What to Do With Moss Growing in a Vegetable Garden?
While moss is often a desirable plant to grow around ornamental ponds and water gardens, its presence in vegetable gardens and flower beds is often unwelcome. These minuscule plants tend to form in garden areas that experience certain conditions. Although moss seldom poses a threat to garden plants, it does signal the presence of factors that lead to poor plant growth. Does this Spark an idea?
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Moss
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Moss grows naturally in damp areas of lawns and gardens. It prefers slightly cool, shaded areas and frequently grows over the soil on the north side of shrubs and structures that block the sunlight. These tiny plants don't have true roots and absorb most of their moisture from the air. Since moss doesn't compete for sunlight or moisture, its presence in the garden does not endanger the cultivated plants. Moss provides a living ground cover that insulates the soil and helps guard against soil erosion.
Soil Conditions
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The appearance of moss usually indicates the presence of clay soil and poor drainage, two conditions that can have a detrimental effect on the growth and development of flowering plants and garden vegetables. Moss tends to appear in low areas that retain moisture and hold in pockets of cool air. Poor drainage around plant roots increases the risk of fungal diseases and disorders that can damage neighboring plants.
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Sunlight
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Most varieties of moss prefer shady areas of the landscape, while most garden plants require bright sunlight. Planting a garden on the north side of a building or under a dense canopy of overhead branches will increase the chances of moss growth. These poor lighting conditions can cause garden plants to grow long and lanky.
Control
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Pulling out the moss is an easy and quick method of removing this growth from your garden. It may quickly grow back, unless you remove the elements that create the ideal habitat for moss growth. Changing the climate of your garden will discourage the growth of moss while encouraging optimal growth in vegetable plants. Incorporating vegetative compost into heavy clay soils helps to aerate the soil and encourage drainage, reducing the risk of fungal growth. Trimming off overhead branches and thinning out thick canopies in nearby trees provides additional sunlight on the underlying garden soil.
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References
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- Photo Credit moss image by daki from Fotolia.com
