How to Grow Moss on Buttermilk
Mosses add color and texture to rock gardens, stone walls and shady areas of the garden. A layer of moss transforms a plain clay pot into an aged relic that looks as much a part of the landscape as the rocks around it. Buttermilk provides both glue and growing medium for moss in the garden, helping the tiny new plants take hold on rocks or clay planters.
Collect moss from the woods or from your garden. Search for healthy green moss and gently pry it from the soil in strips or chunks.
Pour 1 cup buttermilk in a blender. Add a handful of your moss pieces.
- Mosses add color and texture to rock gardens, stone walls and shady areas of the garden.
- Buttermilk provides both glue and growing medium for moss in the garden, helping the tiny new plants take hold on rocks or clay planters.
Pulse the blender on low for several seconds until you have a lumpy moss-and-buttermilk slurry.
Rub the buttermilk and moss mixture onto clay pots and rocks in the garden. Slather the surfaces with a thick coating.
Set the rocks and pots in deep shade. Too much sun will dry out the surface too quickly and kill the moss.
Mist the moss daily with water until it is well established. The surface of your pots and rocks will produce a pale green bloom which will spread across the surface.
- Pulse the blender on low for several seconds until you have a lumpy moss-and-buttermilk slurry.
- The surface of your pots and rocks will produce a pale green bloom which will spread across the surface.
Grow Moss For Ground Cover With Buttermilk
Add roughly equal parts buttermilk and moss to a blender and blend until the moss is broken up and the mixture is roughly the consistency of a milkshake. This sounds like reverse gardening logic, but unlike most other plants, moss thrives in compacted soil. Add each mixture to a separate bowl or pitcher and pour them into different sections of the space. Drag a stick in a zigzag pattern where two types meet to create a slight swirl. Moss should begin to grow with a week or two. Mix 1 quart of buttermilk and 2 gallons of water. Add this mixture to a watering can and sprinkle it over the moss twice each year to keep the moss carpet lush. Blend some moss with the buttermilk before mixing it with water if you need to fill in some sparse sections of the ground cover.
- Add roughly equal parts buttermilk and moss to a blender and blend until the moss is broken up and the mixture is roughly the consistency of a milkshake.
- Blend some moss with the buttermilk before mixing it with water if you need to fill in some sparse sections of the ground cover.
Tip
You can substitute beer or yogurt for the buttermilk in this recipe.
Pour any leftover solution on the ground between rocks or stepping stones to encourage the growth of moss there.
References
- Oregon State University: Establishing Mosses in Gardens
- Fine Gardening: Growing Moss in Cracks
- Alabama Cooperative Extension System: Moss: Grow It or Get Rid of It
- Rutgers Cooperative Research & Extension: Moss in Lawns
- North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension: Why Does Moss Grow In Areas Of My Lawn And Not My Grass?
- Popular Mechanics: Paint Moss Graffiti
- Mother Nature Network: How to Embrace Moss Ground Covers
- Apartment Therapy: How to Grow Your Own Moss
- Water Reeves: Moss -- Growing
Resources
Tips
- You can substitute beer or yogurt for the buttermilk in this recipe.
- Pour any leftover solution on the ground between rocks or stepping stones to encourage the growth of moss there.
Writer Bio
Cynthia Myers is the author of numerous novels and her nonfiction work has appeared in publications ranging from "Historic Traveler" to "Texas Highways" to "Medical Practice Management." She has a degree in economics from Sam Houston State University.
