What is this black mould in my lawn?

The picture above is thankfully not from one of our lawns, but it does provide a good example. On initial viewing you may think it is just soil or worm casts – which are prevalent this time of year read more here.

We are seeing a black soil like substance in lawns, it is unsightly and is certainly spreading – but what is it?

What you may be viewing is actually black lawn mould – it isn’t damaging your lawn, it is merely a bi-product of the change in weather conditions, similar to fungus / mushrooms appearing.

So what can you do?

Fungicides are not recommended and generally don’t work anyway, so you have a few options available:

Rinse It Off
Use a hose pipe with significant water pressure to jet away the mould quickly and easily, however, this is not an ideal resolution as this needs to be carried out during dry weather otherwise you will just exasperate the issue!

Rake It Out
This is a good method if you have the time, it can be carried out in wet or dry weather. Utilise the rake to break up the affected areas but once this has been completed, it is very important that the rake is cleaned using a water / bleach solution.

Mowing the lawn
Cutting a lawn on a high setting is our preferred method, let the grass grow, cut on a high setting and remove all cuttings. This method does not remove the mould but it will hide it and give it less opportunity to grow. A lawn should never really be cut short as this places the important root system under undue stress.

Leave it 
The mould is most likely to show up during humid weather during the year, both in cool winter climates, a wet Spring and Autumn, the mould will usually disappear when the weather dries out. If a shaded area succumbs continuously to black mould problems, consider a shaded seed to help combat this.

For further information, please fill out the contact form below, we are happy to help.