Mystery Brown Lawn Too

Douglas_Miami – posted 29 August 2003 13:59

I’m having mysterious browning issues. I live in Miami, it’s summer (the rain season) and I have a “mutt” lawn of several different types of grass. I think previous owner put down some St. Augustine sod, but I have other types of grass throughout lawn, in smaller quantities. Currently, I’m having problem with brown patches. Despite good rain over last several weeks, the brown patches have gotten worse and spreading. There is no geometric pattern – some spots are very circular while others are horizontal streaks. And patches don’t connect. That is, patches are each seperate from one another. In between patches, I have beautiful, healthy grass. Several weeks ago, I fertilized because of lack of rain. It was a granular fertilizer with bug killer. Two weeks later, I sprayed a liquid weed killer to kill clover. I’m afraid I may be taxing my lawn with too much. Help.

Dchall_San_Antonio – posted 31 August 2003 00:15

I don’t know that I would necessarily connect all the events together.

The perfectly circular patches are most certainly a fungal disease. The others might be insect or fungus.

To control fungus organically, you can use ordinary corn meal at 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet. You need to treat the entire lawn because corn meal is also a fertilizer. If you don’t treat the entire lawn, you will have bright green circles instead of brown ones. You can get corn meal in 50 pound bags at a feed store.

Corn meal works be attracting a new fungust to the area. The new one is a disease for the first fungus and will basically kill it. Since these are biological processes, they take a little time. Do not expect to see greener grass for 3 weeks.

Since you will be treating the entire lawn with corn meal, all the other brown spots will be getting a full fungal disease treatment. If all your problems are fungal, the corn meal will treat it all at once. If you also have bugs, the organic solution, especially for the south, is beneficial nematodes. These guys bring a disease to the damaging bugs but otherwise do absolutely no other harm. BN come on a blue sponge that you wring out into a gallon of water and spray on the lawn. The bad bugs will die within 24-48 hours.

Douglas_Miami – posted 02 September 2003 11:26

Thanks for the response, and I think that you are correct in that my issues are unrelated. From what I’ve read, the fertilization that I did several weeks ago might have been a catalyst for the fungus.

Two questions for you:1. How do you apply the cornmeal? In a spreader? By hand? Should I water before or after spreading cornmeal?

2. You mentioned a sponge and beneficial nematodes. Can you expand. I didn’t quite understand the connection to cornmeal.

Thanks.

Dchall_San_Antonio – posted 05 September 2003 00:51

I apply corn meal by hand. It doesn’t go through either my drop spreader or my handheld whirly spreader. I have rented a walk behind whirly that worked well.

The sponge and beneficial nematodes is for killing grubs in the soil. There is no connection to corn meal. If the corn meal does not work, then you have bugs.