In this photo you will see the nasty moss growing on the concrete blocks of the flower bed, as well as black mold (?) on the house, behind it. Is there a SAFE way to get rid of this unsightly mess without hurting the existing and future plants in the flower bed? I have tulips and Cranesbill geranium in there right now, and am going to add some nasturstian (sp?) seeds soon.
I have used bleach and water in sprayer on my house and it rinsed/ran onto shrubs and flowers with no ill effects. Kills the mold but if you have conditions to support growth it will return. I like moss but can understand why you would want to eliminate the mold.
Also had house professionally pressure washed with cleaning solution - not sure ingredient - no harm done., except the fellow hit the windows with the spray and the force broke the air seal on two windows. :0(
Moss and mold indicate conditions that are staying wet too long.
If you can correct this then the moss will die off.
Mold is more difficult to get rid of, and you might have to go to something as tough as chlorine bleach. This is not good for the plants, though. Look into all the commercial products that claim to kill mold. Half or more contain bleach. Try to find some that do not, then research that active ingredient.
If you cannot find something that is safe for use around plants, then tarp the bed and use a paint brush to brush on the product of choice. The paintbrush will target the application, and avoid spraying it all over, and the tarp will catch the drips until the product is dry.
Moss: Dry the area and scrape off the moss. You can look into moss killing materials, some are plant-safe. The moss will come back, though, unless you can dry out the area.
The reason why it grows there is because the rain gutter spout pours out onto the concrete slab there. These are good suggestions for removal! But keeping it removed will always be a problem.
Can you direct the downspout to discharge the water farther away?
Add some special tubing to the downspout so the water is carried away? There is tubing that lies flat when there is no water, then puffs up when it rains.
http://www.amazon.com/Thermwell-Products-DE200-Flexible-Downspout/dp/B003K360D0/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1367462217&sr=8-13&keywords=downspout+extensions
It is just a simple plastic tube.
You can roll it up when there is no rain expected. It will unroll itself if the rain is heavy enough, but it is better if you go out there and direct it just where you want it.
Not sure - I will ask my husband about it. Neither of us are capable, at this time, to be climbing up any ladders.
Is there a downspout or does the gutter just open up way up in the air?
If there is a downspout within reach (no ladder needed), then the product I linked can help.
If the gutter opens without a downspout, then get some help and install a downspout. That will carry the water past the raised planter and direct it away from the house. It might take several fittings to make the downspout aim the right way. Perhaps a 'home handyman' sort of person could deal with it for you.
When the downspout is discharging the water away from the raised planter and away from the house, you might not even need the item I linked.
It's up in the air! I'm not sure where the water would go from there, with a downspout - it's on the corner of the house, in the back, and it's grass on one side and a concrete slab on the other........... It would flood the grass, which is sloping towards a 5 foot rock retaining wall (5 ft above the sidewalk below on the other side) and I don't think that could handle the pressure of extra heavy soil due to excess water........
Karrie - not such a good idea for your foundation to catch the water discharging off the roofline horizontal gutter and straight down. The purpose of the gutter is to catch the water and direct it way away from the house foundation. This may sound sort of crazy but could you block that water up at that one corner gutter that does not have a downspout thus forcing it to run a little farther along the gutter to a downspout that would carry the water away from your foundation? Or, maybe you could install a downspout at that corner with a water barrel underneath to catch the discharge -- you could then water that planter using that water and hopefully eliminate the saturation/ mold issue.
It doesn't go to the foundation - it goes out on a concrete slab that is in front of the picture that you see.
Well, that is good.
Did you try the bleach solution or another type?
I haven't got to it yet - have been too busy and low in energy - I will though!
Karrie
First fix the gutter. If that is a basement wall behind there, You could have more problems. The stones look to need new mortar in the cracks. Right now, they can act as a wick. The wall needs to be sealed below dirt level. I would use bleach on the mold. Next seal the surface with Kiltz paint, Then paint to match. But my biggest worry would be if the black mold gets into the wall. That could get very expensive.
Mad
Karrie, you have gotten a lot of really good advice in terms of addressing the water problems, BUT an important factor that you need to know is...Bleach alone does NOT kill mold. It bleaches the color out of it, but does not kill the microbes, it only slows them down.
I live in an area that is wet...South Louisiana...and as everyone knows, mold has been a big problem for folks here (think hurricanes) Check out this link from the Nat'l Org of Remediators and Mold Inspectors:
http://www.normi.org/articles/bleach-mold.php
I use a product by Zinnser called Jomax. You do add bleach to the product...for stain removal. I use the concentrate which makes 5 gallons of cleaner (4 gallons water, one QT Jomax and 48 OZS of common household bleach.)...costs less than $10 dollars to do the whole house exterior. I have not had any damage to plant material near the spray area. You have to rinse the product off after application and it should not be allowed to drain into ponds lakes or waterways as it is toxic to fish.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Zinsser-1-Qt-Jomax-House-Cleaner-and-Mildew-Killer-60104/100398379#.UYZ66spi3mc
Good point about bleach not killing mold. Actually it does kill some ( like the kind I run into in the hospital) but the key is non porous surfaces and your surfaces are definitely porous. Guess you can say the "roots" are living where the bleach cannot reach. MadGardener have you had good results with Kiltz? I used it on some wood trim with knots ..I primed and painted the trim and beadboard I used in the bath.... Then the knots popped thru. So I used Kiltz on every single knot....and repainted. A year later--- here come those knots..... Now I am looking for something that will permanently block that knot from coming thru before I paint again. Sorry Karrie to take your thread off topic.
Oil based Kiltz works better. But for bad stains, I shellac them first, Them paint.
Mad
Will be great never to see those knots again.
you are okay! I'm finding this quite interesting! :-)
Ha Ha Karrie - you reminded me of my husband there. Yesterday I was sitting on my couch reading a badly written book. I hate that because I got this thing -- if I buy it -- I got to finish it (sigh). Anyway, I was huddled up - rainy cold damp day - hair pulled in ponytail to control the curls. He walked past and said " hmmmm I find this quite interesting" I looked up with a "what now?" And he said , "you look just like your brother Jim in drag" And, I made him a great white clam sauce for Sunday dinner.....the rat! Truthfully, if my brother Jim made that clam sauce -- we would all be over the moon! Whatta cook!
lol :-)
OK, so the water falls out of the gutter, hits the retaining wall some, but mostly flows across the concrete. Reading between the lines of your post it is not causing problems where it flows across the concrete. The problem is the path it is following to get there.
I would add something that will direct the water away from the raised planter, and discharge it to the concrete.
The tube I linked before is one idea of an answer, but that sort of thing is not so great when it pretends to be a downspout.
I would make a real down spout. It might take a few corner fittings to go over the planter wall, but that will be the best way to minimize the water against the wall.
At the bottom, add a fitting that will direct the water away from the house. It will still end up on the concrete.
Plastic down spout material, the basic tubing, and the fittings are available at most hardware stores. A hacksaw is the simplest tool to cut it with.
Any home handyman is quite capable of dealing with something simple like this. Just make sure they do not put holes in the wall to secure it.
