Lawn overrun with moss, is it poisonous to piggies and how can I get rid of it safely?

[Dilly's Piggies]

The past few days have been lovely piggie weather here, sadly temps are set to go down now, but I'm glad my 5 girls got a little time to graze for the first time in nearly 2 years.

I'm not sure why but suddenly my lawn is becoming overrun with moss, there are only a few good patches of grass left and I'm worried moss could be harmful to my piggies, they always eat around it, but I don't like it being there regardless and I try to set up their run on grass without it.

I'm also worried that the moss will completely overtake my lawn and there will be no lovely grass left for my piggies soon. It sounds weird as most people don't want weeds on their lawn, but even their precious favourite dandelions are disappearing lol!

I want to get rid of the moss and get new grass to grow, but I'm unsure how to do this in a way that is piggie safe. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Guinea Slave]

I use a company called Weedman to help, they do lawn management and whilst it costs money they are experienced and save you wasting time and money on stuff which doesn’t work…which is what I did first time around. But it’s not easy, takes time and does mean your guineas will have times when they won’t be able to be on the grass. The grass needs to be fed to get the roots strong, then moss killer added which will be poisonous to the guineas but kill the moss, then ideally scarified (usually autumn) to remove the dead moss and then reseeded. It’s an absolute pain and we had nearly half an acre of moss 12 months ago but we now have loads of grass so it’s worth the cost and time. But it will then need to be maintained. The guineas are now sending me out for grass twice a day Because apparently it’s delicious

good luck!

 

[Guinea Slave]

Your local lawn care specialist | Weed Man

 

[Free Ranger]

I have a tiny shady patch which gets re-turfed every couple of years because the grass dies off. Occasionally a clump takes hold but overall the covering of grass is mainly decorative which is why we bring ours a bag in from the field every day!

Damp and shade are no good for grass in the long run... but great for moss which does really well in my garden! Moss hates sun and drainage and aerated roots... which is great for grass. They like opposite conditions so before you start have a think about what you've got to work with. If your lawn is a manageable size and is mostly unshaded and not boggy I'd start with a vigorous rake all over to lift as much moss as possible and then stick it all over with a fork - lifting a little to get air to compacted winter roots. Then a good feed as the weather warms up. There'll be a gap between the feed and putting pigs on even if you use something organic. In the right conditions doing this at about this time can give your grass a head start and you might not have to use weedkillers.

My problem is that the damp shady conditions mean the soil just isn't warm enough for grass to thrive most of the year so it eventually snuffs it. On the plus side even the most scorching days are comfortable on the grassed area. We just dump the daily grass pile outside instead!

 

[BossHogg]

I'm quite lucky, our lawn is lush and green all year round. We have an underground stream that runs under our garden, so even in the harshest driest of summers are grass stays bright green.

 

[Engel]

I'm quite lucky, our lawn is lush and green all year round. We have an underground stream that runs under our garden, so even in the harshest driest of summers are grass stays bright green.
View attachment 199100

Looks like piggy (and bun) heaven. Although I think my lot would completely demolish it in a week

 

[BossHogg]

It was used almost daily during spring summer and autumn for nearly 18 years before losing all of our furries, it's just enjoyed by our 2 elderly cats now.