"Rodger Whitlock" wrote in
message ...
: On Sun, 19 Jan 2003 15:08:31 -0000, "Richard Mellor"
: wrote:
:
: Can anyone advise on a suitable moss killer for both lawns and
driveways.
:
: Can't help you with the driveways but moss in a lawn is a sign of
: poor growing conditions. You can control the moss via cultural
: practices, though I'm not sure you can totally eliminate it,
: however.
:
: Moss is generally indicative of...
:
: a. poor drainage.
:
: b. poor aeration of the soil.
:
: c. excessively acid soil.
:
: d. low fertility.
:
: e. shade.
:
:
: Poor drainage is hard to deal with, but installation of land
: drains can correct it. Correcting drainage problems will help
: with aeration problems.
:
: The others are easier: run one of those hole-punching power
: aerators over your lawn to get air into it. Apply lime. And
: fertilize.
:
: I don't consider shade a problem, just a contributory factor;
: take care of the other problems and shade is not an issue.
:
: I've been using dolomite lime myself for a long time, because our
: soils here are deficient in both magnesium and calcium, but it is
: rather slow to act. I think I'm going to switch to ground
: limestone or agricultural lime for a while in order to get the pH
: up a little more quickly.
:
: We're having a very dry winter along the Pacific coast this year,
: and since my lawns are, unusually, not totally waterlogged this
: year, the worms are having a field day. I know a lot of gardeners
: don't like worm casts disfiguring the lawn, but I view them as a
: sign of better soil conditions, and think that the aeration the
: little buggers provide only do good.
:
: I'd like to believe that leaving the clippings on the lawn this
: last year has also encouraged the worms.
:
: Yes, I have a mossy lawn too, but it is my hope that by taking my
: own advice the moss will recede...maybe.
:
: --
: Rodger Whitlock
: Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

I'm glad you're having a dry winter as it's pouring with rain here - SW
London - right now :O((

On the subject of lawns - mine hardly merits that word as it's more a patch
of grass - I wondered what was the cause of the few toadstools I usually get
around this time of year. Not enough to cause problems, but I wondered if
it was a sign of a lack of something, or is it just the damp?

K