Moss Control

Moss is found in most environments where the ground is tightly compacted, moist, and shady for a couple weeks or more. The issue is not that it occurs but how you deal with it. Here is a worst case type scenario where a court was left all winter without balancing the PH. The court didn’t see direct sunlight for 5 months of Fall and Winter of 2010 and it is quite damp

Moss is going to grow in high alkaline environments. Want to get rid of the moss then you need to change the ph of your court. What ever you do – “DO NOT TRY TO SCRAPE THE MOSS OFF!”. If you try to physically remove the moss it’s roots will hold tight and lift pockets of your surface and you will lose that material. If instead you kill the moss roots systemically it will release your precious particles and leave peacefully.

Note that in this image the moss constitutes only about a third of the height of this plug. The other two thirds is surface material which is held together by the moss roots.  Replacing this is inconvenient and more costly than moss retardant. The court will need to be treated two to three times anually for best results. Note that any natural surface subject to similar conditions will develop this growth if allowed to propagate.  DON’T LET IT!  Simple as that.   If there's no excess ground moisture, moss won't be an issue.

Feel free to call if you have questions. Cutting to the chase you can put one gallon of chlorine bleach in a 3 gallon pump sprayer and fill the remainder with water and apply to the court twice – two weeks apart. If the moss is really thick try a commercial product called 30 seconds Outdoor cleaner – for walkways etc. I found this very effective.

Once the surface growth appears dead but is still holding material by the roots it can be burned off (separated) with a brush torch. The bocce court will drain much better if organic vegetative “clumps” are incinerated rather than composted in the court. This should only be necessary if grasses or mature mosses are allowed to establish. None of us like to be neglected and this is how your bocce court expresses itself when left alone. Fight moss with fire!

If you have just a bit of moss starting to show cast medium rock salt at a rate of one pound per 100 square feet. The most critical thing is to be patient enough to let the roots die and dry. Once the roots let go the portion that lived above the surface will have no hold and can easily be brushed away. Agitating with a steel tined rake really discourages spreading as well and I am doing some R and D on several of these items. I split the court so I could try two different treatments at once. This had dramatic visual results…

Top portion treated w/30 seconds, bottom muriatic acid.                      Upper dark section treated w/salts, bottom w/bleach