Lawn Problems & How to Fix it

How healthy is your lawn? have you asked your self this question  before ?

Even the most carpet-like lawn can develop problems. If your lawn isn’t healthy and you can’t diagnose the trouble, dig up a patch of soil and take it to a reliable nursery or the local Cooperative Extension Service for analysis. Here are some common situations:

Problem: Grass won’t grow under a tree.

Solution: In northern climates, consider planting shade-tolerant fine fescues. In the South, try tall fescue.

Problem: Grass won’t grow on a slope.

Solution: If the slope is hot and dry, more regular, deep watering might help. If you can’t get grass established, try laying sod or having a professional “hydroseed” — plant seeds encapsulated in a special material to keep them from drying out.

Problem: Lawn is overrun with weeds.

Solution: Apply herbicide in spring and fall. Do both because each application kills different weeds. If the problem is severe and doesn’t respond in one or two years, you may have to kill the lawn with a non-selective herbicide and then replant.

Problem: Lawn has bare patches.

Solution: Try reseeding these areas. In spring or early fall, scratch the bare patch with a ground rake and sprinkle with lawn seed. Mark off the area with stakes and strings, and water gently. Keep the area moist for the next few weeks, watering daily if necessary. If high traffic is the problem, consider creating a path or patio surface

Problem: Lawn has brown spots or weblike threads.

Solution: Fusarium patch makes 2 to 12-inch-wide brown spots or weblike threads in thatch and grass in early spring. Minimize shade and fertilization; improve drainage; apply fungicide in early fall.

Problem: Lawn is dotted with bleached or gray spots.

Solution: Dollar spot causes numerous such spots to appear. Spots may merge to make larger, straw-colored areas, while cobweb-like growths may appear with morning dew. Fertilize; apply fungicide.

Problem: Lawn is dotted with small orange pustules on blades.

Solution: Rust is the cause of these orange, smudgy spots. Fertilize grass and keep well watered. Mow frequently and remove clippings. Apply fungicide if condition persists.

Problem: Lawn has green circular patches that die off.

Solution: The patches are called fairy rings, which sometimes feature mushrooms as well. Aerate the lawn; apply fertilizer. Keep the lawn wet for three to five days.

Problem: Lawn develops large patches of brown grass in late summer.

Solution: Dig up some of the brown areas and look underneath for small grubs, the likely cause. Apply Diazinon, isofenphos, or chlorpyrifos. Apply just after eggs are laid; check with a reliable nursery or local Cooperative Extension Service for the correct time to do this.

Problem: Multiplying mushrooms

Solution: The bad news is, mushrooms are nearly impossible to get rid of. According to turf expert Bob Mugaas, “You can certainly pull them.” This won't permanently rid your lawn of mushrooms, but it can give you temporary relief. You can also make your lawn less hospitable to fungi by correcting drainage problems and eliminating decaying organic matter. Grind down stumps, rake up grass clippings, dig up buried lumber, aerate, dethatch and replace old mulch.

Problem: Seasonal swamp

Solution: Convert a low, wet area to a rain garden with water-tolerant plants.Plant it with shrubs and perennials that tolerate pooling water as well as periods of drought.The amended soil and water-loving plants capture the excess water, and it slowly percolates into the earth instead of running into the storm sewer or sitting on the surface of your lawn.

How To Remove Weeds From The Lawn

        In each Garden Lawns can quickly be spoiled when taken over by unruly weeds. Weed management in lawns and grassy areas can be difficult to achieve without harming the existing lawn if you don't know what you're doing. Here are some expert tips to remove those weeds and get your lawn growing strong.

·          Fertilize your lawn effectively to crowd out weeds before they sprout. Follow the directions on the fertilizer package to get the right balance for your yard. Too little and your lawn will be sparse and allow weeds to thrive; too much and unwanted weeds like crabgrass will flourish.

·          Water your lawn infrequently with deep soakings. Your lawn needs about one inch of water per week. Frequent light lawn watering leads to shallow roots which helps many annual weeds germinate.

·          Get a dandelion removal tool to ensure that you get the entire root out of the ground. Once you've removed the roots, reseed the holes with grass seed to prevent new weeds from taking root.

·          Hand-pull weeds while they're young if your lawn is small enough. This is the most effective way to correct a weed problem before it gets out of hand.

·          Use herbicides only as a last resort. If you need to use an herbicide, choose a post-emergence systemic selective version. Selective herbicides will only kill certain weeds while preserving your grass rather than killing any plant they come in contact with.

·          Use a non-selective herbicide to spot-treat resistant weeds only and avoid spraying the lawn surrounding the weed as much as possible.

·          Apply a pre-emergence herbicide twice a year. Pre-emergence herbicides kill certain weeds before they sprout.

·          Dig out areas of your lawn that have been completely taken over by weeds and start over. Determine what factors may have caused the weed takeover to begin with such as using the wrong kind of turf grass for your region or improper irrigation, fertilization or mowing. Remove and destroy the existing weeds, work the soil, remove weed debris, add soil amendments and fertilizer and them level and firm the area. Irrigate and patch with sod, seed or plugs.

Gypsum & Lawn

Garden centers and lawn-care companies   services often advise applying gypsum (calcium sulfate) to your lawn to “decompact” a hard soil. This is supposed to accomplish softening by improving the structure of the compacted clay soil, adding gypsum as a soil-softening amendment is not necessary in non-agricultural areas.

Urban soils are generally mixtures of subsoils plus native and nonnative topsoils. In home landscapes, high levels of organic and inorganic chemical additives are common. They may also be highly compacted and layered, and gypsum does not work well on layered soils. In such landscapes it is pointless to add yet more chemicals in the form of gypsum unless you need to increase soil calcium. Adding gypsum to sandy or nonsodic soils ( low in sodium) is a waste of money and natural resources and can have negative impacts on plant, soil and ecosystem health. Excessive soil calcium may release cations like aluminum or tie up nutrients like phosphorus. In our noncoastal soils, the soil calcium (Ca++) concentration is much higher than the sodium (Na+).

Really want to know why gypsum doesn’t work here? In arid parts of the country, sodium occupies many of the cation exchange sites in the soil. And since it is only a +1 charge, soil colloids tend to disperse and can be easily compacted together causing a poor soil structure. Adding gypsum (CaSO4) allows the Ca++ to release and replace the soil-bound Na+.The released Na+ is leached out as Na2SO4, and the soil tends to granulate due to flocculation (fluffing up and colloidally glued together on the microscopic level) with more Ca++ on the exchange sites. This granulated condition improves soil structure, and soil is then less prone to compaction. Since there is far more calcium than sodium on exchange sites in our Louisiana soils, adding calcium via gypsum has little or no effect on most of our soils.

Instead of gypsum, consider core aerifying in spring, summer or early fall to reduce the compaction and improve plant health. Aerifying with large half-inch hollow tines and punching about 25 holes/square foot will produce good results. Very compacted soil can benefit from several corings each year (common with sport fields). This does not minimize the benefit of have a high Ca and Mg level reading in your soil test, but coring does physically reverse a physical compaction of soil particles. Yes, coring is an expensive service to buy, and most lawns really don’t need it; but it won’t hurt. And if the soil is compacted, it’s usually the best solution to the stifled growth.