Lime is not the only remedy for a moss-covered lawn, but it is a very effective one. Although moss has a variety of causes, acidic soil is believed to be the primary trigger for the dilemma. These instructions explain how to properly combat moss in the lawn with lime.
PH value test provides clarity about the lime requirement
Although moss is considered a pointer plant for acidic soil, you should use a straightforward do-it-yourself test to obtain final certainty. Liming only helps against moss when the pH value is actually too low for the noble lawn grass. Otherwise, buying sod lime is a waste of money. Test sets are available at every hardware store and garden center for around 5 euros. It’s so easy to use:
- Take soil samples from 10 places in the lawn from a depth of 8 to 10 cm
- Mix these samples well in a container
- Take 100 g of this and stir into 100 ml of distilled water
After 10 minutes, insert the test strip into the sample. With the help of a coloring reaction and the attached table, you can read off the pH value in the mossy lawn. If the result is well below 6.5, the moss is almost certainly due to a soil that is too acidic. Lawn grasses achieve their optimum at a pH value between 6.5 and 7.0.
Soil quality defines the right dose
In order to rid the lawn of moss in the long term, it is important to use the right amount of lime. A pH value that is too low affects the growth of the grass, as does a too high, alkaline value. It is obvious that a light, sandy subsoil processes the lime much more effectively than a heavy clay soil.
How to properly lime your lawn
It is not enough to sprinkle lime on the moss-covered lawn. The material can hardly penetrate the dense felt to the roots. How to do it right:
- In March / April scarify the lawn lengthways and crossways
- Sweep away the combed out moss
- Fill the lawn lime in a spreader and distribute it
Please pace the lawn with the lime spreader so that the strips do not overlap and there is an overdose. In the last step, you water the green area extensively.
Tips
If the noble grasses turn yellow in the mossy lawn at the same time, the problem is magnesium deficiency in addition to the low pH value. In this case, use dolomite lime. This is obtained from natural sedimentary rock and enriched with magnesium.
