lawn sand help

[neil1280]

Can i use sand from the beach instead of lawn sand?

Im having a major problem with moss in my grass, if you could even call it grass because its about 85% moss!!

i have gave it a hell if a rake and airated it, it was very dense and i may have been cutting the grass too short, and now i need sand but there is a beach just around the corner so I thought i could save a couple of quid in doing this

[Aberdeenplotter]

Lawn sand is made from sulphate of iron and sulphate of ammonia blended with silver sand. The iron sulphate kills the moss and the sulphate of ammonia gives the grass a boost. What you take from the beach will not kill moss or feed your grass and may get you in trouble

[arpoet]

From experience working down our bowls club, its very easy to scorch your grass applying Lawn Sand.. so please follow the instructions carefully and ensure you water well within a day of applying if you dont get any rain.

[Two_Sheds]

If your lawn is 85% moss, you need to assess whether it's really too shady for grass?
You may be on a hiding to nothing

[FB.]

If your lawn is 85% moss, you need to assess whether it's really too shady for grass?
You may be on a hiding to nothing

Agreed.

I'd also look at digging up the lot and re-sowing with one of the modern grass types that are better suited for your needs.
You can get "shady place" grass seed and a variety of other "special situation" seeds.
At the same time, you could modify your topsoil to be more suitable for grass - dig in whatever you think your garden lacks.

[neil1280]

Thanks everyone, it could be for a number of reasons but im gonna try and cover them all, I think the big problem was that the surface is as hard as a brick, the outside borders are fine where where it gets little traffic.

I have 2 lawns seperated by a path, I scarified the right side, scraping up as much moss as i could, putting the pitchfork in every 6 inches over and over and over, sprinkled on some compost and used a seed i bought last year which has grown extremely well on a patch i covered last year, gave it a good water and feed.

Hopefully I will see decent results from this.

This seem's to be a big problem throughout the neighbourhood everyone nearby has the same problem except for the southfacing gardens, but my garden is side-on and gets sun all aftrenoon

[neil1280]

Agreed.

I'd also look at digging up the lot and re-sowing with one of the modern grass types that are better suited for your needs.
You can get "shady place" grass seed and a variety of other "special situation" seeds.
At the same time, you could modify your topsoil to be more suitable for grass - dig in whatever you think your garden lacks.

I had considered this whats the easiest way of doing it?

[FB.]

I had considered this whats the easiest way of doing it?

Depends on the reason why you're getting so much moss.

Also depends on your location/climate (can you add that to your profile?).

I'd be inclined to scoop-off the top inch or two by cutting out squares with a spade, then fork-in something such as sand into the native soil to restore the original soil level (but with the sand giving better drainage properties), then re-sow a more suitable type of grass seed.
Good garden centres and nurseries usually have a variety of lawn grass varieties, depending on what you need.
You can get grass for shady locations, grass with better drought tolerance, or extra-thick grass for hard-wearing, or finer grass for that perfect lawn look.