Marianne's Response

What is the best way to remove garden moss so that I can plant a vegetable garden?

I live in Lacey, WA. I’m starting to plant my sugar snap peas, but my garden spot is full of moss this year. What can I use to remove the moss, and still plant a vegetable garden? The neighbors hedge is getting taller, and there is less sun there every year.

Posted by lindaxray on March 11, 2014

Marianne's Response

Do not spray moss killer on your garden plot. Instead sprinkle lime on the soil and turn the moss and lime into the soil. Moss does not harm the plants it is simply an opportunist that grows in any damp, dark spot that has low fertility. Adding more organic matter to your soil such as leaf mold, compost, or steer manure would help to add to the tilth of the soil and prevent the moss in the future. Sounds like cool season crops such as peas, lettuce, cabbage, spinach and kale will be your best bets in this partly shaded site. Keep growing, Marianne Binetti