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kennyk1

Help Needed!!!

KennyK1
9 years ago

As you can see I have a few issues with my lawn. 1) Browning 2) different color grasses (two different greens) 3) clovers. 4) I may even have some crabgrass. This is only happening with my backyard (which is in the picture). Front yard looks great. I have 3 zones to cover this section (backyard is bigger than what is in the picture). All sprinklers properly cross. I run each zone for 20 minutes every day at 4AM. It is the beginning of August. Is there anything I can do to help my lawn? Or do I have to wait for temperatures to cool?

Thanks in advance.

Comments (3)

  • dchall_san_antonio
    9 years ago

    Where do you live?
    What kind of grass is that? I'm guessing a mix between fescue and Kentucky bluegrass. Why do I say that? Because you have nice green grass in the shade (fescue) and dormant looking grass in the sun (Kentucky bluegrass) with some patches of green fescue.

    Put out some tuna or cat food cans in the yard and turn on your sprinklers. Time how long it takes to fill the cans. That is your new target time for watering. It might be 20 minutes or it might be 5 hours (doubtful). Every system is different. Once you know that number, then, of course, you will have just watering your yard properly for the first time. Then watch your grass for signs of wilting. Wilting will happen fast in your yard. As soon as you see any of the grass wilting, water again for your target time. Then watch again. It should go longer before it needs water again. Once the roots get longer, the grass will suddenly go a long time before it needs water again. This time of year, almost everywhere with almost every turfgrass, you should be able to go at least a week between watering. It is going to take a month or so to wean your grass off of the daily watering.

    Infrequent watering has two major benefits. First is that it allows the grass to grow deep roots. Your grass has itty bitty short roots because they don't need to go any deeper than the surface. When you start to withhold water, the roots will dig deeper into the soil to get moisture. Your grass will become much more drought resistant and should not go dormant as easily. The second benefit is that the way you're watering now is exactly the way weed seeds need to be watered in order to germinate. When you stop doing that and allow the surface of the soil to dry out, the weed seeds cannot germinate...unless Mother Nature steps in and throws a week long rain party for you.

    When the temps cool into the 70s, you can back off further and just water once every 3 weeks. Yes, really! When it cools to the 60s or below, then natural rain or snow will do it. If that doesn't do it, then water monthly to keep your soil tuned up. The grass won't benefit but the soil microbes need the moisture for good health.

  • KennyK1
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I live in Bergen County New Jersey. I really do not know what kind of grass I have since I just moved into the house. But thank you for the response. It is greatly appreciated. I will put out the tuna cans and see what I get and adjust accordingly. Once again thanks for the information.

  • polyguy78
    9 years ago

    Lots going on in this backyard and no straight forward easy answers. You've lots of moving parts.
    #1 Would agree w. Dave that getting a handle on the uniformity of your irrigation is a good place to start. I'd also agree with him that you're likely watering too frequently and likely seriously over-watering. Do you know your soil type? Clays can really hold the water, while lighter, sandier soils allow it to move thru the profile quickly. My guess is a clay loam.
    #2 Backyards like yours also typically have less air movement ( see that curtain of trees ) and therefore tend to lose moisture more slowly. As most turf diseases like it things damp rather than dry, these 'protected' turf areas are more easily disposed to disease issues. Your frequency of watering and summer temps create an ideal place for disease to kick in. As the damage shown in the picture is very irregular, it's more indicative of disease and / or insect damage.
    #3 For starters just take an old screwdriver and start poking around. Wet soils are easily penetrated while dry soils can be difficult if not impossible. I think you'll find things are to wet. Assuming that's the case then follow Dave's advice for drying that lawn down. If the brown areas are hard, than you've got serious uniformity problems with your watering.
    #4 As for insects.......most insects are below ground root feeders ( as in grubs ). A couple of quick pulls on the damaged turf will assist in the diagnosis. Insect damaged turf typically lifts easily with roots severed while disease damaged turf typically has all parts 'still connected'. If it lifts easily, you might very well spot a few grubs an inch or so below the surface. If so, pick your control and knock the population down to limit further damage. A quick comment here,typically heavy infestations of grubs are not found in dry soils.
    #4 Again assuming the turf is being overwatered, the most likely problem is disease. Get yourself familiar with the diseases that strike turf in your climate during the summer. On KB lawns, summer patch can be a beast in the northeast. Get familiar with the symptoms and conditions favoring their development. Throw Brown Patch and Pythium into the same pot and learn them.
    #5 Assuming you get a handle on your irrigation, it's going to take some time for the turf to recover. Be patient and work with it. It's just several million plants trying to get along! Late summer temps and shorter days will help.
    #6 Good luck. Let me know how things work out.