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Thanks! You got me just in time, as I'm heading into town in 1.5 hours for a lunch meeting, and can pick some of this up at Lowe's right afterward.
I bought the jug of Bayer Durazone, but the POS battery wand doesn't work for crap. You can't get or keep it running unless you have the grip of the Incredible Hulk.
I ended up taking the cap off the jug, and pouring a little bit out over each tuff of grass I wanted killed. Big waste mostly, but it is killing it.
If I ever buy this again, I'm going to pull the battery activator strips out of the wands AT THE STORE, and make sure I get one that works properly before buying it.
Yeah it's probably the worst sprayer I have as well. You just have to play with the cap and the flip wand. I think it isn't air tight so it takes pressing the button down for a minute or so to get it to spray.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeBear
I bought the jug of Bayer Durazone, but the POS battery wand doesn't work for crap. You can't get or keep it running unless you have the grip of the Incredible Hulk.
I ended up taking the cap off the jug, and pouring a little bit out over each tuff of grass I wanted killed. Big waste mostly, but it is killing it.
If I ever buy this again, I'm going to pull the battery activator strips out of the wands AT THE STORE, and make sure I get one that works properly before buying it.
A large portion of the tall fescue grass in my backyard has already turned brown and straw-like. It occurs annually at this time of the year. Come September, I usually dethatch the dead grass and reseed the lawn. Sometimes I'll aerate. It hasn't helped in the past.
I'm not sure what the issue is. The dead patch is in the center of the lawn. The ends are fine. In the past, I've tilled the soil, added new soil and compost mix, and spread Lawn Restore and lime, hoping the applications would improve the quality of the soil. Watering doesn't revive the lawn. My brother told me to just resod that portion of the lawn.
At this point, what are my options?
Btw, I'm in Maryland, just outside DC. My neighbors don't have this issue.
Fungus maybe? I'm on the VA side of DC out in Loudoun County. Fungus has been bad this year so far due to all of that rain we got. I also have tall fescue grass, and struggle with losing it in my back yard as well when it gets this hot. Always starts in the middle as well that gets full sun, but also where water tends to pool as it flows towards the very back. I've added soil, I've added amendments, reseeded, etc. This year it's holding up a lot better because I've started hitting it with Eagle 20W fungicide when I notice it starting to go. Seems to stop it from going. I also use Neem Oil.
It could also be bug related too. Might be an area where bugs just like to be for sun or moisture reasons. Maybe grubs underneath as well.
There is a product I've used in the past that you can get from Southern States Co-op that will wipe out any fungus and bugs in one pass. Not the cheapest thing in the world, and you'll need a broadcast spreader to use it, but man if it doesn't do the trick! It's called Caravan G from Syngetta (sp?). 30lb bag of granular spread mildly (package tells you setting - I have a scotts spreader and set at 4). It's about $50-$60 bucks, but does the trick! Look up Southern States online and call your nearest one. They might not have it in the store, but I know they have a lot in their warehouse and can have a bag put on the weekly delivery truck to that store for you.
I was going to say you might have a large rock shallow under the surface that is being heated up by the sun and therefore cooking the grass roots. But since you've tilled that area already, then you likely don't.
Thanks for your response to my lawn issue. I have applied a liquid fungicide this year, particularly in the center area. I applied it on at least three separate occasions during the month of June and perhaps once in late May. I used the cheap stuff from Lowes - Bayer Advanced Fungus Control. But last year my brother gave me a bottle of the good stuff. It may have been Eagle 20EW. It didn't work because I got the bottle too late. I tried it anyway but the grass was already dead.
I also have applied GrubEx in prior years. I did this because I have grubs on both ends but not the middle, which I've tilled twice in the past five years.
Like your lawn, my middle area gets the full sun most of the day. But water doesn't pool there. So I'm not sure why I'd have a fungus issue. I'm thinking I cut my lawn too tall earlier this spring, thus preventing the morning dew from drying off faster. I wasn't going to go out and blow dry the lawn as recommended by that YouTube guy. That's too much for me.
I guess I'll have to give Caravan G a try next year.
Given the time of year in all the rain we had up until recently my guess would be fungus. How do you treat it with any fungus control up to this point?
Quote:
Originally Posted by NJ2MDdude
A large portion of the tall fescue grass in my backyard has already turned brown and straw-like. It occurs annually at this time of the year. Come September, I usually dethatch the dead grass and reseed the lawn. Sometimes I'll aerate. It hasn't helped in the past.
I'm not sure what the issue is. The dead patch is in the center of the lawn. The ends are fine. In the past, I've tilled the soil, added new soil and compost mix, and spread Lawn Restore and lime, hoping the applications would improve the quality of the soil. Watering doesn't revive the lawn. My brother told me to just resod that portion of the lawn.
At this point, what are my options?
Btw, I'm in Maryland, just outside DC. My neighbors don't have this issue.
I’ve actually had great success this year with Scott’s latest fungus product, Disease Ex.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NC211
Fungus maybe? I'm on the VA side of DC out in Loudoun County. Fungus has been bad this year so far due to all of that rain we got. I also have tall fescue grass, and struggle with losing it in my back yard as well when it gets this hot. Always starts in the middle as well that gets full sun, but also where water tends to pool as it flows towards the very back. I've added soil, I've added amendments, reseeded, etc. This year it's holding up a lot better because I've started hitting it with Eagle 20W fungicide when I notice it starting to go. Seems to stop it from going. I also use Neem Oil.
It could also be bug related too. Might be an area where bugs just like to be for sun or moisture reasons. Maybe grubs underneath as well.
There is a product I've used in the past that you can get from Southern States Co-op that will wipe out any fungus and bugs in one pass. Not the cheapest thing in the world, and you'll need a broadcast spreader to use it, but man if it doesn't do the trick! It's called Caravan G from Syngetta (sp?). 30lb bag of granular spread mildly (package tells you setting - I have a scotts spreader and set at 4). It's about $50-$60 bucks, but does the trick! Look up Southern States online and call your nearest one. They might not have it in the store, but I know they have a lot in their warehouse and can have a bag put on the weekly delivery truck to that store for you.
I was going to say you might have a large rock shallow under the surface that is being heated up by the sun and therefore cooking the grass roots. But since you've tilled that area already, then you likely don't.
Here’s another question, but will admit is out there - how old is your house? I’m curious because sometimes if you have the low-e windows and the sun reflects off of the glass onto a particular spot all day long, it can magnify the heat effect. It’s a long shot, but thought I’d put it out there. I know some home builders are having the random issue with this and nearby vinyl siding. I actually replaced an outdoor light by our back door last year which is in a corner setting. The glass in the light fixture ended up acting like a reflective magnifying glass to the sun light and actually fried not only our flowers nearby, but actually warped a couple of pieces of our siding!
But that being said, tall fescue is also a cool season grass in general. My neighborhood is mostly tall fescue and I’m noticing several spots in lawns starting to brown up regardless of watering. I’ve got a blacktop driveway and area right next to it that is in the sun light from say 8:00am to around 6:30pm this time of year. About the size of two large pizzas. It’s roasted again this year already. Not dead, but practically completely beige. Did it last year too. Neighbors tell me that spot has almost always done this for the past 10 years in our yard. We get a few cooler days and some rain, and it always seems to bounce back. It does get watered via irrigation system, and the Neem oil helps it too, but never fully green until heat and humidity together have passed a bit.
Caravan G for me for the past several years has been my go-to secret for basically resetting my lawn. I tend to use it once a year. Old neighbor turned me on to it when I finally pestered him enough to reveal his secret for having the ultimate lawn in our old neighborhood (which was new construction and crappy sod). Told me the secret was to get the junk out of the lawn first and use the pro stuff. It did wonders for that yard. When we bought this house now 3 years ago, the lawn was a mess of weeds and what I thought was dead grass. Got the weeds out, but struggled with the grass. Hit it with the Caravan, and it started to come back with a vengeance. Turned out it was diseased and loaded with grubs.
Here’s another question, but will admit is out there - how old is your house? I’m curious because sometimes if you have the low-e windows and the sun reflects off of the glass onto a particular spot all day long, it can magnify the heat effect. It’s a long shot, but thought I’d put it out there. I know some home builders are having the random issue with this and nearby vinyl siding. I actually replaced an outdoor light by our back door last year which is in a corner setting. The glass in the light fixture ended up acting like a reflective magnifying glass to the sun light and actually fried not only our flowers nearby, but actually warped a couple of pieces of our siding!
But that being said, tall fescue is also a cool season grass in general. My neighborhood is mostly tall fescue and I’m noticing several spots in lawns starting to brown up regardless of watering. I’ve got a blacktop driveway and area right next to it that is in the sun light from say 8:00am to around 6:30pm this time of year. About the size of two large pizzas. It’s roasted again this year already. Not dead, but practically completely beige. Did it last year too. Neighbors tell me that spot has almost always done this for the past 10 years in our yard. We get a few cooler days and some rain, and it always seems to bounce back. It does get watered via irrigation system, and the Neem oil helps it too, but never fully green until heat and humidity together have passed a bit.
Caravan G for me for the past several years has been my go-to secret for basically resetting my lawn. I tend to use it once a year. Old neighbor turned me on to it when I finally pestered him enough to reveal his secret for having the ultimate lawn in our old neighborhood (which was new construction and crappy sod). Told me the secret was to get the junk out of the lawn first and use the pro stuff. It did wonders for that yard. When we bought this house now 3 years ago, the lawn was a mess of weeds and what I thought was dead grass. Got the weeds out, but struggled with the grass. Hit it with the Caravan, and it started to come back with a vengeance. Turned out it was diseased and loaded with grubs.
My house is nearly 50 years old. The windows are positioned at each end. If the windows nearest the center of my rear lawn reflected the sun, then it would reflect the rays onto a deck, which extends out about 12 feet.
Last month I had my roof shingles replaced. The roofing company secured one end of the tarp against the gutters and placed the other end over the center of my rear lawn. The roofing crew used the tarp as a chute, sliding the old shingles down to a designated waste area. The next day I noticed the grass blade tips in that area had turned brown. I'm wondering now if the tarp exacerbated an underlying fungus issue. That's when I started to treat my lawn with Bayer Advanced Fungus Control. I applied it on three separate occasions during June. I May, I used Spectracide Immunox.
I guess I'm going to have to do a better job at identifying disease. Since I didn't have any mushrooms growing this year, I thought I managed to avoid brown patch, etc.
Thanks for your advice!
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