St. Augustine brown patches

jsoul200 – posted 05 May 2006 01:23

First time homeowner – didn’t do any work on the yard in the fall besides a good scalp. St. Augustine seems to be coming back slow in several spots …

Watered 1 day per week most of the winter. Spring watering is 3 days per week. Do I have a brown spot problem due to over watering?

Links to photos below

seed – posted 12 May 2006 10:40

It does not look anything like brownpatch disease. It looks like some environmental factor killed or browned out the St. Augustinegrass from wall-to-wall, possibly drought or (if it got below 20 degrees Fahrenheit) cold weather.

Phil

jsoul200 – posted 12 May 2006 10:54

What should I do to fix the problem? I have cut back on watering from 3 days to 2 days per week and I have let if grow out 10 days before mowing high this time ….

It seems to be coming back but very very slow.

Do I have too much thatch built up? I don’t bag the clippings after mowing – just mulch.

smack00 – posted 30 May 2006 14:59

You have “take all root rot”, a common fungus found in drought conditions. The best remedy is raking back the brown areas to expose your soil. Next apply some type of organic compost (i.e. Cotton Bur, Manure, etc.) on the dead spots. What you are doing is changing the PH of the soil in turn killing the fungus. Simple fertilization is only a short fix, the fungus will return. Because composting is slow acting the grass will eventually grow back. Take all root rot can spread by mowing, so one should mow the infected area last or sterilize you lawnmower blades with a 50/50 water bleach solution.

smack00 – posted 30 May 2006 15:00

You have “take all root rot”, a common fungus found in drought conditions. The best remedy is raking back the brown areas to expose your soil. Next apply some type of organic compost (i.e. Cotton Bur, Manure, etc.) on the dead spots. What you are doing is changing the PH of the soil in turn killing the fungus. Simple fertilization is only a short fix, the fungus will return. Because composting is slow acting the grass will eventually grow back. Take all root rot can spread by mowing, so one should mow the infected area last or sterilize you lawnmower blades with a 50/50 water bleach solution.