Moss is often an indicator of soil issues. It will typically grow on heavy, compacted soils and those with poor drainage/remain wet for extended periods and poor fertility. Will also develop in shade and in areas with poor air circulation.

What do you do to prep your raised beds each season?

It can be very easily raked off but unless you change the conditions that encourage its growth, it will just return.

gardengal48 Thank you for the help. The garden is in the sun, for season prep I add Moo Doo and ground up leaves. I just added Lyme so I can't soil test it :(

"why it irritates you this much???" I think of it as a symptom showing that the something has changed because i have not had it in any of the years past and would like to find out what if anything has changed... also I dont like the way it looks and wonder if it is using any of the nutrients that would normally go to the plants. Thank you. :)

you have a soil and nutrient issue ... which allows the moss to thrive ...

the moss is not the cause of the base soil issue ... ken

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Moss+indicates+soil+issues&t=ffcm&ia=web

You have acid soil. If you don't have acid loving plants in that bed then add some lime. Dust the moss till it's white. The lime will kill it. It will turn brown and then stay there till you dig it out. With the lime in the soil it won't grow back....... so soon.

Some major flaws in that argument :-) One, moss growth is not restricted to acidic soils. There are many multiple species and some grow perfectly well in moderately alkaline soils also. Second, lime does NOT kill moss!! It can increase the pH to where it is not hospitable to acidic moss growth but it will not kill it. And applying lime without testing whether or not it is needed can also make the soil inhospitable for a lot of other plants as well.

If you have acidic soil in your area then I will guarantee that you don't have moss that grows in alkaline soil. Moss grows in areas with a lot of moisture, shade and low in nutrition. I doubt you want to push over the houses or cut down the trees causing the shade. And I doubt you want to dig a french drain to get rid of the moisture. Assuming you live in an area with acidic soil you probably have some lime. Just sprinkle a little on the moss or pull it and sprinkle some lime.

I get a lot of moss in a couple of my perennial beds but I also have a lot of shade. I just rake some of it off where it is not wanted and also cultivate the areas that don't rake off. I allow some of it to grow along path edges and on some rocks.

I have a brick path that accumulated a lot of moss and struggled with for years to keep clean. I finally let it go and now have a solid moss path and love it. It does require a bit of maintenance to keep unwanted growth out.

You don't need to cut down trees or dig french drains :-) The raised bed soil probably needs improved drainage, aeration and maybe a bigger bump in fertility than leaves and some manure might provide. The soil in on the photo looks dense, heavy and pretty wet.

And my point was you do not have to have acidic soil to have moss. Several common lawn mosses can grow on a very low pH soil as well as one that is as high as 7.5, possibly higher. At the very least, test your pH before tossing around lime unnecessarily and potentially making a difficult situation worse.

And while you are at it, might as well have the raised bed soil tested to see exactly what you are dealing with in terms of fertility and nutrient availability.

And my point was you do not have to have acidic soil to have moss. Several common lawn mosses can grow on a very low pH soil as well as one that is as high as 7.5, possibly higher.

And my point is that you won't have moss with neutral PH.

Ate 2Much Hopefully you can answer this question and end this futile argument. Is either acidic or alkaline soil common in your area? In most cases getting rid of shade is not an option. You may have low nutritional values in your soil, but you can have nutrition that plants can't use because of the low PH.

"And my point is that you won't have moss with neutral PH. "

But you can!! And one often does!! Moss growth is not restricted to low pH soils.

btw, John, most plants access soil nutrients when the pH is on the acidic side of the range. That is when soil nutrients are most readily available. The optimal range for the vast majority of plants is 5,5 to 7.0.

old dirt, that is dreamy! I have extremely basic soil and plenty of moss in some areas. OP, you mention this is a raised bed. Is this native soil or something you imported long ago? Perhaps it needs some amending.

Could you be watering too frequently? If the irrigation water isn't being absorbed into the soil quickly and pools on the top of the soil, moss will grow. Apply 2-3" of nitrolized mulch and try irrigating the same number of minutes but only once a week. The mulch will hold the moisture in the soil, slow the growth of weeds/moss, and improve the soil.

Ate 2much, right now in my zone (6a) is a good time to get rid of some of the moss. I lightly rake and most of it rolls right off the soil. Though not a permanent fix, it does help control it. Get it before the perennials come up and before planting.

Here has what has happened lately. I raked/picked up the moss. Soil testing is not an option due to the C.Virus. So I got some leaves and mulched them up then raked them into the soil. Also adding some lyme. I live in a traditionally acidic area so I took a chance. Thank you all for your time and help I appreciate it VERY much. Hope you are all safe and healthy. The garden now has 2" of snow on it from last night lol.

If you have acidic soil a little lime, or lyme?, won't hurt.

Willy nilly.