I have gone over it with a thatch rake I am watering it every other day I did the Bonus S fertilizer I sprayed miracle grow (and that has helped some) But compared to my neighbors' yards it looks like crap. I live in a 50 year old neighborhood so no one around me has sprinker systems. It honestly seems like I am even the only person who uses a sprinkler at all. The 70 year old nuns next door don't do anything to their yard and it looks like 1000 times better than mine.I mean there is grass but you can see the soil between the growth. What can i do to improve the quality of my grass quickly?
My parent's house had a similar problem and we figured out that there was some type of fungus that was making the grass grow patchy and it started to spread into our neighbors yard. We tried a bunch of stuff but ended up having to call a company (Evergreen I think).
dig up a patch and go to an organic nursery and they can help you. Stay away from Scotts and all the chemical crap. Go organic, it takes some time to get going but is worth it in the long run.
Sounds like take all patch. My front yard is a disaster right now. I'll probably have to re-sod. http://ktrh.com/pages/gardenline-takeallpatch.html Take-All Patch (Take-All Root Rot) Ten years ago, when I first came to Houston to start working on GardenLine, the lawn problem of Take-All Patch was something of a myth. Did it really exist? If you were to ask a garden-advice blabbermouth or an alleged lawn expert on how to control or diagnose such a problem, most would dismiss the condition as a misdiagnosis. However, recent studies show that Take-All Patch (Gaeumannomyces graminis var. graminis) is an actual occurence found in both St. Augustine and Bermuda grass throughout Texas. Take-All Patch (TAP) is also known as Take-All Root Rot (TARR). According to Texas A&M plant pathologists, the main disease is active in the fall and spring when soil temperatures are in the 60-65 degree range. The fungi weakens the plant by attacking the root system as the plant enters winter and summer stress periods. The disease seems to be particularly active in stressed plants. Many feel summer is the time when TAP is most active. In early stages, TAP causes yellow discoloration in St. Augustine blades. Hence the common misdiagnosis - most perceive the problem as a simple iron deficiency or chinch bug damage, and treat the symptom with iron or insecticide. By doing so, the conditions actually grow worse. TAP-affected grass roots are short, blackened and rotted. In addition, the stolons (runners) can easily be lifted from the soil because of the poor root system. On GardenLine, I have compared this lack-of-roots to being able to "lift the turf up like a bad toupee." Without roots, the yellow grass eventually browns and thins out. The exact cause of TAP is still debated, and research has failed to pinpoint one overall cure. Dr. Jim McAffee, a turfgrass expert with the Texas Cooperative Extension Service in Dallas, said TAP is caused by a combination of factors, including environmental stress, disease activity, a lack of acidity in the soil, too much nitrogen and, in some cases, excess levels of phosphorus.
Go to a feed store and get a couple of bags of cornmeal. Stuff works great and its obviously organic. I've been using it since last last summer and its worked better for me than Scotts.
cornmeal is usually used as a pre-emergent for weeds which is too late to put down right now. It also is high in nitrogen which I don't think would be good for your situation, but can be a fertilizer in normal situations. I had a little take all patch in my front yard, I combated it with sulphur granules and Actinovate, its a fungus control/root builder. Could be grub worms or chinch bugs. Dig up soil to look for grub worms. For chinch bugs put a open (bottum cut off) coffee can on the ground and fill with water and chinch bugs will float up. do this at the edge of health/dead grass since they have left the dead grass and moved. I would recommend going to an organic nursery with a patch of the grass and soil so they can diagnose and give recommendations.
I don't know, I live in Austin, but you can check out the naturalgardeners website for info. www.naturalgardeneraustin.com/
This stuff works, they have it at Home depot. My yard was infested with those chinch bugs, I used the Triazicide and haven't had any problem since. Its been about 3 years now. You might want to buy 2 bottles. All you do is connect the bottle to your water hose and spray the yard back and forth in a sweeping motion. http://www.spectracide.com/ProductCategories/OutdoorInsecticide/TriazicideSoilTurfConcentrates/
Are you sure it's just your grass? have you tried looking at your yard from the other side? I bet it looks greener. If all fails, you can always just put cement and a hoop over it and play some ball.
The key is starting in late March early April. Step 1: Rake the dead **** up Step 2: Scott's Weed, Feed, and Ant Control Step 3: Water every day for 2 weeks. A month later repeat steps 1-3 then water every other day or every 3 days. If all else fails, call Chem Lawn.
I heard you're not supposed to water your grass everyday. Rather water it twice a week for a long period of time.
Not to sound like an eco-nut.... but I can't think of anything more wasteful than turning your front yard into a putting green instead of having local grasses and shrubs do their thang. I mean... why?
Don't water in the evening or after dark, fungus' can grow. It's best to water in the morning. I'm with DD, I use the weed n' feed a few times a year and some bug control fertilizer twice a year. In the fall I use a "winterizer" fertilizer and my yard rocks too!
