About Jim Gibbs Expertise If you have questions or problems involving lawns, pastures,landscapes,soils, gardens,orchards,plants, weeds, or anything
botanical, I would be glad to try to help.
Experience Temperate climate lawns and gardens, plant and weed identification,
chemicals and fertilizers.
Education/Credentials I have a BS in microbiology and more than 2 years experience in commercial horticulture and also 2 years as a Seed Technologist in a
quality control testing lab for AG products. I have also operated a
lawn/landscaping business for more than 6 years.
Question At my cottage, I have an automatic water sprinkler system that pumps water from the lake. There is alot of algae in the lake which results in moss growing everywhere.
1. How can I treat the water to eliminate the algae?
2. How do I kill the existing moss that has taken over the existing lawn?
Your help would be appreciated
Thank-you
Greg
Answer Hi Greg,
About ALGAE problems:
Where settled pools and ponds-reservoirs of water get a dose of sun-light, algae will prosper.
You can use chemicals and other strategies to control algae.
Chemicals which help control algae in ponds and water pools are called 'ALGICIDES'.
Some of these types of chemicals are not compatible with pond-life, fish and aquatic plants and some algicides may render water sources non-potable for humans.
"Organic Algicides' are chemicals which should pose no health threat to biological life.
Use Key-Words such as 'organic algicides' and/or 'algicides' to find web resources about this topic. One commercial source example is this web-site:
The best and totally safe 'organic' method to control algae is to figure out a way to reduce the solarization of the water surface. This means providing shade over the water. With a large lake or surface area, so many of the algae remedies are not practical. If this is the case, maybe you can establish a secondary 'settling pond' for the lake-water to be algae-treated and then pump what you need from there. The secondary reservoirs can be part of the over-all landscape.
With Koi-ponds and similar structures you can establish certain types of aquatic plants that will tend to shade the water. Water lilies, Duck-weed, water hyacinths and similar plants can carpet a pond to keep the sun-light at a minimum so there will be less algae growth. Planting certain shore shrubs and trees such as water-loving willow (Salix species) will also throw some shade on the water to help reduce algae.
There are also 'in-line' filtering methods and gravity-controlled drip or trickle-down filtering constructions which can clear algae from pumped water supplies. These systems can be expensive and high maintenance however. They are essentially large-scale variations of what one might find used to filter the water in the typical aquarium.
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About weedy growths called 'Moss'.
Realize that the National Plants Data-Base recognized more than 1000 common plants which people call 'moss' all the world over, so the common name here does not designate a specific plant with precision. The article which follows refers to what most people mean by the term moss in the lawn.
NATURAL CAUSES of MOSS:
Top-soil vegetative growths called "MOSS" become established in lawns when grass vigor is reduced, under conditions of poor drainage (high clay), compaction, shade, excessively acidic soil conditions and close mowing.
The most common cause of moss in lawns is a shady, damp soil.
Making for a dryer top-soil is often the easiest fix for a moss problem.
Aerating the top-soil and root-zone should serve to make the soil less moist;
aeration results vary greatly with soil-type and are always variously temporary in effect.
Adding some sand is the least expensive way to help a high-clay or poorly draining soil, and this should be balanced by also adding organic matter like compost.
The organic matter will also improve the soil's fertility and help to make it drain better.
Working to improve the aeration and drainage abilities of the top-soil by adding these soil amendments can prevent mosses and other problems and make conditions more conducive for the propagation of turf-grasses.
If you have lots of clay in your soil, you can work year by year to improve the high clay condition by adding better soil and compost. Eventually things should get better for grasses and worse for mosses.
Periodic aeration of the top-soil will help to rejuvenate a lawn and may alleviate a moss problem at least temporarily. Some rental stores will have the aerator machines you can rent by the hour and you can often find a commercial aeration service with a lawn-care company. Lawn Aeration machines-equipment may not be easy for some home-owners to operate themselves, so be sure you can handle it if you rent such devices for home use.
Mowing the grass a little higher than usual will also make conditions less favorable for moss.
It also helps to keep thatch build-up at a minimum.
Keep thatch raked from the lawn and use it to make compost.
Use the compost (commercial or home-made) as a top-soil amendment.
Do this by simply spreading the compost to the weak areas of the lawn and anywhere the turf-grass is prone to become heat-compromised in the summer months. Most lawns will have such 'Hot-spots' which can benefit from more organic matter which the compost provides. Using compost can improve the conditions for turf grasses and contribute to a long-term moss cure provided the rest of the requirements for turf-grasses also exist (adequate light and water mainly).
None of these 'moss fixes' are not absolutely guaranteed to work,... but you can experiment and see what works for you and the climate and soil conditions you have.
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CHEMICAL and SOIL-CHEMISTRY CAUSES of MOSS:
Some people are in the habit of adding un-necessary minerals to the soil or they will use commercial fertilizers which add them. If you use commercial fertilizer formulas, always read the label to know what is being added to your soil.
Adding certain minerals (like IRON or SULFUR) may contribute to an acid soil condition (and thus promote moss and other problems). Most soils are not mineral deficient so a lab-test is recommended before adding these to your top soil unnecessarily. Most lawn and garden centers will sell an easy to use SOIL-TEST KIT so you can find out what your soil's pH is. This will guide you in regards to adding certain chemicals to the soil.
Adding the un-needed moss-causing minerals to your top-soil can make life difficult not only for the grasses, but for all the microbes in the soil as well. These microbes are important for the soil ecology that makes for a healthy lawn.
Nitrogen is THE chemical that does need to be replenished OR re-cycled back to the soil (by composting, e.g.), this element-nutrient is rapidly used not only by the grasses and plants but also by all the helpful microbes in the top-soil. If the use of (20% or higher rated) nitrate containing fertilizers does not promote a deep greenness and lush growth of your turf grass with sufficient sun and watering,...then chances are you DO NOT HAVE THE TYPE OF SOIL for growing lawn grasses. And such a soil may be conducive to continual moss populations.
Land that was once heavily forested with pine or conifer trees is often an excessively acid soil or one that does not support a chemistry-physics suitable for grasses. If this is your situation, there are several alternative ground-cover landscaping scenarios you can explore since trying to grow turf-grasses may be persistently futile.
If iron and sulfur containing chemicals are contributing to your mossy soil conditions, you can cut-down on adding anything to the soil for a while and/or start using more simple fertilizers like ammonium nitrate which only adds needed nitrogen and no moss-causing or acid-soil causing additives. Using the ammo-nitrate should keep any lawn green while not contributing to soil acidity which can be conducive to moss.
PREVENTION and SPECIALIZED COMMERCIAL DE-MOSSER PRODUCTS:
An herbicide called "SAFER'S MOSS KILLER" which is a soap-base, environmentally safe, product will rid lawns of moss.
Safer's Moss Killer may be difficult to find but is available at:
Garden centers often sell other HERBICIDAL FATTY ACID- SOAP PREPARATIONS as "Organic Herbicides". These products may be just as effective for moss. Read the product labels to know what to expect and how to use them.
CHEMICAL TREATMENTS can be carried out at any time of year and for best results when the weather is mild and the soil is moist,... particularly during September and February or March.
Look for other chemical "MOSS KILLERS" based on DICHLOROPHENE and also CRESYLIC ACID. These chemicals are contact in action with little or no residual effect; ...the moss will usually return if cultural measures (mentioned above) are not implemented.
A product called "EverGreen Complete" May be available in your city.
It is advertise as a 'Triple-action lawn food with weed killers and moss control.'
EverGreen Complete contains MCPA, mecoprop-P and ferrous sulphate NPK 14 2 4.
Always read the label. Use pesticides safely.
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IN SUMMARY;...
Keep your top-soil conditions optimally favorable for turf-grasses,
and moss problems should become history.
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Only Use plants and grasses rated for your climate-zone.
