Nematodes? or other problem(s)!

jackj – posted 05 July 2005 18:36

Please see the photos at:http://tinyurl.com/dhe8kThe first photo, with a numeric ID, is of the front lawn and is from my previous question, which I’m still confronting; have put in plugs.But the rest are in the back, and may be unrelated. The really stupefying ones are the “white beads”, that are on small sections of grass only; only reference I could find was St. Augustine female cyst nematodes, though if it is, they “should” be on the roots, I believe. I HOPE that it isn’t what it is, as there’s no known cure for residential lawns (that I could find).The other photo is what I’ve seen for several months, and still not sure what it is. I have noticed sod webworm moths in other areas, and will deal with that separately, but I imagine these problematic photos are a different issue. Thanks!

Friend – posted 05 July 2005 19:56

you might go to this web site and take a look at trying to go all organic. I would put down some compost, and dry molasses and try innoculating you soil with benefical bacteria.try to make your soil healthy, then your grass will be healther. www.dirtdoctor.com

jackj – posted 06 July 2005 09:46

Thanks for the site. So far, I have been all organic, including corn meal (not gluten, and is 5% alfalfa), molasses, and alfalfa. When I laid the sod last fall, I even put mychorizal fungi, beneficial bacteria and liquid humus down. I do believe that once a lawn is established, organic and good mowing/watering practices will prevent pests and disease in St. Aug. But I haven’t gotten mine well-established yet, and I’m thinking that organic may not be enough for it to recover and get established.I did mess up by waiting too long to mow this area the first couple of times this year, because it was the only area growing. That would’ve stressed the grass, possibly allowing some fungus/pest to take “root”.Also, the “thatch” photo was merely me showing what it looked like close to the ground. This is the same general area where the white beads were found. Right behind this area is a fence, and the other side of the fence has a 2-3 foot depression for about 20 feet. So this area got plenty of water, but maybe too much, though not on the blades from watering.Not sure what, if anything, organic I’ll try with sod webworms, but I know they’re relatively easy to deal with synthetically.