Moss in Plot

[herdman]

Just remember, once you til it you can not go back and change that. I think there are a lot of studies and proven field experiments showing just how much you are destroying the soil as well as biological life every time you til. As others have pointed out, moss doesn't even have a root system so why would you til to get rid of moss?

Are there any trees surrounding this plot that you could cut and open up more sunlight to the plot? I see shade in your pictures, but can't tell what its from, could be clouds or anything for all I know. The plot still looks like its growing decent. Do you have a cage to see how much the deer have been eating?

 

[Chainsaw]

Farmers here use lots of drain tiles to of course drain areas that otherwise are not productive. I saw a field tiled three years ago that has been useless for the thirty years I have seen it. It now grows decent beans and corns. The harvest is low due to excessive deer use but that is another matter. So if the soil is lacking drainage, tiling could be an option. I once dug drainage ditches three feet deep on each long side of a 1/4 acre wet spot and that made the otherwise unproductive land productive. Eventually five years or so the ditches did fill in but the land is still drier there than it used to be.

Full sun as herdman suggested is a good first step as well.

 

[RobbieH]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I hope everyone is having a great season. I did end up dragging it. Not tilling, but just a good drag to try to cut the moss and maybe aerate the plot a little. This was late summer. Then I added fertilizer it needed then planted WR this past September. The moss is still there but I'm sure more fertilizer is needed. Not to mention it wont stop raining. So I'll keep at it.
This plot does get just about full sun. It must be poor fertilized soil and poor drainage. So now I know where to start. As next spring approaches, I'll refer back to this thread and do some more work on it.
Thanks again.