Common Lawn Problems and How to Fix Them
A lawn is basically a lands area where grass is grown as a green covering for a land and is the basic feature of any garden. It serves to enhance the beauty of the garden and can also prevent for soil erosion, be it larger or smaller. Proper lawn maintenance plays a crucial part in any landscape design.
However, Lawns face challenges from maintaining the right amount of water to combat pests and diseases.
In this blog post we will talk about some common problem that your lawn might face and provide some preventive methods for keeping your lawn healthy and attractive.
1.Fairy Rings
Fairy rings are common lawn disease that appears in the form of circular on the lawn and make the grass disappeared from that specific circle.
Fairy rings are often found on lawns where the soils have high levels of organic matter, and in areas where trees have recently been removed.
They are caused by certain mushrooms that are nourished by a decomposition organics product in the soil, for examples a tree leaves or roots.
How to prevent them: The key to fairy ring prevention involves keeping the removal of the large layer of organic matter that accumulates on the lawn around the base of the grass and aerating to alleviate soil compaction and remove dead organic matter within the grass.
2. Brown Patch
Affecting cool-seasoned grasses, brown patch is one of the most common late springs/early summer lawn diseases.
It is a grass disease that is caused by a single species of fungus.
It hides from view and remaining dormant in soil and layers of thatch (sometimes for years).
The lawn that brown patch attacked often appears like it has suffered from drought and dried out.
The grass often appears like it has suffered from drought and dried out.
The primary issue you may encounter with brown patch is its quick spread, so you need to take quick action as soon as you see those irregular areas of dry or dead grass on your lawn.
How to prevent them: Good lawn care practices are essential for preventing brown patches. One important practice is watering your lawn with moderation, as this can encourage the growth of the brown patch fungus.
Another is ensuring that water drains from your lawn properly; if not, this could be the result of thatch expansion, which can be removed by dethatching and aerating your lawn.
3. Dollar spot
Dollar spot is another common lawn disease that occurs frequently in spring.
Also affecting cool-seasoned grasses it is most apparent in the summer when temperatures rise rapidly, and the humidity is high.
It appears on your lawn like little areas of dead grass and gives the impression that they are bleached white. The majority of these diseases happen after cold, rainy evenings.
How to prevent them: The secret to preventing dollar spots on your lawn is to maintain it properly. You can use a fungicide to your lawn if dollar spot appears and it will assist combat the diseases and accelerate the recovery process for the grass.
4. Red thread
Red thread is a common cause of patches of dead grass on lawns during summers times and in autumn.
It rarely fully kills the grass, and the spots can regenerate with the right care so the moment you have discovered a red thread, preventative action needs to be taken as soon as.
Red thread is one of the lawn diseases which can be easily identified. The damaged areas will look as small to medium-sized uneven patches of dead grass, but upon closer inspection, you’ll notice that they are coloured red.
How to prevent them: The best way to treat red thread is to apply a fungicide, but a balanced fertilizer that is slightly higher in nitrogen will also help in red thread prevention.
5. Dog Urine
Small brown spots surrounded by dark green grass is a significant sign of dog urine.
Nitrogen in the urine kills the grass in the centre, where its concentration is highest, while darkening the grass at the edges.
These spots are more likely to appear in hot time, dry weather because those conditions put more stress on lawns.
How to prevent them: Spots of dead grass will often repair themselves eventually. For a quicker solution, cut out the dead spot and fill it in with plugs cut from a strip of grass.
Bring a clump from your lawn to the nursery to match grass types. Or you can wait until the grass planting time often in the fall and sow fresh seed after clearing away the dead grass and loosening the soil.
6. Weeds
Weeds are some disturbing plants or herbs that grow in your lawn where you don’t want them.
If you have not taken a quick action, they can soon multiple and occupy your lawn.
How to prevent them: Ensure your lawn is cut regularly to keep the lawn healthy. You also need to ensure that your grass is getting enough water to stay healthy.
During the warmer summer months, water the garden in the morning before the peak temperature of the day. This can help prevent weed growth.
Also, add fertiliser if the problem is persistent. Once you have cut the lawn, you can leave some of the clippings on the lawn as these will biodegrade and can help keep the lawn healthy.
7. Moss lawn
Moss is most associated with superficial, rocky soil, poor soil fertility; heavy shade; and excessive moisture.
If any of these factors are limiting grass growth, moss can occupy the lawn and establish a permanent residence. So, the presence of moss into lawns is usually the result of conditions that are not conducive to good growth of grass.
To spread, moss needs moisture, so it makes sense that dark areas of the lawn are more likely to suffer. Spring and Autumn are also the seasons when moss occurs more regularly.
How to prevent them: If not treated quickly moss can quickly take over a lawn. You need to maintain the greatest possible condition for your lawn to fight moss by feeding it frequently and making sure it receives just the right amount of water.
To keep your garden from receiving too much shade, cut any overhanging trees. You can also, when necessary, aerate and dethatch the grass to encourage healthy growth and release compacted soil.
8. Yellow lawn
The yellow grass presence condition in your lawn is called iron chlorosis.Yellow grass presence in your lawn means the roots aren’t getting enough iron to produce healthy new shoots.This yellowing is at the top of the grass rather than the bottom, as in the case of yellowing caused by too much water.How to prevent them: Yellow is one lawn disease that typically resolves itself after a few weeks. You must continue without stopping or changing, with your regular watering and mowing schedule. You need to aim to water your grass once per week.
9. Grubs’ insect
Lawn Grubs insect also called white grubs, are the immature form of different Scarab Beetles.
Grubs’ insect can destroy your lawn because they eat on grass roots, particularly in the fall.
These insects also attract larger pests to your lawn, that will make a dig up your lawn to get to the grubs. On average, a healthy lawn can tolerate six grubs per square foot.
How to prevent them: If the number of grubs on your lawn is greater than 15 per square foot, you might wish to use an insecticide to eliminate the problem before it does damage to your grass.
A durable but slower-acting remedy for grubs is milky spore sickness; beneficial nematodes which is mainly parasitize insect pests that have soil dwelling pupal stages are another option; they can eliminate grubs in a matter of 24 to 48 hours.
10. Compacted soil
Soil compaction occurs when soil particles are pressed together, reducing pore space between them.
Compacted soil can lead to many problems for your lawn.
A compacted soil has a reduced rate of both water infiltration and drainage of your grass.
As said the pressed closely together of the soil makes it difficult for the roots of the grass to obtain water and air, which can cause the grass to die or prorogue the presence of pests.
How to prevent them: First, the most effective way to minimize soil compaction is to avoid operation on your lawn when the water content amount of your lawn is at or near lawn capacity.
Soil compaction will be less severe when soil aerating practices or fertilizer application and planting operations occur when the lawn is dry. Additionally, you need to aerate your lawn once per year to keep the soil loose and healthy.
It is very important to be vigilant to keep your lawn healthy, but by understanding these common problems and implementing preventative measures like proper watering, fertilization and others you can create a growing green space.