Our soil is often low in potassium, which is necessary for good root systems. Low Soil Fertility: The soil test mentioned above will also test for major soil nutrients. If your soil is acid, the grass will thin out and allow moss to move in. Most lawn grasses grow best at a pH between 6.0 and 6.5. Contact your local Rutgers Cooperative Extension office about having a soil test done.
Low pH: Acid soil is sometimes but not always a factor. Get the aerator which actually removes cores of soil and deposits them on the surface. You can rent them or hire a lawn service. However, soil aeration can be improved by annual use of a core aerator. Deep compaction of heavy soils may require complete reconstruction of the lawn. Soil Compaction: This is often the culprit because grass roots have difficulty penetrating compacted soil. In truly heavy shade, you might consider thinning or removing some trees, or planting a shadetolerant ground cover such as pachysandra or myrtle. Although moss can be found in full sun, if your moss is confined to shady spots, planting shade-tolerant grasses may help. Some of the conditions associated with moss, and their correction, are as follows: Excessive Shade: In general, mosses are more tolerant of shade than are higher forms of plant life, and this in part accounts for their ability to invade lawns and replace grass in shady spots. As the older parts die and partly decay, the terminal parts grow on from year to year so the patch may appear to die in spots but new growth will continue to spread from the edges. It reproduces by spores and vegetative parts.
Moss has no supporting or conducting tissue or roots. Mosses are one step above the algae, bacteria and fungi but are below the seed bearing plants. Moss does not kill grass it simply fills in the open spaces as the grass dies out. Oss is associated with conditions which do not favor the growth of grass. Fact sheet For a comprehensive list of our publications visit Moss in Lawns Charlene Costaris, Atlantic County Agricultural Agent (retired) & Joseph Heckman, Ph.D., Extension Specialist in Soil Fertility
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