this post was submitted on 05 Aug 2023
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Advice for growing Irish moss in the Seattle area? (lemmy.world)
submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by mookulator@lemmy.world to c/gardening@lemmy.world
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I hope this isn’t too off-topic for this community. I also posted this in !greenspace@beehaw.org so sorry to spam but I’m not sure which is the best place…

I have an old grass patch that I want to replace with Irish moss. Would love some advice on how!

Location: Seattle, USA.

Space: 15x12 foot section, partly under a laurel and a deciduous tree.

Soil: I’m not at all knowledgeable about soil, but heres what I know… It was originally just dirt with a on old lilac in it, then the lilac was replaced by grass, then 95% of the grass died during a construction project last year. Now it’s hard-packed soil and random tufts. It gets a small amount of leaves and other debris from the trees above it.

Sunlight: Direct sun for about half the day, then shaded by a house. Sunnier at one end than the other.

Questions:

  1. What organic material (if any) should I use to condition the soil? How should I apply it?
  2. I’ve read that 5-5-5 NPK fertilizer is good for Irish moss, but also that too much nitrogen is bad. Should I go lower nitrogen? How much fertilizer anyway?
  3. How often should I water? How thoroughly?
  4. I bought a small number of plugs to experiment in one corner before going all out. What’s the best way to fill in between them with seeds?
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[–] Tassereine@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)
  1. Compost and just use a rake to spread it as evenly as possible to a depth of 1/2-1”
  2. I rarely use fertilizer so would skip it but if you do apply it then sprinkle it lightly around the moss and not directly on it and 5-5-5 is a good all purpose imo
  3. Depends but if you are planting 2” plugs in summer then daily or every other day and use enough water to soak down past the roots.
  4. Can’t help with this as I’ve never tried starting Irish moss from seed. Plants established quickly for me and typically doubled or tripled in one year.