Post Mulch Cleanup Disaster Advice

10 years ago

Last year, I had mulch delivered (very high quality black mulch from a very reputable nursery) onto a large tarp in my driveway. Afterwards, I scraped off all of the major pieces of mulch, moved the tarp onto the lawn, and rinsed the remaining residue off (figuring it may actually help help the lawn). The end of last year, and now even this year, I am getting elongated spots of grass that were on the edge of the tarp that are browning out. I have tested the soil PH and it shows about a perfect 7. I have tried to over water the areas many times (to try and flush the soil) and nothing. I live in north east Ohio and the grass is high quality 80/20 Bluegrass/Rye. I have pulled a piece of the area out to check for anything odd about the soil/thatch layer, and nothing was out of the ordinary. Any suggestions?

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Comment (1)

dchall_san_antonio
10 years ago
I don't see any reason why mulch would cause that. I would normally expect a problem from the tarp, but I don't see that.

When were the last two times you fertilized and what did you use?

How often do you water and for how long?

How high/low do you mow?

Have you used any insecticide, herbicide, or fungicide in the past 6 months?

How often do your kids rechalk your walkway? (kidding)

Is there any chance those are low spots holding moisture longer than the rest of the yard?

If you are not watering more than once every 2 weeks and have not have not poisoned the yard with something, my almost universal solution to similar issues is to use an organic fertilizer like alfalfa pellets at a rate of 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet. Give that a full 3 weeks to see results. Then check the brown spots again. Organic fertilizer doesn't get any advertising time on the weekend sports programs. Certainly the rabbit food industry is not promoting it, but it really does work. It will not interact with chemical fertilizers, so you can apply both on the same day if you like.
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