Diagnosing lawn problems
A beautiful lawn adds charm to any landscape. Green, healthy grass appeals to both the young and the old. Unfortunately, numerous unsightly conditions and diseases plague grass lawns. Regardless of the type of grass planted in your lawn, you are likely to face some of these unattractive lawn conditions in your own yard. It helps to understand what causes unhealthy lawns, as well as understand options and treatments. Restoring grass in a problem lawn will benefit your whole landscape.
You have silver dollar-size spots of dead grass, yellow patches, and brown spots surrounded by intense green growth in your lawn. All signs point to lawn fungus; or do they? Lawn fungus is a common woe but, there are actually many non-disease problems that have symptoms similar to those of grass fungus. Before you start treatment, consider the following possibilities.
Pet Problems
Dog urine burns lawns, creating little patches of dead turf that can look a lot like the effects of lawn fungus. If you have a dog, check to see if the brown areas green up with heavy watering. If they do, blame Fido, not fungus.
Lawn Fertilizer Burns
Nitrogen can injure your grass. Apply too much, and you will burn your whole lawn the same way dogs burn patches with their nitrogen-rich urine. If there is a possibility that you went overboard on your last fertilizing, grass fungus may not be the reason for the dying grass. When you do fertilize, use an organic slow acting fertilizer.
Grass Insect Infestation
Bugs can harm your lawn, and in many cases it can look a lot like lawn fungus. Get up close and check for insects. If you can pull any of your grass out in chunks (a classic sign of grubs), or can see little guys crawling all over, chances are they're the problem.
Nutrition Shortfalls
Lawns need nitrogen and iron. If you have a lawn that is yellow and thinning in patches, poor nutrition may be the culprit. Most fertilizers will give your lawn a good dose of both of these nutrients, but if you have not been feeding your lawn enough, or your pH is high (high pH binds iron in the soil) you should be suspicious of nutrient deficiency. Lawn nutrition is far more than nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus (N-P-K). Proper nutrition must include trace elements, growth hormones, enzymes and organic fertilizer.
Create a Healthy Lawn
Look for overall conditions affecting the whole lawn. Most diseases and infestations begin in patches. An overall condition usually signifies a problem with the soil nutrients or moisture. Grass that lacks color usually lacks nutrients. Spread an organic lawn fertilizer plus lawn amendments such as Nature's Magic with Aerify over the entire lawn to counteract this deficiency.
Look for bugs at the base of grass blades. Small pests, such as worms and bugs, can negatively affect the health of your lawn. These small creatures eat away at the blades and the roots of grass. There are many horticultural and organic pesticides that are safe for you, your pets and the environment.
Be on the lookout for neighborhood dogs. Dog urine, especially from adult females, can cause small, circular patches of dead grass. These patches can show up as much as a week after the area was contaminated. Dogs often return to the same spot to relieve themselves, so look for a concentration of dead patches in the same area.
Check your lawn for dry spots. These may resemble the same type of unhealthy grass spots caused by dogs. However, these patches will continue to spread and may take over large areas of healthy grass, creating a large, ugly lawn condition. These are often caused by lack of moisture or areas of thatch. Thatch is a buildup of dead plant debris near the surface of the soil. Remove thatch with a bio-enhanced liquid organic dethatcher. A bio-enhanced liquid aerator will relieve compaction and clay soil conditions that will enhance soil water retention and cause roots to grow deeper.
Water your lawn sparingly. Moisture is important to healthy grass, but too much can create a climate for fungus growth. Powdery mildew is common on shaded areas of grass. It appears as a white powder on the grass blades. Other types of fungus cause uneven color of grass blades. These can look like yellow or red stripes along the grass blades. Treat grass fungus first by adjusting the soil pH on the affected areas. Most fungi require a pH above 6.8.
Listed are a few tips that will help determine and correct many of the problems.
- You should be familiar with the plants you are growing and what their cultural requirements are.
- Learn how to look for symptoms and signs of problems.
- Keep a history of the site to track problems. Some problems, such as crabgrass invasion, white grub damage, and some turf diseases, may be an annual occurrence.
- Some pests, or the damage they cause, can be difficult to see without the aid of good diagnostic tools such as a magnifying glass, pH meter, etc.
- Obtain reference materials that are helpful in confirming the identity of a particular pest.
- Not every problem can be answered in the field. In some cases, it may be necessary to send a sample to a diagnostic laboratory for analysis.
- Become familiar with the remedies at your disposal such as organic pesticides and fertilizers, etc.
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Age: 62, There's a lot of experience in these gray hairs! |
