mossprop

One of the great things about mosses is that they can regenerate from tiny pieces of themselves. You can easily propagate many
mosses with a kitchen blender or food processor and create a thick "paint" that you can dab onto rocks, cracks between paving
stones, soil, or rotten logs - basically anywhere mosses would like to grow naturally. Since there are many species of moss that all
prefer certain growing conditions, if possible use a moss taken from rocks to cover rocks and one taken from soil to cover soil.
You don't need to identify it first, but try to match up the conditions. In this demo I am using Dicranum scoparium (below) ,
the common rock cap or broom moss that grows abundantly on rocks throughout my property.

To make one batch I collect:

2 cups of the moss

1 1/2 to 2 cups water

1/2 cup beer (I'm not sure if the beer does anything, but it means
you can drink the rest so it doesn't go to waste. In theory the sugars
in buttermilk or beer help the moss adhere at first.

1 teaspoon of sodium polyacrylate, (which you use in potting soil
mixes or to pre-treat bare-root plants. It is also the water-absorber in
diapers, and since I have lots of these around, I cut upen one diaper
to get roughly a teaspoon of the crystals (you will have to cut open
the pad and peel back the cotton then shake and scrape out the
sodium polyacylate (see below). This is great stuff for moss
propagation because it helps the moss adhere to the substrate and it
holds a tremendous amount of water by volume (300-600 times its
weight!) Soak the crystals in a cup of warm water for 5-10 minutes
until they have imbibed all the water.)

(left) ! tsp polyacrylate from a disposable baby diaper
(unused)
(middle) 3 different mosses in a blender with 2 cups water
(right) after I have added the waterlogged crystals and fine
in goes the fine amber ale