TOP 15 products that will help get rid of moss and how to use them

The appearance of moss on a summer cottage is a real problem. It grows quickly, affecting various plants. In addition, moss absorbs nutrients from the soil. Therefore, summer residents often have a question about how to get rid of moss using the TOP 15 effective means. Planting green manure, applying fertilizers or chemicals, loosening and many other methods will help eliminate unwanted vegetation.

Green manure

Plants fight for territory and try to take over empty areas. Moss is no exception. To get rid of it, you can plant green manure on the site. Mustard, phacelia and other crops are suitable for this purpose. They form a continuous carpet on the site, making the soil pH neutral.

To use green manure to combat moss, you should do the following:

1. Dig up the soil in early spring or autumn.
2. Sow the seeds densely. For 1 hectare of land you should use 2 kilograms of green manure.
3. Trample the crops and add 2-4 centimeters of soil.
4. Water the moss with a hose or watering can.
5. After flowering, green manure can be mowed or left to dry.

Soil deoxidation

The appearance of moss on the site indicates an increase in soil acidity. To more accurately determine pH parameters, it is worth using litmus papers.

If acidity increases, action must be taken. The easiest way is to add fluff lime to the soil. This is recommended to be done in early autumn. It is worth using 50 kilograms of powder per hundred square meters of land. After applying the composition, the soil needs to be dug up.

Drought regime

Moss prefers to grow in damp conditions. To get rid of it, you need to reduce the number of waterings and control the drying of the soil. If the cause is not a violation of agricultural rules, it is worth installing a water drainage system. To do this, you need to dig drainage channels at least 40 centimeters deep.

If there is a slight stagnation of moisture, this will be enough. In other cases, it is worth placing pipes at the bottom of the trenches and fastening them to a container dug into the ground. It is recommended to make ditches with a slight slope. In this case, the container should be placed below their level.If the cause of high humidity is the proximity of soil water to the surface, it is recommended to make high beds for vegetables.

Weed control

Weeds increase the risk of unwanted vegetation appearing on the site. They create shade and increase soil moisture. That’s why it’s so important to get rid of weeds in a timely manner using available methods. After weeding the beds, it is recommended to run a rake over problem areas or remove contaminated soil with a hand hoe.

Using fertilizers

To get rid of moss, it is recommended to improve the quality of the soil. To do this, it is worth using synthetic or organic fertilizers. It is best to apply preparations containing iron, potassium and nitrogen. The best options include ammonia, ammonium nitrate, nitroammophoska. They successfully cope not only with moss, but also with fungal spores.

To fertilize the soil with nitroammophos, it is recommended to do the following:

1. Mix 25 grams of product with 5 liters of water.
2. Pour 1 cup of working fluid into a bucket of water and mix thoroughly.
3. Pour the resulting mixture into a watering can.
4. Wet the soil until it gets wet.
5. Feed the soil again after 2 weeks.

Mulching

The beds can be mulched with sawdust, pine needles, chopped tree bark and thoroughly dried straw. At the same time, it is worth filling not only fertile areas, but also low places.

To combat unwanted vegetation, it is permissible to use the following mulching methods:

1. Place sawdust, straw, tree bark and pine needles on problem areas in a layer of 5 centimeters. This will help block the access of oxygen.
2. Cover problem areas with black non-woven material and press it around the perimeter with bricks or stones.

Manual cleaning

Moss has practically no roots, so it can be removed manually. This is best done with a spatula. Then the collected remains must be burned. If the green carpet spreads significantly, it will have to be removed with a rake. In this case, it is recommended to recycle the collected material.

If moss has covered the entire area, it is recommended to do the following:

1. Cut off the top layer with a shovel. In this case, you need to capture 5 centimeters of soil.
2. Cover the beds with quicklime and leave for a day.
3. Water the area. This is required in order to extinguish the lime.
4. Treat the area with a cultivator.
5. Fill the bed with a fresh layer of soil.
6. Cover the area with sawdust, straw, pine needles or chopped bark.

Increasing illumination

Moss does not respond well to heat and ultraviolet radiation. In this case, it quickly dries and dies. To prevent unwanted vegetation from spreading, it is necessary to provide the soil with an influx of sunlight and put the thickets of trees in order.

To get rid of moss, it is recommended to do the following:

1. Dispose of accumulated waste.
2. Trim and thin out the crowns of bushes and trees.
3. Plant shade-loving plants in places with insufficient access to sunlight. These include fern, hosta, hydrangea. These crops have strong roots and will quickly displace weaker moss.

Cutting tall grass is a way to increase light

Sometimes thickets appear due to impaired air circulation and lack of light. This is why it is so important to monitor the height of the grass at all times. Vegetation must be mowed if its height exceeds 10 centimeters.

Chemicals

To deal with moss, you can use special products. These include the following:

1. Spray Dr. Klaus.This is a ready-made product to successfully cope with mold fungi, lichens, and algae. The composition can be used to improve the appearance of garden paths. With its help you can destroy moss on roofs and facades. It is recommended to use 100-200 milliliters of product per 1 square meter. In this case, the surface must be well moistened. After 3-4 hours, the dead residues must be removed. The instructions say that the spray helps to cope with the problem in just a week.
2. Inkstone. This product works well against mosses and lichens. Before treatment, the lawn must be mowed. To destroy unwanted vegetation, you need to use a solution with a concentration of 5%. For 1 hundred square meters it is worth using 5 liters of the drug. Spraying should be carried out in dry and windless weather. In about a week the moss will die. Repeated spraying is carried out after 2 weeks.

A complex approach

The appearance of moss can be associated with a number of factors. To combat it, it is best to take an integrated approach. To do this, you need to wash the unwanted vegetation, clean off its remains and treat it with a chemical.

So, for the comprehensive destruction of moss on the roof, it is recommended to do the following:

1. Wash the surface. It is best to use a high-pressure washer for this purpose, which produces a powerful stream of water. In this case, it is necessary to direct the fluid flow at an angle. This will allow the water to flow down.
2. Clean the surface with a wire brush. This requires manual removal of remaining spores and pieces of moss.
3. Treat the cleaned roof with Bordeaux mixture. This should be done from a spray bottle in warm, dry weather. It is important that the solution can be absorbed into the surface.

To make Bordeaux mixture, use the following recipe:

• take 100 grams of copper sulfate per 4 liters of water;
• mix 100 grams of slaked lime with 4 liters of water;
• pour the lime liquid into the copper sulfate solution;
• mix the ingredients well.

Herbicides

An effective way to destroy moss in low places, under bushes and in greenhouses is to treat problem areas with chemicals that are classified as herbicides. To achieve maximum results, this procedure should be carried out in dry, sunny and windless weather. It is recommended to cover areas with cultivated plants with acrylic. This will help protect them from getting the product.

To spray the problem area, it is recommended to perform the following steps:

1. Mix 25-35 milliliters of Tornado with 3 liters of water.
2. Pour the solution into a spray bottle.
3. Treat the surface.
4. Leave for 2 days.
5. Spray the dried moss with Bordeaux mixture.
6. After a day, remove the remains from the greenhouse and dispose of them.

Loosening

Moss, as a rule, appears in areas that are subject to waterlogging with groundwater or precipitation. Such soil usually has a highly compacted surface. Thickets often appear in the recesses of the beds and in the holes between the rows. There, moisture can collect in puddles. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that the beds have a flat surface and are heated evenly.

To loosen and level the beds, it is recommended to do the following:

1. Remove the layer of moss with a hoe. This must be done together with the earth.
2. Loosen the bed and row spacing.
3. Dig up the plantings with a shovel.
4. Level out the depressions and bumps. To do this, it is recommended to use a rake with fine teeth.

Film application

If moss densely covers the beds, you should lay a dark film over these areas. It needs to be left for a long time. Without an influx of oxygen and sunlight, the moss will quickly die.

Copper sulfate method

In autumn or early spring, it is recommended to water the soil with a solution of copper sulfate. Its concentration should be 5%. This product will help prevent the spread of unwanted vegetation and destroy fungi and pathogens.

Moss is a fairly common problem for summer residents. It interferes with the development of cultivated plants and absorbs nutrients from the soil. To cope with the problem, you can use different methods - use herbicides and fertilizers, plant green manure, loosen the beds.