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jaycee
Joined: 13 Oct 2003
Posts: 2
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| Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2003 1:30 pm Post subject: St. Augustine Grass Problems |
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I have a Delmar St. Augustine yard that was put down in early April of this year. The soil is black clay with very poor drainage. I live in the Dallas/Ft.Worth area.
I have a lot of roundlike patches of dead grass. The blades pull up easily, with no roots. They are dark brown or black in color, and smell rotten.
I have made two treatments with corn meal, thinking that it was brown patch. It just keeps getting worse.
I am thinking that my diagnosis is incorrect. Could it be chinch bugs, or Take-All-Root Rot (TARR), or something else? How can I tell?
Thanks for any comments. |
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Dchall_San_Antonio
Joined: 18 Mar 2003
Posts: 2002
Location: San Antonio,TEXAS
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| Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2003 11:17 pm Post subject: |
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Take all is a fungus and should be killed by the corn meal.
You can test for chinch bugs by cutting the top and bottom out of a coffee can, plunging the bottom of the open can into the soil as deep as you can, filling it with water, and seeing what floats to the surface. |
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dcluck
Joined: 09 Mar 2003
Posts: 315
Location: Dallas,TEXAS
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| Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2003 1:42 pm Post subject: |
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I just just had my lawn inspected this afternoon by Michael Bosco (Soils Alive) and he said I had what looked to be areas of chinch bugs attacking my front lawn. While we weren't able to find any of them while he was here, I did later find a few of them after he'd left.
I've turned up two possible ways to get rid of them; insecticidal soaps and beneficial nematodes. Can anyone provide any feedback as to which method(s) they've had success with?
~Dave |
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Billusa99
Joined: 24 Mar 2003
Posts: 291
Location: Dallas,TX
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| Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2003 12:59 pm Post subject: |
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I don't know about the the soap, but the nematodes will only get the eggs and very young... not likely to help much w/ an infestation.
Redenta's told me diatomaceous earth works great. It's 12.99 for a big 8lb bag. Dust it all over, including the green grass aound the fringes. Then get a kitchen broom, etc. and lightly drag it across to get the stuff down into the blade base, where they suck on the grass.
Today is a perfect day... nice and dry. If it rains, re-apply after the grass is dry again.
I'll report back on mine, as I first thought it was brown patch and I'm anxious to stop it now! |
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