Moss, lots of it, in a large lawn

Hi folks,

I've just moved house with a very large lawn - approx 1200 Sq. m if my maths is up to correct (40*20 at the front, 20*20 at the back).

Very nice and all that, but my issue is that the lawn has hardly been maintained over the past number of years - the previous owners paid a man to cut it in the summer but that's it. No weeding, feeding, scarifying or what have you for a long, long time - maybe 10 years or more.

As a result, there's more than a few weeds, and a lot of moss in there; more moss than grass in much of it, and it's maybe 3 or 4cm deep in places even after cutting.

Now obviously the "solution" is apply moss killer, rake it out and re-seed, but given the amount of moss and weeds involved, my question is, if I go with the moss killer option, should I expect one treatment to be enough to kill that volume of moss?
Or am I looking at several years of treatments to get it back to a manageable state?

I did wonder if I would be better to go for the nuclear option and dig it all up and re-turf, but a search on here found someone with a quote for £1300 to re-turf a 120sq.m lawn, so that put me off that notion.

Any thoughts?

Re turfing would be very expensive, something in the region of 8-10 grand i would guess.

Your issue is that once you have a full carpet of moss scarifying properly can almost peel the whole thing up like a carpet. Its your only real option though if you want to get it sorted.

Heavy scarifying in the spring and overseeding and top dressing is your best bet but it may pull up to almost bare. If it does scarify well then a lighter go in year 2 should see it under relative control.

Hollow tine areting should really be done at the same time as scarifying for better overall health and then the gritty top dressing can fill the holes.

Definately get quotes and specify exactly whats to be done so you can make an informed choice over cost vs benefit. I can imagine what i have suggested costing close to 4 figures if done by a professional.

doing it yourself will maybe be maybe £300 taking hire and cost of chemicals etc into account. It will take a few of days solid work

Obviously figures i have mentioned are very loose idea and on site visits are essential when quoting on lawn treatments

Cut as tight as you can
Sprinkle sulphate of iron on and let it get damp.
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