Q: We’ve done everything “by the book” to have a great lawn. We aerated and overseeded last October and again in April. We planted the most expensive grass seed and the lawn has been gorgeous. Now we are seeing light brown patches in the shadier areas. Can we control with a fungicide?

A: Wow – you overseeded twice?? That sounds like you applied a lot more than a total of 6 – 8 pounds of seed per thousand square feet.

Planting extra seed usually leads to pythium blight in spring, which results in large patches of straw-colored dead grass in areas that stay damp or shady.

If that seems to be your situation, rake out the dead grass and scatter fresh seed very lightly on the spot.

There is no fungicide to fix it.