Its that time of year again when the weekly chore of cutting the grass comes into play.

I have just cut the front lawn and it seems to be more moss than grass, since the only time I am green fingered is when I pick my nose, I was wondering if anyone can recommend a simple solution?

A couple of years ago I tried Evergreen, and whilst the lawn went almost black, it didn't really get the job done, if anything the moss has come back worse.
Is it a case of regular lawn treatments at £20 a throw - which I don't fancy spending on a property I rent and have already improved no end at great expense - or is there a cheap and labour free alternative that doesn't involve treating and scarifying?

Concrete, green paint. Sorted.

(I do the edible stuff, she's in charge of mowing and flowers).

Dont tell Patch!

Being blunt.
No.
You killed the moss last time but didnt rake it out so what grass there was couldnt really improve.
Moss isnt actually the problem - its the symptom of something else. Poor drainage/overhanging trees/shade/poor or thin soil are some examples.
You'll get out what you put in ie a better lawn, but i note your comments about renting

The last tenants left the outside in a real mess, now I have everything looking respectable except the front lawn. I will get a treatment and take a rake to it.
It probably looks worse than it is due to all the neighbours on the road being retired and keen gardeners.

Why not scarify it? I bought one for the garden in my old place. I'd left it to grow too long and it ended up a patchwork of long, flat grass or slimy mossy areas. The scarifier took some effort to put through it but it came up amazing afterwords, growing back very nice nd even. Having put so much work into it, I also took a lot more care of the grass afterwards too.

Having said that, the new place doesn't have a garden front or rear

Im not against scarifying, I was just hoping for something less labour intensive

I have put many hours and £££'s into the property to make it a nice place to live, but now reached the point whereby I am not seeing any appreciation from the landlord, it took me 10 months to get reimbursed for some work they requested I undertake whilst I was having other work carried out (in lieu of rent), so I am loathed to shell out much more for improvements which will ultimately be to their benefit. But that said, I dont want to live in a house which looks a mess either.

X19 Pilot,

Why would your landlord re-imburse you? Your busy improving the property for them free of charge.

Just remember any improvement you put in - your very unlikely to get back when you move. Sadly.

I echo the Scarfier- have seen them used to good results.

Regards

MM

Sounds like I will have to get busy with a scarifyer then!

Long story but basically the place needed quite a lot doing to it. I did a deal with them to pay for labour costs if they bought the materials, which also had the result of getting the rent reduced (effectively I was paying rent up front to get the place into a liveable condition and reducing monthly outlay, which worked out in my favour long term). They asked that whilst I had workmen in, if I could get a few extra jobs done which they would pay for and also a few jobs that were in desperate need of repair. It was an arrangement that worked well for both parties under the circumstances at the time.
Unfortunately I was hospitalised just before we moved in so I had them decorate the place at my expense, a job I was prepared to do and would have enjoyed doing, until my Kidneys decided to pack up, and would have cut things very fine with a baby on the way too.

I know I am not going to get anything back as and when I move, but at least there is no way on earth that they can refuse to pay back any of the damage waiver and I can take pride in the place whilst I live there and it is a nice place for my family to live until the next chapter in life... Who knows, I might end up buying it further down the line.
Everything I did was done so with the approval of the landlord/agent.

How many m2 is the lawn?

Hey X19 Pilot,

I hear you-and pleased that your getting the place how you like it! You have to have somewhere nice for the family to live!

Regards
MM

I'm no gardener but faced a similar issue when we lived in Yorkshire and as JonnyBoy says there's obviously a further problem. I improved matters by scarifying as it's crucial to get rid of the all the dead matting. I then bought a roller with spikes that punctured holes into the ground into which I brushed sharp sand and that improved drainage and growth. To be fair the garden wasn't that large so was manageable. Wasn't expensive but certainly not light on the labour front..

The gardens around me do not seem to suffer from moss, although as I have said earlier, the rest of the road seem to spend more time tending their gardens than Alan Titchmarsh! I will get another Evergreen or similar treatment and set too with the scarifyer and see if that improves things.

The last time I used the product, the moss did go black in colour but due to health issues at the time I was unable to rake it out. It just seems much worse this year, so time to take action...

You've obviously got your hands full with health and family so I don't envy you one bit! Is it worthwhile biting the bullet and getting someone in to sort it out. I know it probably sticks in your throat given your circumstances but check out adverts in your local newsagent - there's always people advertising garden maintenance etc. Good luck

Thanks G_Man, health issues are all sorted now, I was just hoping for some lazy and easy miracle product that would do the job for me, but it sounds like a couple of hours graft is the only way to get the garden into a presentable state.

Thanks for all your suggestions as per usual guys...