Question
QUESTION: Hi,
On Labor Day weekend, my husband turned over both our front and back yard to start fresh with a new lawn on both.  He used a sod cutter to pick up the old lawn and turned it over.  Then he covered the whole area with top soil and seeded with "Landscaper's Blend".  Peat moss was then put on top periodically for the week or two after that.  The front yard, which gets more regular sun, came up beautifully.  The back yard, which is bigger and has more shade was spottier.  He kept re-seeding areas that weren't taking and add peat moss where necessary.  

Unfortunately, because of the weather and a few nighttime waterings of the lawn because of not having time in the morning to do it, the front lawn developed what we think is "brown patch" although I'd still like a professional opinion.  The grass became patchy and thin in areas with a very irregular pattern and some spots are saturated and clumped together and smell like rotting grass.  This happened over the course of 2 to 3 days this past week.  The back yard has some areas that are bad but is not nearly as bad as the front.  It's very disheartening to see because the lawn looked so beautiful just a week before!!  

We got Scott's granular fungus control this past Wed. night in a panic and he treated those areas that were bad that night and added a little water to set it into the soil.  He cut the lawn this weekend slightly to get the grass lower so that more air can get to it.  Then we raked the lawn very well to get up the dead, rotting grass and have vowed not to water at all from this point forward.  We've reseeded all the "sick" areas heavily and are hoping that the morning dew will help the seeds to germinate so that we can salvage what we can of the lawn before the lawn goes dormant.  

We also have spots on the lawn that are perfectly circular and absolutely bare, even after we seed them.  Don't know what that's about.

Do you have any insight or input as to how we are approaching our problem?  I am sick over this because my husband worked so hard to get the lawn looking great so I'd like to do the best we can to get it back to looking at least *good*.  I know we can re-attack the problem come next spring, too.  

Thanks for any help you can give.

ANSWER: You did not identify your location, dear, so I'll give you a few basics.  Meantime, would you please give me a zipcode so that I can narrow down some of the choices here?

Very sorry to hear about your experience.  This is a common problem, if that is any help.  The 50 percent of the country that tends its own Lawn deals with Fungus several times in the life of their Lawn, or more.

Brown regions in a Lawn are usually a sign of Brown Patch, Take All Patch, Grubs, and in some areas Chinchbugs.  Tall Fescue and Perennial Ryegrass are highly susceptible, especially when they are young.  In the North, Rhizoctonia attacks in the heat of Summer; in the South, it waits for more moderate temps between 45 and 70 degrees F.  Shade aggravates a Brown Patch attack, although you get less Sun in the back and your worst symptoms are appearing in the front lawn, correct?

Brown Patch (aka 'Rhizoctonia Blight') as you suggest is triggered by high moisture levels, i.e., overwatering.  Excessive Nitrogen fertilizer will aggravate an attack -- which is why I like to build up Soil rather than count on volatile, concentrated Nitrogen fertilizer, especially for a new Lawn.

Brown Patch does not need a Fungicide to be managed well.  You can eliminate Brown Patch simply by watering correctly.

Take All Patch is a Fungus we see from time to time that is controlled by maintaining a lower soil pH -- something you did without even realizing it when you put down Sphagnum Peat.

How do you cure these problems?

University researchers have tested Corn Meal to see if it would increase the Trichoderma population for natural control of fungi. Predatory Trichoderma Fungi feed on Sclerotinia minor, Sclerotium rolfsii and Rhizoctonia.   When yellow Corn Meal is sprayed over crops in a moist surface soil, Trichoderma builds up dramatically and wipes out Sclerotinia, Sclerotium and Rhizoctonia.  But if you destroy it with Fungicides, you lose that option.

Peel up the old, dead turf, and turn, then re-seed.  And rsvp as to your location.  Thanks for writing.  I'd be glad to help.


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Sorry for not giving our location.  Bloomfield, NJ.  I researched a bit more after sending you my long missive about our lawn and I've come to the conclusion that we have Pithium blight.  Last week we had some pretty warm and humid days in mid week and I think that combined with some night watering triggered it.  Since my husband used one dose of fungicide is it too late for us to put down cornmeal next week (2 weeks after the first treatment)?  We'd actually rather treat the lawn organically, if possible.  We've also found some grubs, by the way in the back lawn.

ANSWER: Grubs are like Germs. You don't have to worry about Grubs unless you have too many of them in one place. A few Grubs is GOOD.  It shows you have a certain au natural soil, nontoxic enough for them to grow, but kept in check by Grubs predators (which include Birds, Squirrels and Racoons among other fauna).

Bloomfield is not far from here.  You think you have Pythium causing this damage?  Please study these photos and confirm:

http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/plantsci/landscap/pp950w.htm

Cornell University Plant Clinic also posts some good pictures of Lawn Diseases.  See if any of these pictures look like your Lawn:

plantclinic.cornell.edu

As for your Pythium diagnosis, this is not Pythium season.  It's possible, but not likely.  Rutgers University would be able to i.d. your Fungus for a modest fee.  Here is their website:

njaes.rutgers.edu/plantdiagnosticlab/

Do you remember slimy, dark green greasespots in the Lawn in the morning when you stepped outside?  You need HEAT for Pythium to erupt in your Grass.

Fungicides first of all work on existing damage.  They won't stop it from spreading.

Second, Fungicides destroy all the Good Fungi that keep the Bad Fungi and other diseases in check.

Just like with people, there are Good Fungi and there are Bad Fungi.  We agree: Your Lawn has a case of one or more Bad Fungi.

Thatch becomes a home for many natural Fungi, most of them beneficial.  The GOOD Fungus population is key to natural decomposition of Grass clippings and dead leaves -- and a necessary ingredient for a healthy Lawn.  Correct mowing, fertilizing, and watering, along with intelligent,
organic soil management, will banish BAD Fungi from your Lawn forever.  Now that you have zapped a large number of the natural Fungus population (and other microbes and fauna along with them), I worry it would be a waste of time and money to use Cornmeal as a culture for Trichoderma Fungi.  Let the populations rebuild themselves on a normal cycle.  Besides, Trichoderma may not be interested in your particular Fungus, anyway.  Furthermore, you will wipe out this Fungus just by withholding water and Nitrogen.

I will close this note to you with one of my favorite Fungus Fables.

A gardener was talking to his wise neighbor about the local landscaper.

The gardener pointed out that the landscaper's first customer that morning had a really bad Lawn Fungus problem.  And the gardener worried: Was the landscaper spreading Fungus on ALL the Lawns?  Because whenever the landscaper mowed a Lawn, the lawnmower he'd used on the first Lawn, with Fungus, would be used on the next Lawn, spreading Fungus spores all over it.  Was the landscaper starting an epidemic of this Fungus?  Was the landscaper giving ALL his customers the same disease?

No, said the wise neighbor.  The landscaper was not spreading Fungus all over the place.

How is that possible?  Fungus spores carried all over on the same Lawnmower, and still only one Lawn would have the Fungus?

'He drew me a picture of a three-legged stool,' explained the gardener of his wise neighbor.

'The seat of the stool is the disease. Fungus,' he explained. 'The seat -- the Fungus -- needs three legs to support it. One leg is the host plant, the Lawn Grass. Another leg is the Fungus spores; they are present all of the time in the soil. The third leg is the environment around the Lawn.

'If ANY of the three legs is NOT present, the stool falls, and there is no disease.'

The wise neighbor continued: 'Two legs -- the Grass and the Fungus -- are always there.  We cannot change that. The third leg, the environment, we CAN change.  And when we do, we keep the Fungus at bay in a Lawn.'

This is ALWAYS true.  Take away moisture, and you remove one of the legs that the Fungus needs to survive.  Excessive moisture creates a chance for Fungus to erupt and spread.  When you plant new Grass or Sod, remember to manage the moisture levels carefully, and stay away from chemical fertilizers (which force-feed Nitrogen for soft, vulnerable growth) and pesticides.  Otherwise, you set up a chemicals parade that will never end.

I would give Seeding another shot.  Pick a new variety of Fungus-resistant Seed that will shrug off Pythium, Rhizoctonia and other common diseases.  Work fast; it's the end of the Grass-growing season.  Let the soil dry out before you water the Seed again.  If it rains, leave the Grass alone.  You should have a protective covering over the Grass anyway to retain healthy moisture levels.  Don't introduce any more chemicals to your lawn.  Not even a little.  You will save money, work less and your Lawn will be beautifully healthy.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: First, thank you so much for your help.  You have given us some comfort.  Being that I'm not an expert and I don't really recognize what kind of fungus we've got going on from all the pictures I've looked at, I'm going to say (as you've stated above) that we have one or more bad fungi.  Yes, there were some spots that I saw on the lawn that were greasy looking and some of these smelled like rotted grass when I raked it out.  There were other spots that were just wilted and thinned out and on their way to being dry.  If I had to guess after looking at your link, I would say it's dollar patch and pithium blight.

Regardless, your solution sounds best under all the circumstances and we're optimistic that re-seeding before the end of the season and some judicious watering will produce some results.  Should we spot-water the seeded areas or the whole lawn once it's dried out?  We bought a protective covering for an area in the back and when we pulled it up last Sunday, there was matted wilted grass along with healthy growth under it.  I'm concerned that the covering will keep too much moisture in, but it might be beneficial to use it after this weekend, which is supposed to be hot.  

This will be my last follow up question and I thank you again for your time and expertise.  

Answer
Ask as many followups as you need to, my friend.  This is a complicated subject, as anyone can see.

I can't emphasize too much the Fungus Fable and the three legged stool.  We live in a very commercial world, and advertisers have learned that they can 'educate' us to use their products.  That's how they make money.  There's no one to educate us on alternatives that aren't making someone, somewhere, a profit.  Most people learn how to grow Grass by watching Scotts on Superbowl Sunday or from their commercials on This Old House.  Nothing wrong with that.  It's just a very limited message.  We have a responsibility to educate ourselves, too, so that we make informed decisions.  If Scotts started selling nail polish and told everybody it's good for their Lawns, people would run out and buy their special brand of nail polish.  They have a terrific marketing machine.  Some of their stuff in my opinion is very good, and very reasonably priced.  They have some awesome Grass seed mixes that score very high in some parts of the country and have potential for wonderful results.  But some of their other products I simply think will be totally illegal in a few years.  The routine they have sold this country about Weeding and Feeding Grass with high Nitrogen fertilizer and herbicides was cutting edge, a long time ago; today, there is a lot of research that will produce better results, at less expense, with safer stuff.

Don't worry about the Fungus.  This is a balancing act that you will get better at.  Practice moisture control.  Maybe -- just maybe -- a few dashes of cornmeal will culture enough residual Trichoderma to fight whatever Bad Fungus is in your soil.  DEEP watering -- which grows deep roots, and which is preferable -- is better than regular, constant, repeated watering -- which encourages growth of Bad Fungus and can wipe out your Grass in a heartbeat, as you have learned.

The Cornmeal will do no harm, and that's your worst case scenario.  It will decompose and in the spring it will have enriched your soil and made it better for your Grass.

You have to watch the newly seeded area -- let it dry out briefly, then water deep again.  I would try it without the blanket, because you already have a Fungus problem and the blanket is just too Fungus-friendly, in my opinion.  I could be wrong.

So try re-seeding.  Water the seeds wherever you put them.  I would not water anything that doesn't need it.  If you are not seeding the whole Lawn, don't water the whole Lawn.  There's just too much of a BAD thing growing in that Grass right now; you want to get rid of it, and drying it out is the best way to do that.  Any healthy Grass will be OK.  In a few weeks, you'll know what Grass is not going to recover, and what Grass has survived.

If you mow at all, be sure to toss the clippings.  Usually we keep them on the Lawn, but you should remove these to get the Fungus/i problem(s) under control.

Remember, we all learn from our mistakes.  I tell people from time to time, there is NO SUCH THING as a Green Thumb.  Every real gardener has killed HUNDREDS of plants.  Some of us have killed THOUSANDS.  We learn from all those mistakes.  It sharpens our skills.  If this Lawn does not work this month, no harm done.  But look at how much you've learned.  That's a lot better than if the whole Lawn had grown in smoothly.  This is a terrific lesson.  When you succeed, you will really know what you are doing.

And as I said, any followups you need to ask I'll be happy to address.  Hope I've answered all your questions so far.