Lawn help

[Caper11]

Is there any lawn GURUS or specialists that can tell me what’s going on with my lawn?
I dug a spot in the center of the brown spot and I did not find any bugs.

This only shows up around this time of year and is getting worse, I can figure it out and I cant find anything that matches it on google.
I got the lawn aerated a few years ago and evidence of this seemed to show up the following summer around this time. I use scotts turf builder pro and scotts Max with a application of truegreen to control the dandelions.

Thanks in advance

 

[ferniesnow]

I found lots of reading but it is difficult to tell if it is the same as yours. Brown patch is the common name and is caused by temperature and humidity. This link was a Google search for "brown patches in the lawn" and I also found YouTube has quite a few videos. Good luck.

https://www.scotts.com/en-us/library/other-lawn-problems/what-causes-brown-spots-lawn

 

[Caper11]

I found lots of reading but it is difficult to tell if it is the same as yours. Brown patch is the common name and is caused by temperature and humidity. This link was a Google search for "brown patches in the lawn" and I also found YouTube has quite a few videos. Good luck.

https://www.scotts.com/en-us/library/other-lawn-problems/what-causes-brown-spots-lawn

Thank you. I have found lots of info in the last couple of summers but nothing online looks the same. I do see other lawns in the neighborhood that have the similar brown spots but id like to figure out whats causing it.
I was hoping someone on here would recognize or have dealt with a similar condition.

 

[sc800]

What time of day do you water your lawn? Does the grass lift out like the roots are cut and are there trenches? (Voles). My neighbor for some reason waters his lawn during the day at 1pm in 30 degree heat and his lawn gets burned by the water hearing up and scortches the lawn.

 

[skegpro]

What do you put down for fertilizer?

 

[Caper11]

What time of day do you water your lawn? Does the grass lift out like the roots are cut and are there trenches? (Voles). My neighbor for some reason waters his lawn during the day at 1pm in 30 degree heat and his lawn gets burned by the water hearing up and scortches the lawn.

At this time of year I dont water my lawn. Actually I think the last time I watered was back in june when I watered in my fertilizer.

The grass is very strong rooted and does not try to lift up like a carpet.

These brown spots are puzzling, I have talked to a company in Edmonton a couple of summers ago when they started showing up. He thought it was “dollar spot”, but I have not found pics that resembles what Im seeing.

There is green grass growing amongst the brown and the brown blades of grass do not feel dry, but when I root around in the spot I find bare soil patch like that one, the results were consistent.

This is the same spot before I rooted around in it, and after.


With all the reading ive done the first pic resembles brown spot, but after I root around it looks insect or worm related. The ground is still moist and damp even after the heat from this weekend.

 

[Caper11]

What do you put down for fertilizer?

As mentioned above I use scotts max with the high iron and scotts turf builder with the slow release high nitrogen, in between applications from trugreen to control dandelions.
My next step was to find a PH meter and check the pH level. I do have access to ash at work, and lots of farmers in the area use it in their fields.

 

[skegpro]

Hit it with some Decis or Matador. (Will need a farmer friend.

That will illuminate the bug issue/question.

Do you topdress with extra seed every year?

How long ago was this sod laid?

 

[skegpro]

As mentioned above I use scotts max with the high iron and scotts turf builder with the slow release high nitrogen, in between applications from trugreen to control dandelions.
My next step was to find a PH meter and check the pH level. I do have access to ash at work, and lots of farmers in the area use it in their fields.

How much phosphate do you put down.

Looks root bound to me or shallow roots.
Little bit of heat stress and the roots are not deep enough to compete for moisture.

 

[Caper11]

How much phosphate do you put down.

Looks root bound to me or shallow roots.
Little bit of heat stress and the roots are not deep enough to compete for moisture.

Im not sure when the sod was layed but when we moved in it was a dandelion farm. The scotts product has no phosphate % the max i think is 27-0-2 and the turf builder pro has 30-0-3.

I dethach every spring as well. Maybe im taking it down too far?

As far as overseeding i tried that ever since I moved in but though I was wasting my money. I did find a product at home hardware that had topsoil pellets seed and fertilizer in it, . I tried it on a winter kill spot this spring and it worked well.

My yard looks amazing till this time of year.

 

[skegpro]

Im not sure when the sod was layed but when we moved in it was a dandelion farm. The scotts product has no phosphate % the max i think is 27-0-2 and the turf builder pro has 30-0-3.

I dethach every spring as well. Maybe im taking it down too far?

As far as overseeding i tried that ever since I moved in but though I was wasting my money. I did find a product at home hardware that had topsoil pellets seed and fertilizer in it, . I tried it on a winter kill spot this spring and it worked well.

My yard looks amazing till this time of year.

Find some phosphate, nothing builds roots like phosphate.

 

[polarice]

what type of soil are you dealing with ...... looks like it isnt getting enough moisture
i top dress with a mushroom farm compost every two years .... the fertilizer i use was a blend of 26-13-0 first number promotes growth second number promotes spread ... used to be able to find it co-op ag centres but tough to find so this year i have started using a blend of 26-13-4-5 which i found at a small fertilizer place north east of cochrane
my lawn also see four dogs on it every day and gets watered three times a week

 

[wiffler79]

I would say it is sod webworm, if u can get some commercial seven and after a couple applications that will slow em down. The best is a granular like bug b gone but u can only get that in the states.

 

[wiffler79]

Did you notice any little grey moths earlier in the summer when cutting your grass? Cause that is them, i usually spray seven a few times in early summer after i mow and it seems to control them.

 

[Caper11]

Did you notice any little grey moths earlier in the summer when cutting your grass? Cause that is them, i usually spray seven a few times in early summer after i mow and it seems to control them.

I did notice moths but I didnt pay that close attention to them, the kids are usually chasing moths and butterflies around the yard.

I read up on the webworm and the symptoms im seeing line up with what you mentioned.
Where can I find this sevin??? Or anything that will combat this worm.

 

[Caper11]

View attachment 211376what type of soil are you dealing with ...... looks like it isnt getting enough moisture
i top dress with a mushroom farm compost every two years .... the fertilizer i use was a blend of 26-13-0 first number promotes growth second number promotes spread ... used to be able to find it co-op ag centres but tough to find so this year i have started using a blend of 26-13-4-5 which i found at a small fertilizer place north east of cochrane
my lawn also see four dogs on it every day and gets watered three times a week

I have 4-6 in of black dirt on clay. When it rains it takes awhile for the ground to dry up, so thats why I dont water that often this time of year.

 

[eclipse1966]

I had a similar issue in our previous yard and it was worms. When you walk on the grass do you feel "small bumps". Our local lawn care company took care of them and never looked back. Our current house we have some patches of brown and found it was too much PH.

 

[Summitric]

Do you have dogs?? If so, do they "go" on the lawn?

 

[Caper11]

I had a similar issue in our previous yard and it was worms. When you walk on the grass do you feel "small bumps". Our local lawn care company took care of them and never looked back. Our current house we have some patches of brown and found it was too much PH.

I think you are correct, I do feel the small bumps when I walk on the lawn.
I checked the PH last night in different parts of the lawn where it was brown, and the PH is fine on my lawn.

I only had time to do 1 soil test in a brown section, the test showed the proper levels of nitrogen, phosphate ect.

 

[Caper11]

Do you have dogs?? If so, do they "go" on the lawn?

No I dont have pets, but when it first started to show up acouple of summers ago, I thought it was pet damage.