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PostPosted: Tue Jun 03, 2014 11:50 am 
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Location: Aledo, TX
Throughout my yard I'm seeing some yellow leaves mixed with the green grass. It doesn't seem to be concentrated in any one area. Does this look like damage from mower blades or some insect or disease damage?


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PostPosted: Tue Jun 03, 2014 3:06 pm 
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Give us a photo of a larger area of the yard if you can.

How does it get watered? Sprinkler system, by hand, etc. How much is it watered, and how is the drainage? Is your yard organic? Do you typically de-thatch every so often, aerate, etc? When did you last fertilize or put out compost or corn gluten meal or anything else?

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PostPosted: Tue Jun 03, 2014 3:38 pm 
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northwesterner wrote:
Give us a photo of a larger area of the yard if you can.

How does it get watered? Sprinkler system, by hand, etc. How much is it watered, and how is the drainage? Is your yard organic? Do you typically de-thatch every so often, aerate, etc? When did you last fertilize or put out compost or corn gluten meal or anything else?


I can try to get a larger photo. Gets watered once a week with a sprinkler system. Drainage is good in some areas and bad in others, but the yellowing appears in both areas. Completely organic. Never have de-thatched, did do the shampoo method of aeration early in the spring. Fertilized in February with alfalfa, about to fertilize again with Ladybug 8-2-4. I've also sprayed with Garret Juice with a hose-end sprayer a few days ago.


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PostPosted: Tue Jun 03, 2014 4:56 pm 
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That's good to know. I think next time David Hall passes through he might be able to tell you something helpful. On lawn care, I just ask the questions. My philosophy is that when you mow the weeds, it all looks like turf. . .

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PostPosted: Sun Jun 22, 2014 1:03 am 
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I wish I could be more specific about what that is. I see lots of gray (dead) blades un the understory of the turf. I'm going with a fungal disease. The best organic approach is to use ordinary corn meal at a rate of 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet. Cover the entire lawn because you don't know what it is. Then repeat in a month. If it looks like it is responding, great. If you want to be very sure, then repeat monthly for the rest of the season.

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PostPosted: Mon Jun 23, 2014 2:52 pm 
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There is a lot of dead grass under the new. I wondered about a fungal disease, but it is so uniform throughout the yard I dismissed it. I can certainly apply some whole ground cornmeal.

I'm starting to wonder if the yellowing of the green foliage was due to a stronger-than-intended application of Garrett Juice. My hose end sprayer is a cheapo, and it is very possible that it was mixing at quite a bit above the recommended rate.

There are quite a few areas where our builder laid the sod directly on white limestone (maybe not solid rock, but certainly not ideal topsoil). Is there anything I can do to improve these areas? The turf is pretty thin there. I considered several thin topdressings of compost over a period of time, but it is a big expense.


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PostPosted: Thu Jul 17, 2014 3:26 pm 
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There is no amount or strength of Garrett Juice that could be harmful unless you submerged the grass in it for a week. So that's not the issue.

The limestone should be okay, not great, but okay. You can spend a lot of money trying to improve that soil but if you just stick to the basics (water deep and infrequently, mulch mow at the highest setting, and fertilize with organic fertilizer) you can grow grass. Mulch mowing will do essentially what the compost would have done. The fertilizer has to be a solid material. Liquid fertilizers are not enough for a lawn. You need pounds and pounds of material. My favorite organic fertilizer this year is alfalfa pellets (rabbit chow). Apply at 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet. You can apply at the same time as the corn meal if you like, or wait a month.

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