TMD Aug 12

My yard is turning brown.  What do I need to do?

There are many reasons that yards can lose their color this time of year.  Insects, lack of rain or water, disease or fungus will usually account for most of it.

Take a close look at the areas that are loosing color and try and find signs of what may be going wrong.

Here are a few things that can cause your grass to turn brown.

Lack of water:  Usually starts out on high places in the yard or sandy areas.  Check the soil for moisture.  Grass can be shriveled up and going dormant.  

Insects:  Can affect any part of the yard.  Patches of irregular shaped grass start turning brown.  Then other patches will follow.  Will usually start out small and grow.  Grass can either be broken off in the leaf or at the ground very easily.  To check for chinch bugs, go to the end of a patch of dead grass, place a coffee can that is open on both ends into the ground and fill it with water.  Chinch bugs will float to the top.  They are black or dark gray in color and 1 /4 inch long.  Grub worms can be found by digging up the soil and exposing the roots.  After identifying them, a treatment with diazinon, or nematodes may be necessary.  

Fungus or disease:  Check the outer areas of the dying grass.  Look for gray colored or tinted leaves.  Many times it can be easily identified in the early mornings while dew is on the ground.  Other problems could be a reddish color or circular patterns across the lawn.  After identifying the problem, a treatment with products like Daconil or Neem may be necessary.

Gasoline spills:  Don't forget about those areas where you may have overfilled the mower or a place where a tractor or engine may have lost fuel.  

And remember, we are now open 7 days a week!

My quote of the week comes from Abraham Lincoln.  It reads, "Tact is the ability to describe others as they see themselves."