You can compost it. Whether the resulting finished compost would spread the moss around depends on how you compost, a cold compost might not kill the spores that could spread the moss around.

That's what I was thinking so I may just put it at the curb for the town.

You probably have moss because the conditions are (or were) just right for it. Soil pH, moisture and sun/shade all affect moss growth. If you removed a large tree, one or two of those are doing to change anyway. I gues what I'm getting at is if you fix the conditions, it may not matter whether the spores are there or not. They've probably seeded all over the place anyway. The trick is to make the conditions inhospitable for growth.

Compost the Moss? Of course you could compost the moss, but that would be silly and WAAAY too simple!

What you need to do now is to remodel a house with plaster in it and build some raised beds. The plaster will make great fill under the flagstone patio that will look great with the moss in between the stones and the raised beds will hold all of the soil you dug up from under where the new patio will go. Now all you need is the flagstones. And the plaster house to remodel.

Tox, how do you make conditions inhospitable for moss growth. I have moss growing on the crushed dolomite in full sun on my driveway where the only water it gets is the rain as well as on a sand hill out back that drains very well is in full sun as well, as well as one the concrete blocks that are the house foundation, granted on the north side where very little sun gets and almost no rainfall even.
I also have moss growing on the compacted soil in full shade down where the water table is very high (often with water standing 4 to 6 inches deep in the spring for quite some time) and the soil is quite acidic which keeps most everyting else from growing there.

I freely admit the above is about my entire repertoire of moss information. :-]

Cover the entire yard with rolling stones?

"Cover the entire yard with rolling stones?"

...cleans up bits of sandwich off keyboard and wipes tears from eyes.....That was funny!

Might there be different species of moss and maybe they might have different favourite growing conditions? Heck, in the high arctic (lived there for a year) that is all that will grow and it is pretty darn inhospitable up there!

Lloyd

There are different species of moss that do grow in different conditions which is why stating that "moss grows on moist soils with a low pH in shade" as if that is the only place moss does grow is incorrect. There are mosses that grow on rocks with very little soil and mosses that grow on trees, again with very little soil.
Mosses are first stage plants grown by Ma Nature where she is trying to make soil good enough to grow higher order plants. More often then not I have found moss grows on soils very low in organic matter, and apparently Ma Nature is trying to make soil there.

Who exactly are you saying said "moss grows on moist soils with a low pH in shade" because I don't see anyone on this thread saying that. Or is this another case of 'selective reading'?

Lloyd

Lloyd ...

Who the heck lives in the high arctic for a year? :P

You make me laugh out loud without meaning to.

(I like moss, btw. I say keep it.)

-v

Resolute Bay, baby! I was 22 years old and making good coin, I think I was drunk almost the whole year! We had to bring our beer in by airplane. Dark season does get to you after a while and the 24 hour sunlight in the summer is not conducive to sleeping but man did we party.

Lloyd

I'll bet you did party, Lloyd. My entire generation missed our early 20s, drunk or high all the time.

I think I'd shoot myself in that dark season. I'd sure like to try round-the-clock daylight, though.

I don't think I'd do well in arctic weather in winter. I can't even stand the cold in Ohio.

Karen

I suspect that you already have moss spores all over, so a few more won't hurt. I'd go ahead and compost the moss.

I like moss, but on the places where it is not wanted, like walkways, you can spray with a weak solution of exterior grade bleach (made for outdoor use, don't use laundry bleach). Or you can spend more money and use Moss-B-Gone.

On the roof, you simply place a zinc strip on the ridge line and it will keep moss off the roof. Or again, you can spend more money and treat the roof with Moss-B-Gone.

The zinc strips are made for roofs, or you can place a length of galvanized poultry netting along the length of the ridge line and the zinc in the galvanization will weep zinc down the roof and keep the moss at bay.