I have a lawn which was hydroseeded three summers ago. It's a combination of fescue and rye. It was done over topsoil. It has been fed, watered, weeded and recently professionally thatched and aerated. During the summer months it is watered 5 minutes in the early morning. It gets lots of sun - this is the "dry side" of Washington. All our neighbors have beautiful lush green lawns, especially with all the rain we've been getting lately. Ours has huge brown spots all over. After a feeding, we grow mushrooms, but not grass. This is not a dog problem, but looks like it (would have to be a big dog). Do I have a fungus? Any ideas? HELP!
are the mushrooms in rings as opposed to lines along tree roots (maybe)? overseeding the lawn yearly is a great way to maintain species diversity which is a good way to combat environmental stresses. if it was a new construction site you may have a builder that has buried organic materials (stumps, waste wood) under the area that is now your lawn, as these decompose you may find mushroom growths present.
Thanks for the response Jimmyq. The mushrooms are scattered and mostly concentrated in the brown spots. It doesn't appear that it is being watered too much, in fact, I was afraid it was just the opposite and that I should increase the watering. There are no tree roots as this is a very new yard & new house. It was excavated to build and we didn't notice any organic material - only rock, sand and clay. It's in a foothills area and the topsoil tends to be down in the valley - ergo the need to bring topsoil in. However, I'm beginning to think the soil we spread might have been the problem. It's the only real variable from our neighbors whose lawns look wonderful.
There are many types of turf diseases, and plenty show signs as what you described has been happening to your turf.
Jimweed, do you know if there is a treatment that covers the bases? We've recently overseeded, like jimmyq suggested but if there is disease, then the new grass will follow the old. Or should I visit Lowes and get some help?
there was a lawn fungicide up here a few years ago, for general fungus issues. I think the active ingredient was Chlorthalinol. If you can find that you could give it a try.
Might be an idea to google some turf disease too. Funginex works well on most turf diseases, but first I would try to identify the problem if you can. It is a fairly multi-purpose fungicide and I've had good results on red thread, mold, and rust, but have never tried it on brown patch, dollar spot, or fairy ring, which sound more similar to your description. Here's one link I took from the top of a google search. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/TOPIC_Turf_Diseases Good Luck ,, Jim.
The presence of mushrooms around the brown spots would indicate fairy ring, or a similar problem with decomposing organic materials. If the topsoil you brought in had any woody material that was not properly composted it could now be decomposing at the expense of the nitrogen supply in your lawn. Fungicides are generally not very effective at controlling this problem, as the turfgrass is not the host to the fungi. It may be best to simply allow the mushrooms to decompose the organic material and reseed the bare spots in the fall. Or the faster, yet extreme, option is to remove the newly introduced topsoil and start over. : http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7497-t2.html
Husband SWEARS the topsoil did not have organic materials mixed in. He was told it was just plain DIRT - whatever that is? From the pictures on the website, it could be fairy ring, except instead of rings, I have large patches/splotches. The grass dies right down to the ground and the root area is matted and spongy. I'm only watering once a day for 5 minutes, although we've had a recent week of daily rain squalls. Still this problem started last year and is still with us. I'm going to try the fungicide before I tear out the patches of lawn and start over and see what happens. It's worth a try. Thanks to all.
jimweed, but.... funginex is not registered for use on lawns as far as I remember, in which case it is unlawful to recommend it for such use. technically.
Don't worry. I bought Spectracide's Immunox Lawn Diseas Control, which is a systemic fungicide. It says it cures and prevents ALL MAJOR LAWN DISEASES. So, if it's a disease, this should do it!
If you have mushrooms, you have organic material that those fungi are living on. As they feed they require heavy amounts of nitrogen, which is subsequently not available to the turf. All that fungicide will do is temporarily stop the fungi from developing, meaning that they will just continue to come back over and over again until the organic matter is gone.
I think you may be right Jimmy, and I am always in trouble on here, lol. I guess what I meant was, that it seem to work well when it is dripping off the trees I just sprayed with funginex onto the lawn where there is a turf fungus. Thats what i meant to say. But never use a pesticide that may not be registered in your area for a specific use. So sorry. Jim.
jimweed, no worries, I do not have a badge, just erring on the side of safety. re systemic fungicide killing mushrooms, I dont think you have much to worry about, thats not what the product is designed to do. It should be more along the lines of controlling dollar spot, red thread etc.
Dear L.Plant. I think what you're saying is the presence of mushrooms almost guarantees I have organic material in the soil that is causing the problem. In that case the fungicide is not only useless but perhaps will slow the process of decay and keep this problem going longer?? Please reply. I will not use the fungicide until I'm sure it's not going to exacerbate my problem. If it is an overabundance of organic material, does this situation evenually wear itself out over time? I sure don't want to take up almost 1/3rd of an acre of lawn and start over.
Dear L.plant. I've reread all the replies with special note to what you've said and I'm returning the fungicide to the store. I think we'll apply a nitrogen fertilizer a little more frequently to supplement what the mushrooms are taking out and see what happens. Thanks, Linda
