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Help I have loads of moss on my lawn and the wet weather hasn’t helped…What am I to do ? Thanks DM Malin
Guide to moss control The most effective moss control is best achieved by having a healthy grass. Increasingly mild and damp weather is adding to this troublesome moss problem in lawns. There are three types of moss - upright moss, trailing moss and cushion moss and they all thrive when conditions are detrimental to healthy grass growth. ÂThere are four main factors:
Moss is a direct result of low plant vigour, low fertility, poor soil conditions or lack of available nutrient. All conspire to favour the growth of moss rather than of grass.Â
Organic treatment of moss Lawn Sand. This effectively burns off the moss while providing a boost to grass growth. Sometimes more than one application will be required.
Feeding. A good long-term strategy for moss control is through regular feeding to keep up the vigour of the grass.
Careful mowing.  Removing excessive amounts of green foliage, more than 20% at any time, places the grass under great stress. Leaving the grass excessively long will create a damp microclimate on the surface and will weaken the finer grasses.
Chopping back. If possible open up the area by cutting back shrubs, trees and hedges to let the light in.
Reducing acidity. The application of lime should be undertaken very cautiously as it may result in other problems. The use of a product such as calcified seaweed would be a safer form of moss control.
Good drainage. If all else fails then you might have to put in some serious drainage…. or, like the rest of us, learn to live with it…...Best of luck.
Buy a moss rake from Amazon WOLF-Garten Multi-Change Roller Moss Removal Rake URM3 
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Moss is a relatively weak plant which is easily crowded out by grass which is a stronger plant. However, when the circumstances favor moss and disfavor grass it can be almost impossible to get rid of moss in a lawn. Only changing the cultural circumstances will help.
Moss require consistent moisture. If the top surface of the soil dries out, the moss will die. However, it does not need good soil to grow in. It can even grow on concrete or stone if moisture is consistent. Moss therefore does not like direct sun, but prefers shade which keeps things more moist.
Grass, on the other hand grows best in direct full sun. Even so-called shade cultivars do better with more than less sun. Grass prefers a deep cultivated soil and do poorly in low light, on a hard compact soil surface.
Therefore to encourage grass and discourage moss you would need to provide as many cultural advantages as possible in favor of grass:
- soil should ideally not be hard and compact, but have room for roots to grow. Hard, compact soil such as heavy clay or surfaces with lots of tree roots are not friendly to grass, but adequate for moss.
- the best way for grass to grow (providing soil is loose as above) is to water deeply to throughly wet the soil to a dept of 10-12" and then do not water again until the soil is dry in the top few inches of the soil. This will discourage moss and result in grass growing longer roots in search of water. This will subsequently make the grass even more resistant to occational draught.
In winter (when you would not water) it is almost impossible
to keep the lawn dry and therefore allowing as much sun in as possible is really your only option. If you find that moss grows in the winter, the best you can do is to improve conditions for grass in summer (and discourage moss) but you will never get as good result as a lawn which gets more sun in the winter.
- moss require very little nutrients to sustain itself. Grass, on the other hand, regular regular fertilizer to be healthy especially it is already strained by lack of sunlight, moisture, compaction etc.
- The more grass blade you leave on the grass plants the more leaf tissue there will be to catch the sun. Especially in shade, it is important not to mow the lawn too low. If you do, you weaken the grass. Grass can compete with moss, but not if weakened.
Therefore, to win the battle with moss you should:
- water infrequently but deeply such as once per week for 2 hours instead of frequent shallow applications. The goal is to wet the root zone deeply and then do not water until the top surface of the soil is dry.
- fertilize in spring and fall (in northern areas) and in summer in southern areas of the country
- mow the lawn high and mow frequently. It is better to mow the lawn at 2.5-3.5" (height after mowing) instead of 0.5-1.0". this result in healthier grass and makes it better at competing with moss.
- if possible, prune as many low hanging branches as possible to allow as much light in as possible.
- overseed with a mixture of fine fescues (in northern areas) to allow this type of grass to dominate. Fine fescues are the best grass types for shade.