Yellowing Lawn
 

Hi, Any advice appreciated on why a lawn laid a year ago ( Rolawn Medallion Turf) is not growing vigorously and is now showing distinct yellowing of some blades as can be seen in the photo. The soil was prepared to 150mm, fine compost added and fertilizer top dressed prior to laying the turf. This season a liquid lawn feed was applied in early spring and then Miracle Grow applied a little later. Any advice on what to do to try and improve the lawn . Many thanks ..

Yellowing Lawn
 

On Jun 11, 3:30*pm, Steveg wrote:
Hi, Any advice appreciated on why a lawn laid a year ago ( Rolawn
Medallion *Turf) is not growing vigorously and is now showing distinct
yellowing of some blades as can be seen in the photo. The soil was
prepared to 150mm, fine compost added and fertilizer top dressed prior
to laying the turf. This season *a liquid lawn feed was applied in early
spring and then Miracle Grow applied a little later. *Any advice on what
to do to try and improve the lawn . Many thanks ..

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Steveg

It's a great picture and maybe someone here can
identify it. But it's often very difficult to identify a
particular disease, fungus, etc. Beside a close-up
picture, other critical items a

What it looks like over the whole area, ie does it
appear in rings, small patches, large areas, etc.

Climate? Is it full sun, shade, wet, dry, temperatures,
Spring, Summer, etc.

And even with that, pros have to send samples out
to a lab to be really sure in many cases.

But, some general approaches:

Most of the problem appears to be on leaves where
they were cut. Keeping the mower blade sharp
reduces injury and makes it harder for disease to get
established.

Fungus/disease loves:
Water
Nitrogen
High Temps.

If you're overwatering it, leaving it wet too much of the
time, that's not good. Best time to water is so that the
watering ends as the sun is coming up. That minimizes
the water used by doing it at night and also minimizes the
time the grass is wet. Let it thoroughly dry out between
waterings. For sod laid a year ago, it should probably be
watered about 2X a week.

Don't put down any more fertilizer. Most people see a
problem like this and rush out to put fertilizer and more
water on it, both of which could make it worse.

If it doesn't correct itself or gets worse, many of the
common lawn diseases respond to the lawn fungicides
that are available. So even if you can't identify it, a bag
of fungicide may work.

Thanks for the reply . The yellowing is pretty uniform over the lawn. I have now done soil tests , really surprised that nitrate phosphorus and potassium show 'ow levels' with neutral pH. Why would it be so low when a considerable amount of fine recycled compost was added to the soil prior to laying turf and it has been fed this spring. A lot of recent rain but surely that wouldn't wash out the nutrients. Considering the test results a would a feed regime be the answer N:P:K 11 - 4 -8 ?? Noticed today there are now areas of small toadstools ........ Does that indicate anything other than how wet it has been for a while. Any further comments really appreciated . Thanks Steve G

Yellowing Lawn
 

Steveg wrote:
....
Thanks for the reply . The yellowing is pretty uniform over the lawn. I
have now done soil tests , really surprised that nitrate phosphorus and
potassium show 'ow levels' with neutral pH. Why would it be so low when
a considerable amount of fine recycled compost was added to the soil
prior to laying turf and it has been fed this spring. A lot of recent
rain but surely that wouldn't wash out the nutrients. Considering the
test results a would a feed regime be the answer N:P:K 11 - 4 -8 ??
Noticed today there are now areas of small toadstools ........ Does
that indicate anything other than how wet it has been for a while. Any
further comments really appreciated . Thanks Steve G

the problem you are likely experiencing is that
you've added the compost to the soil and did
not wait, which ties up nitrogen until the organic
material gets broken down by fungi/bacteria. this
is why you would get both yellowing and toadstools
and why a nutrient test would come back poor in
nitrogen.

applying a fungicide will knock the fungi back short
term, but they are a natural part of any soil and
the goal is to get things back in balance, so waiting
is a good thing, adding a little nitrogen (very
weak solution so that what gets applied gets used
instead of ending up as runoff) will help green things
up.


songbird

Yellowing Lawn
 

On Jun 12, 5:16*pm, Steveg wrote:
[_2_ Wrote:





;961439']On Jun 11, 3:30*pm, Steveg
wrote:-
Hi, Any advice appreciated on why a lawn laid a year ago ( Rolawn
Medallion *Turf) is not growing vigorously and is now showing distinct
yellowing of some blades as can be seen in the photo. The soil was
prepared to 150mm, fine compost added and fertilizer top dressed prior
to laying the turf. This season *a liquid lawn feed was applied in
early
spring and then Miracle Grow applied a little later. *Any advice on
what
to do to try and improve the lawn . Many thanks ..

+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Filename: IMG_0818.JPG * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * |
|Download:http://www.gardenbanter.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=15064|
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+

--
Steveg-

It's a great picture and maybe someone here can
identify it. *But it's often very difficult to identify a
particular disease, fungus, etc. *Beside a close-up
picture, other critical items a

What it looks like over the whole area, ie does it
appear in rings, small patches, large areas, etc.

Climate? *Is it full sun, shade, wet, dry, temperatures,
Spring, Summer, etc.

And even with that, pros have to send samples out
to a lab to be really sure in many cases.

But, some general approaches:

Most of the problem appears to be on leaves where
they were cut. *Keeping the mower blade sharp
reduces injury and makes it harder for disease to get
established.

Fungus/disease loves:
Water
Nitrogen
High Temps.

If you're overwatering it, leaving it wet too much of the
time, that's not good. * Best time to water is so that the
watering ends as the sun is coming up. *That minimizes
the water used by doing it at night and also minimizes the
time the grass is wet. * Let it thoroughly dry out between
waterings. *For sod laid a year ago, it should probably be
watered about 2X a week.

Don't put down any more fertilizer. *Most people see a
problem like this and rush out to put fertilizer and more
water on it, both of which could make it worse.

If it doesn't correct itself or gets worse, many of the
common lawn diseases respond to the lawn fungicides
that are available. So even if you can't identify it, a bag
of fungicide may work.

Thanks for the reply . The yellowing is pretty uniform over the lawn. I
have now done soil tests , really surprised that nitrate *phosphorus and
potassium show 'ow levels' *with neutral pH. Why would it be so low when
a considerable amount of fine recycled compost was added to the soil
prior to laying turf and it has been fed this spring. A lot of recent
rain but surely that wouldn't wash out the nutrients. *Considering the
test results a would a feed regime be the answer *N:P:K 11 - 4 -8 ??
Noticed today there are now areas of small toadstools *........ Does
that indicate anything other than how wet it has been for a while.

Yes. It indicates decaying organic matter, ie the compost
you added to the soil, etc. Nothing to worry about.

The fertilizer you have should be OK to use. Or one with
more nitrogen. Just make sure it's one formulated for
lawn use, ie slow release. After that, I would not put
more fertilizer down going into the heat of summer.
Excess N, wet, high temps are bad. The lawn can live
with lower than desirable N, but a fungus can kill it off
in a few days.





Any
further comments really appreciated . Thanks Steve G

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