Question
QUESTION: Hi there.  I read your post on 6/1/2007 repsonding to a question about grass turning yellow.  I have a similar problem.  Yes, I installed new sod about 2 months ago, watered regularly but tapered off to once per week, and added Scott's fertilizer (organic), once after intall, and once more recently.  The lawn was looking gorgeous but has now turned a nice yellow hue underneath.  I haven't watered in about 3 weeks because we've had plenty of rain (Seattle).  What can I do if it's a fungus?  Thanks for your help.

ANSWER: Thanks for writing, Chuck.  I'd be delighted to address your question -- but please re-post it as a Public question so that other people can learn from it, too.  I promise to make it a top priority.

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QUESTION: Repost.  Thank you!

ANSWER: When I talk to Gardeners in Seattle, it's usually about Rain and Watering.

You guys get more Rain than London.  Which is why Fungus is a problem if you live in Seattle.

You have to be more careful about your Lawn care than the rest of us.  You have to be REALLY on top of things.  You have to be VIGILANT.  You have to be SMART.

I think there may be a glaring error in your question that violates those guidelines.  The words 'Scotts fertilizer (organic)'.

What fertilizer does Scotts make that is Organic?

I know, you THINK it's Organic.  They knew what to say, and you figured, It's Organic.

If you're in Canada, it's believable.  Because Canadian communities are banning pesticides up and down and over and out.  It is ILLEGAL to sell the regular American Scotts Lawn Care products up there.  So Scotts HAD to adjust.  They dreamed up an Organic line called 'EcoSense'... JUST FOR CANADIANS.  No Americans need apply.  You CANNOT buy this in the U.S.  Just in Canada.

EcoSense 10-1-5 'Natural Lawn Fertilizer' contains Potassium Sulfate, Dolomatic Limestone, Sodium Nitrate, Feathermeal, Wheat Shorts and Bone Meal.  (I confess, I am not familiar with the term 'Wheat Shorts', I will need a translator for that.)

The ONLY thing organic about this product -- in my book -- s that part about the Bone Meal (and maybe the Wheat Shorts, who knows).  If you REALLY want to grow a beautiful plot of Grass, sir, you are going to have to stop 'fertilizing' your Grass and start building up your Soil instead.  Because THAT is where the Organic Fertilizer comes from.  It's custom made for your Grass by those little people at the bottom of the food chain.  Remember them?  The little people who work in the factories that make N and P and K and a bunch of other things?  Food factories!

And this is important because if you want to deal with Fungus in Seattle, you have 2 ways to do it.

You can drench your Soil and douse your Grass with concentrated Fungicides that wipe out any related microbes.

OR

You can SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL LAWN FLORA.  That means THEY, not YOU, control the insects and diseases.  Throw a Bad Fungus at Lawn Flora and Fauna, and the Bad Fungus bites the dust.  Every time.

But Chuck, my friend, you fed your Lawn Scotts 'Organic' Fertilizer.  When you did that, you did a lot of Damage.  To the Lawn Flora and Fauna.  They don't like Sodium Nitrate and Potassium Sulfate.  You shook up the Good Microbes; next thing you know, in walked the Bad Microbes.  And now you have them all over.

Fear not.

Yes, there's a lot of moisture.  Can't help it

You getting Sun up there?  Or is this plot shaded?

What kind of Grass?  And how long is it before you mow?

rsvp

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QUESTION: Thanks for taking the time to respond and for your suggestions.  I appreciate it, and I'm a fledgling at this.  The lawn is a small (Approx. 300 sq ft) and is semi-circular patch and faces south and properly sloped, so it benefits from full sun (When the Seattle uni-cloud isn't hovering overhead!).  The type of grass I know not, but it's sod I installed from JB instant lawn (http://www.jbinstantlawn.com/) which is a NW company. Before installing, I amended the soil with Steerco.  I mowed about a week ago, and was mowing weekly with a push mower (non-powered).  Based on your two suggestions above, I have no experience with either (using concentrated fungicides, etc.).  Again, thanks for your help, and I'll toss that fertilizer!

Answer
Steerco -- a local manure/sawdust mulch -- may raise the pH of your Soil a bit.  If I had to guess, I would say that you tilted your plot in a Fungus-friendly direction.  If you have a healthy population of Good Microbes, that's not a problem, although the higher pH is not great for Grass.  JB Instant Lawn sells one and one sod only, according to their website: 'JB Signature Sod is an improved turf type perennial Ryegrass blend developed through research at JB Instant Lawn.'

Probably a good choice, at least if you listen to the folks at Sprinkler Warehouse (http://www.sprinklerwarehouse.com/LawnCare/grass_info.shtml#rye%20grass): 'This grass has the best �wear tolerance of any cool-season grass, making it ideal for play areas.

On the down side, this grass is intolerant to extreme heat, cold and drought, so I'd only recommend it for coastal regions with mild Winters and cool, moist Summers.'  Perennial Rye is a Pragmatist's Dream Come True: It 'can be used to create a tough temporary turf in cool climates and is widely planted across the northern United States.'

Almost perfect.  What's not to like about Perennial Rye?  You tell me.  Dollar Spot, Brown Patch, Rust, Snow Mold, Pythium Blight, you name it Rye gets it.

So we know you have a (potentially) Sunny Plot in Seattle where it rains all the time.

We know you are growing Fungus-prone Grass.

We know you amended with Steerco and then with Scotts Salt.  (Those Fertilizer Salts are murder on Grass and Microbes.)

We know -- I think we can assume, at least -- that the Sod you purchased was chemically drenched to keep it pure and pretty.  Who wants to buy Sod with Weeds all over it?  I see nothing on their website that labels their Sod 'organic'.  So we have to assume there are ZERO defenses in the Sod or the bit of Soil it came with.  Lay it over a bed of Steerco-spiked Soil and you just know that any Bad Fungus in the neighborhood is going to LOVE it there on your Ryegrass Sod.  No wonder it turned Yellow.

Before I finish here, I want to say something I think is really important.

Growing Grass is a very easy thing to do.  You do not need a degree in rocket science to grow a Blue Ribbon Lawn.  You don't even need to speak English to grow a Blue Ribbon Lawn.  So if you are feeling a little intimidated, figure you are feeling what millions of Americans feel, then watch the Superbowl Sunday spots for Scotts and the next day head out to the Garden Center for the 1-2-3 Steps toward Salvation.  Which it isn't.  100 years ago, Scotts Fertilizer could be considered state of the art.  They were just figuring out what NPK were.  Now, anyone who took high school chemistry can get past that, if you let them, but the commercials are SO EFFECTIVE, no one does.  They are just too worried.

If you were to go to Scotts about this problem, they would sell you a Fungicide.  It would not wipe out the Fungus disease, but it would eliminate all the Beneficial Fungi that were sitting around doing nice things for the Soil and Lawn.  The Fungus would get worse.  You would put down more Fungicide.  The Fungus would spread.  You would call a gardener, who would not be able to help you, but would charge you just for trying.  Grass growing is a very easy thing to do.

So now let's get bakc to this problem.

If you have any access to Compost or aged Manure, they would contain a lot of helpful microbes including maybe the one that will search and destroy your current Fungal pathogen.  Avoid adding more moisture to your Lawn -- Rye is drought tolerant, and now that yours is established, you don't (probably) have to be concerned about moisture unless it's TOO MUCH.

Great idea to get a push mower.  I'd like to hear more about that.  What gave you that idea, and where did you purchase it?

You might GIVE AWAY the Scotts 'fertilizer' on Craigslist.  Or save it for a home experiment -- half with this, half with the good stuff.

Lots of material here.  If you need clarification on anything, let me know, I'm happy to help.