Hello to all,
I was hoping someone might be able to identify the problem I am having with my lawn. I am in Western Michigan. Within the last month or so, I am getting small dead patches of grass. Bright green, then a small patch of yellow lawn. I will attempt to attach pictures in an effort to demonstrate the issue. Any ideas on the cause of the problem, along with the fix, would be greatly appreciated!
[img]https://img10.imageshack.us/img10/3378/dscn1024i.jpg[/img]
[img]https://img12.imageshack.us/img12/6702/dscn1023nu.jpg[/img]
[img]https://img69.imageshack.us/img69/1451/dscn1022k.jpg[/img]
[img]https://img814.imageshack.us/img814/7775/dscn1021y.jpg[/img]
[img]https://img51.imageshack.us/img51/7277/dscn1020a.jpg[/img]
[img]https://img195.imageshack.us/img195/517/dscn1019e.jpg[/img]
As the grass is green near it it looks as if it is getting the water it needs so you may have a fungus, you could use a fungicide but then you will kill off some of the good microbes in the soil. Did you use a bunch of weed and feed? If too much is used it can also kill your lawn, usually it is in larger patches all though.
-
crazymomof4
- Newly Registered
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Mon Jul 18, 2011 8:38 am
- Location: palmyra, nj
doh102
I was going to post a new thread but I seem to be having the same problem that you do. This is the 5th or 6th year in a row that we've faced this and I am getting soooo frustrated. We spend more time and money on our front lawn than anyone else in the neighborhood and ours looks the worst! We've tilled the lawn and laid sod. (a few yrs ago) Lost that due to the "brown patch". We've tilled the lawn, sifted and leveled the soil and put down seed, we've seeded in spring, we've seeded in fall. It's always gorgeous in April-June then mid-July it starts to turn brown. Faintly in the beginning. Then the small patches grow and in about 3 wks time I've got large sections of lawn that is completely brown (like your pix). I water regularly if there's no rain. We put down spring fert which really made it a lush green. When I noticed the brown was NOT responding to water, I used summer fert w/ insect control and also weed control bc crabgrass was entering. But THESE products are NOT the cause as I put them on AFTER the brown was already a problem.
After researching this morning, I was convinced it was grubs, but then I went out and lifted 2 sections (8"x8") under the brown. First of all they didn't lift easily like it says it should if you have grubs. Secondly I found only 2 very tiny grubs under the one section and 0 grubs under the other section. Doesn't seem to be an "infestation" of grubs that would cause such widespread browning.
My question is like doh102's: What else could it be???????? A fungus maybe? I don't want to start treating w/ anything else unless I know what the cause is. Please help!
If no one seems to be responding to this thread doh102, I may start my own to draw attention to it.
Hope we both get to the "root" of the problem-- hahaha
I was going to post a new thread but I seem to be having the same problem that you do. This is the 5th or 6th year in a row that we've faced this and I am getting soooo frustrated. We spend more time and money on our front lawn than anyone else in the neighborhood and ours looks the worst! We've tilled the lawn and laid sod. (a few yrs ago) Lost that due to the "brown patch". We've tilled the lawn, sifted and leveled the soil and put down seed, we've seeded in spring, we've seeded in fall. It's always gorgeous in April-June then mid-July it starts to turn brown. Faintly in the beginning. Then the small patches grow and in about 3 wks time I've got large sections of lawn that is completely brown (like your pix). I water regularly if there's no rain. We put down spring fert which really made it a lush green. When I noticed the brown was NOT responding to water, I used summer fert w/ insect control and also weed control bc crabgrass was entering. But THESE products are NOT the cause as I put them on AFTER the brown was already a problem.
After researching this morning, I was convinced it was grubs, but then I went out and lifted 2 sections (8"x8") under the brown. First of all they didn't lift easily like it says it should if you have grubs. Secondly I found only 2 very tiny grubs under the one section and 0 grubs under the other section. Doesn't seem to be an "infestation" of grubs that would cause such widespread browning.
My question is like doh102's: What else could it be???????? A fungus maybe? I don't want to start treating w/ anything else unless I know what the cause is. Please help!
If no one seems to be responding to this thread doh102, I may start my own to draw attention to it.
Hope we both get to the "root" of the problem-- hahaha
-
rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
I don't know much about lawns and I don't have the answer to the question, though some kind of fungus sounds like a good guess.
But I do think the general solution to lawns is to get them off the chemical habit and make them as self sustaining as possible. The healthier your grass is, the better it will do at fighting off pests/ infections, etc.
So basic organic lawn care is put down lots of humus/compost, seed in the fall not the spring, put some clover in with the lawn for nitrogen fixing, don't mow your grass any shorter than three inches. Water only when your grass shows signs of drought stress and then water deeply (put a cup in your sprinkler zone and make sure it gets at least an inch of water). If you want to feed it something (besides the compost), spring and fall put down some corn gluten meal, which adds nitrogen and has some weed suppressing effect. But not too much or you get that lush growth effect again!
The more synthetic fertilizer you use, the more lush tender new growth you get, which is very attractive to pests and vulnerable to infection. The more insecticides/ herbicides you use the less beneficials you have around to help control pests. I don't do anything to my little patch of grass + weeds, but my next door neighbor who spends a lot of money on all the Chem Lawn and hired landscapers stuff is always envious that mine is greener than his...
Here's a couple threads from Scott, The Helpful Gardener himself, who is a lawn care expert, on organic lawn care:
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=193344#193344
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=140348#140348
Here's a really nice article on sustainable turf care:
https://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/turfcare.html
But I do think the general solution to lawns is to get them off the chemical habit and make them as self sustaining as possible. The healthier your grass is, the better it will do at fighting off pests/ infections, etc.
So basic organic lawn care is put down lots of humus/compost, seed in the fall not the spring, put some clover in with the lawn for nitrogen fixing, don't mow your grass any shorter than three inches. Water only when your grass shows signs of drought stress and then water deeply (put a cup in your sprinkler zone and make sure it gets at least an inch of water). If you want to feed it something (besides the compost), spring and fall put down some corn gluten meal, which adds nitrogen and has some weed suppressing effect. But not too much or you get that lush growth effect again!
The more synthetic fertilizer you use, the more lush tender new growth you get, which is very attractive to pests and vulnerable to infection. The more insecticides/ herbicides you use the less beneficials you have around to help control pests. I don't do anything to my little patch of grass + weeds, but my next door neighbor who spends a lot of money on all the Chem Lawn and hired landscapers stuff is always envious that mine is greener than his...
Here's a couple threads from Scott, The Helpful Gardener himself, who is a lawn care expert, on organic lawn care:
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=193344#193344
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=140348#140348
Here's a really nice article on sustainable turf care:
https://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/turfcare.html
-
crazymomof4
- Newly Registered
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Mon Jul 18, 2011 8:38 am
- Location: palmyra, nj
Thank you for the reply, rainbowgardener!
Everything you said makes perfect sense. Yes, I'm leaning toward fungus too. It comes around every year in the same patches of the lawn (the lowest lying- where water would lay). Since fungus goes dormant until conditions are right, it explains why this is a yr after yr problem as soon as we get the humid weather. So based on the "if it walks like a duck" standard, I'm going with a diagnosis of fungus.
I agree that the first step is always to go the natural approach. I do that with my own health as well! I've found a "recipe" for a natural antifungal that contains baking soda and veg oil mixed w/ water. Just have to find a hand sprayer to apply that. If that doesn't work, there's an organic product called Actinovate that I will try. At any rate, I'll probably need to over-seed in the fall. But knowing what I know now, I will be mindful of preventing the fungus next May/June and hopefully my grass will actually stay green ALL summer long!
Hope this helps anyone else reading this!
Everything you said makes perfect sense. Yes, I'm leaning toward fungus too. It comes around every year in the same patches of the lawn (the lowest lying- where water would lay). Since fungus goes dormant until conditions are right, it explains why this is a yr after yr problem as soon as we get the humid weather. So based on the "if it walks like a duck" standard, I'm going with a diagnosis of fungus.
I agree that the first step is always to go the natural approach. I do that with my own health as well! I've found a "recipe" for a natural antifungal that contains baking soda and veg oil mixed w/ water. Just have to find a hand sprayer to apply that. If that doesn't work, there's an organic product called Actinovate that I will try. At any rate, I'll probably need to over-seed in the fall. But knowing what I know now, I will be mindful of preventing the fungus next May/June and hopefully my grass will actually stay green ALL summer long!
Hope this helps anyone else reading this!
-
rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
very odd, the link above to the sustainable turf care article now goes to a site selling the article. $2.95 is not a bad price, but I'm sure that when I looked at it before it was showing the actual article. I would not have post the the link to the sales site.
Anyway, here's a place where you can read it on-line
https://www.scribd.com/doc/40730744/Sustainable-Turf-Care
although the formatting is really bad, making it a bit difficult to read. They also offer free download of the article, which I did not try.
Anyway, here's a place where you can read it on-line
https://www.scribd.com/doc/40730744/Sustainable-Turf-Care
although the formatting is really bad, making it a bit difficult to read. They also offer free download of the article, which I did not try.