January can be a relaxing time for gardeners as there is not much growing at the moment, but they should be aware that now is when moss begins festering on top of lawns. Moss grows quickly in winter as it does best in damp cold weather, and when the grass is dormant in winter this spongy plant can spread all over a lawn without any competition.
If moss is not dealt with, then it can make the soil more compact and clog up the grass, so water cannot reach the roots, which means it will really struggle to grow once spring arrives. This can lead to a dried-out lawn with lots of patchy areas throughout the rest of the year, as once the weather heats up it will be really difficult to get the grass to grow out again. However, there is no need to worry as dealing with lawn moss is very easy according to the experts The Turf Grass Group, who revealed you can make a homemade moss killer from items already in a kitchen.
They said: “If you don’t want to introduce herbicide into your yard or just want something you can do at home, there are two moss-killing solutions you can easily make at home. You can mix either gentle dish soap or baking soda with lukewarm water to create an effective DIY herbicide that will kill moss.”
It is highly recommended not to use chemical products on your lawn in winter as lots of wildlife come into gardens to search for food and you can end up really harming your local robins, wrens, squirrels, badgers or foxes.
Moss can be tough to kill as you only need a small spore to survive for it to grow back, and it is covered in a hard waxy layer which means many products cannot actually penetrate it.
What makes baking soda so effective is that it changes the environment around the moss to be more alkaline, and it usually can only survive in acidic conditions so it will struggle to survive.
Washing-up liquid is a surfactant, which means it can dissolve the outer layer of moss, and once the membrane is damaged it will not be able to absorb water and quickly dehydrate.
How to use baking soda or washing-up liquid to remove lawn moss
To begin, you will need a bucket or garden spray filled with two gallons of water. Then, mix either 60ml of washing-up liquid or 115g of baking soda.
Pour it all over the moss and deeply saturate it. Within 24 hours the moss should become crispy brown and shrivelled.
Both washing-up liquid and baking soda are a gentle way to destroy moss on their own, but it should be noted that you should not mix them up together as it can create a strong solution that risks harming the grass.
When used separately they should be fine to use on a lawn, but washing-up liquid can cause the baking soda to penetrate deeper into the ground which can end up harming the lawn roots.
As long as you only use one product the moss should quickly disappear so your grass will come back after winter a lot healthier and grow as thick as possible
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