# Moss in fields- best way to get rid?



## Spottyappy (30 March 2013)

Coming out, I hope, of this awful extended winter one of my paddocks seems to have had a growth spurt of moss. Field was harrowed and rolled about 3 weeks ago, in the narrow window of dry mild weather. 
Any ideas on how to stop it, and regain grass? There is lots of it, like about half the paddock.
The paddock is usually rested over winter and is a summer field, but this year had to be grazed due in part to me having major operation and being unable to do things, and in part cobs the other paddock got too wet and muddy.
Ideas appreciated.
Thanks.


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## kellybee (30 March 2013)

Iv looked into this at length and it seems There are loads of methods. Iron sulfate will kill it but you'll still have smothered grass. Liming your soil will make moss miserable and grass very happy and scarifying the soil will pull up moss and dead thatch whilst also aerating the grass roots. We looked at scarifying then liming but obviously the weather hasnt really been right for it.


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## lachlanandmarcus (30 March 2013)

Moss usually results from any of the following (or usually a combination of several of them)

Wet
Poor drainage
Overgrazing

So any measures you take would be those to address those. eg there are special aerator farm machines (bigger than harrow in spikiness)if you can find a man with one to hire, drainage could be worked on, possibly people who do football grounds. Not much that can be done about this last years sopping wet conditions tho....

You could also overseed with grass. Ideally then after a few weeks you put sheep on for a few weeks as they nibble it down and manure it and encourage lots of stems on the grass to bushy it up.


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## WelshD (30 March 2013)

It depends on the size of the area but spiking is a good start of it's feasible, you can get push along garden machines but I have moss over about a quarter of an acre and have been sticking a garden fork in at random intervals for 20 mins a day and have covered most of it over the last week


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## nostromo70 (30 March 2013)

Sulphate of iron is the only real way of killing moss. It's fairly cheap but a bit messy to apply. It can be applied as either a powder  or liquid. Liquid is best as it's the least messy way. 
Don't apply lime to your fields until you know the soil ph and your grass types. There are grasses that don't like an alkaline soil and never apply lime after or before an acid fertilizer like sulphate of iron.


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## kellybee (30 March 2013)

This might take a while but... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lawn-Aera...denEquipment_HandTools_SM&hash=item35bec8ab69


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## Clodagh (30 March 2013)

I have got a lot this year as well. OH (farmer) seems to hope that a good harrow with our chain harrows will help. We are on clay and it is wet and compressed. Ideally I would like an agrivator, I wonder if they can be hired? Will go look.


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## Pearlsasinger (30 March 2013)

Sheep!  It is a longer term solution but since we got ours, we have lost the patches of moss that had begun to develop before we got here.  I can't think of a better way of managing the grazing.


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## Slightly Foxed (30 March 2013)

kellybee said:



			This might take a while but... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lawn-Aera...denEquipment_HandTools_SM&hash=item35bec8ab69



Click to expand...

Hehe, I've thought about wearing those when I'm poo picking, but maybe I'll stick with the harrow!


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