Q: I have approximately three thousand square feet of fescue lawn. It has lots of moss. I want to put eight hundred pounds of pelletized lime on it to combat the moss. Is that too much?

A: I hope you haven’t done anything yet! The rate you’re contemplating is WAY too much!

The usual rate for lime is 40 – 60 pounds per thousand square feet. You’re proposing 266 pounds per thousand. At that rate, the soil will be so alkaline you won’t get anything to grow there for years. The best way to combat moss is to give the lawn more sun, control water flowing across it and aerate each year to help the soil dry out. Lime and moss-control chemicals are just temporary fixes. Moss doesn’t kill fescue, it simply takes over in shady spots where fescue can’t grow.