How to get rid of moss: TOP 15 products and how to use them correctly
The appearance of moss in the summer cottage is a real problem. It grows rapidly, affecting various plants. In addition, moss absorbs nutrients from the soil. Therefore, gardeners often have the question of how to get rid of moss using the TOP-15 effective remedies. Planting green manure, applying fertilizers or chemicals, loosening and many other methods will help eliminate unwanted vegetation.
Siderates
Plants fight for territory and try to take over vacant lots. Moss is no exception. To get rid of it, green manure can be planted on the site.For this purpose, mustard, phacelia and other crops are suitable. They form a solid carpet on the site, making the pH of the soil neutral.
To use green manure to fight moss, you should do the following:
- Dig up soil in early spring or autumn.
- Sow the seeds thickly. For 1 acre of land, 2 kilograms of green manure should be used.
- Tread the crops and pour 2-4 centimeters of earth.
- Water the moss with a hose or watering can.
- After flowering, green manure can be mowed or left to dry.
Soil deacidification
The appearance of moss on the site indicates an increase in the acidity of the soil. To more accurately determine the pH parameters, you should use litmus papers.
When acidity increases, action needs to be taken. The easiest way is to add fluffy lime to the soil. It is recommended to do this in early autumn. On a hundred square meters it is worth using 50 kilograms of powder. After making the composition, the soil must be dug up.
Dry Mode
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 reason is not a violation of the rules of agricultural technology, it is worth equipping a water drainage system. To do this, you need to dig drainage channels at least 40 centimeters deep.
With a slight stagnation of moisture, this will be enough. In other cases, pipes should be placed at the bottom of the trenches and fastened with a container dug into the ground. Ditches are recommended to be made 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 on the site. They create shade and increase the humidity of the earth. That is why it is so important to get rid of weeds in time, using available methods.After weeding the beds, it is recommended to rake through the problem areas or remove the contaminated soil with a hand chopper.
Using top dressings
To get rid of moss, it is recommended to improve the quality of the soil. To do this, use synthetic or organic fertilizers. It is best to make 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:
- Mix 25 grams with 5 liters of water.
- Pour 1 cup of working fluid into a bucket of water and mix thoroughly.
- Pour the resulting composition into a watering can.
- Spill the soil until wet.
- Feed again after 2 weeks.
Mulching
The beds can be mulched with sawdust, pine needles, chopped tree bark and carefully dried straw. At the same time, it is worth filling up not only fertile areas, but also low places.
To combat unwanted vegetation, it is permissible to use the following mulching methods:
- Sawdust, straw, tree bark and needles are poured onto problem areas with a layer of 5 centimeters. This will help cut off oxygen.
- 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. With a significant spread of the green carpet, it will have to be removed with a rake.In this case, the collected material is recommended to be disposed of.
If moss has covered the entire area, it is recommended to do the following:
- Cut off the top layer with a shovel. In this case, you need to capture 5 centimeters of soil.
- Fill the beds with quicklime and leave for a day.
- Water the area. This is required in order to extinguish the lime.
- Cultivate the area with a cultivator.
- Fill the bed with a fresh layer of soil.
- Cover the area with sawdust, straw, pine needles or shredded bark.
Increase lighting
Moss does not take heat and UV radiation well. In this case, it quickly dries and dies. So that unwanted vegetation does not spread, 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:
- Dispose of accumulated garbage.
- Trim and thin out the crowns of bushes and trees.
- Plant shade-loving plants in places with insufficient access to sunlight. These include fern, hosta, hydrangea. These crops have strong roots and will quickly replace weaker moss.
Cutting tall grass is a way to increase light
Sometimes thickets appear due to impaired air circulation and lack of light. That is why it is so important to control the height of the grass all the time. Vegetation must be mowed if its height exceeds 10 centimeters.
Chemicals
To cope with moss, you can use special tools. These include the following:
- Spray Dr. Klaus. This is a ready-made tool to successfully cope with mold fungi, lichens, algae.The composition can be used to improve the appearance of garden paths. It can be used to destroy moss on roofs and facades. For 1 square meter, it is recommended to use 100-200 milliliters of the product. In this case, the surface must be well moistened. After 3-4 hours, the dead remains must be removed. The instructions say that the spray helps to cope with the problem in just a week.
- Iron vitriol. This tool copes well with mosses and lichens. Before carrying out the treatment, the lawn must be mowed. To destroy unwanted vegetation, it is required to use a solution with a concentration of 5%. For 1 weave it is worth using 5 liters of the drug. Spraying should be carried out in dry and calm weather. The moss will die in about a week. Repeated spraying is carried out after 2 weeks.
Comprehensive approach
The appearance of moss can be associated with a number of factors. To combat it, it is best to use an integrated approach. To do this, you need to wash 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:
- Wash the surface. It is best to use a pressure washer for this purpose, which gives a powerful jet of water. In this case, it is required to direct the flow of liquid at an angle. Thanks to this, the water will flow down.
- Clean the surface with a wire brush. This requires manually removing the remains of spores and pieces of moss.
- Treat the cleaned roof with Bordeaux liquid. This is required to 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 liquid, you should use the following recipe:
- take 100 grams of copper sulfate for 4 liters of water;
- mix 100 grams of slaked lime with 4 liters of water;
- pour lime liquid into copper sulfate solution;
- mix ingredients well.
Herbicides
An effective way to destroy moss in low places, under bushes and in greenhouses is the treatment of problem areas with chemicals that are herbicides. To achieve maximum results, this procedure should be carried out in dry, sunny and calm weather. Areas with cultivated plants are recommended to be covered with acrylic. This will help protect them from getting the product.
To spray the problem area, it is recommended to do the following:
- Mix 25-35 milliliters of Tornado with 3 liters of water.
- Pour the solution into a spray bottle.
- Surface.
- Leave for 2 days.
- Sprinkle dried moss with Bordeaux liquid.
- After a day, remove the leftovers from the greenhouse and dispose of them.
Loosening
Moss, as a rule, appears in areas that are subject to waterlogging by groundwater or precipitation. Such land usually has a highly compacted surface. Thickets often appear in the recesses of the beds and in the pits between the rows. There, moisture can collect in puddles. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that the beds have a flat surface and evenly warm up.
To loosen and level the beds, it is recommended to do the following:
- Remove the layer of moss with a chopper. This must be done together with the earth.
- Loosen the bed and aisles.
- Dig up plantings with a shovel.
- Align indentations and bumps. To do this, it is recommended to use a rake with frequent teeth.
Applying the film
If the moss covers the beds tightly, it is worth laying a dark film on these areas. It needs to be left on for a long time. Without oxygen and sunlight, the moss will quickly die.
The blue vitriol 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 tool 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.