the first number)! It will make your lawn green, but will not promote root growth. The runoff also pollutes water sources (algae blooms). Root growth is promoted by potassium (the second number). I use 5-10-10.

In my experience, pressure washing works best. I have an aggregate walkway from my front porch landing to the garage landing. So, many small stones and crevices that collect debris and moss. Every other year or so, I rent a pressure washer and pressure wash my walkways, garage pad and driveway, and the sidewalk in front of our property. This has been a pretty dependable and thorough way of removing embedded, baked-on dirt and debris, as well as moss, from these areas. The result is often stark enough to inspire my neighbors to do the same to their sidewalks and driveways. Depending on the location and size of the crack, I have used a "liquid concrete" to fill any cracks that attract soil, weeds, moss and gravel.