Not the green green grass from home

[Buckterrier]

This is my lawn in 2008 and my lawn today. I have a nationally known firm fertilize it year round. This summer a friend of mine cut it for me when I was away on business. I always cut it on 6 but this time it was cut on 3. There were several areas that burnt and died but also plenty of areas that were fine and still green and growing. As you can see the whole lawn has died. I've spoken with a landscaping company and have been told it would be around $5 -6,000.00 to prepare and hydro seed the lawn. I also had a rep from the fertilizing company come out and he says it probably was a fungus but offered no proof. The back yard and where there is no fertilizing done has not died. I stopped having the back done when I got the pups and chickens.
The questions I have for you guys are... What do you think is the possibility that the company put down a wrong chemical and killed the lawn & two, is there anyway to have the soil tested to see if indeed there something in the soil that killed it.
I certainly appreciate any ideas. I hate looking out my window and seeing this mess

[masraum]

Wow, that's bizarre. How quickly did it occur? Have you had drought conditions this year?

[74-911]

Most lawn fungus I have seen (in this part of the world anyway) seem to kill in a circular pattern and just take out areas. That looks more like fertilizer burn or else they used RoundUp instead of fertilizer. I have no idea if it's possible to have the soil tested and I would think the test would have to have been done right after treatment., If it has been watered a lot or rained on then testing would probably be useless.

If your neighbor more or less scalped your front yard then they applied to strong a fertilizer mix it would probably end up looking like that.

As a side note, my lawn looks very similar to that mainly because we have been in an extreme drought for the last nine months...

[Seahawk]

Your County Agent can do a soil sample for you, let you know what you need. My guess would be lime.

I'd aerate, spread seed, aerate again and then cover with straw before winter hits.

If you have a lawn tractor then buying/renting the equipment and doing it yourself would be much cheaper. Could be done in a day.

Good luck.

[Por_sha911]

Most lawn chemicals break down quickly and your chances of finding "proof" in the soil isn't very good. Have you googled to see if a fungus would leave any kind of residue? You can contact your local Dept of Agriculture and see.
We had a massive drought here in TN this past summer. Drought will kill a lawn or tree that isn't fully healthy but not necessarily dying. In drought conditions even normal weed control chemicals will kill a lawn that normally would do fine. I suspect that the company put down too much weed control and then your friend cut the lawn at 3. The two probably stressed it out.
My question is why are you paying big money to a company if they cannot keep your lawn looking perfect? Doesn't their products "immunize" your lawn from a fungus? If they refuse to give you any assistance I'd look elsewhere.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by 74-911

Most lawn fungus I have seen (in this part of the world anyway) seem to kill in a circular pattern and just take out areas.

That's been my experience too. It usually follows a very wet period as well.

[1990C4S]

Start here:

Soil Test Kit - Lee Valley Tools

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Sorry to see that Mark, your lawn was gorgeous when I was there last.

Call up UCONN. The have an agriculture college. I think they would be eager to help either as a class project or just be able to do a full analysis for you.

College of Agriculture and Natural Resources

[Baz]

Mark:

Whether or not the wrong chemical was applied would depend on how fast the turf died and if there was any type of pattern created immediately after application. Usually a chemical burn shows up right away except for a systemic product such as Roundup. As far as finding any in the soil - you'd have to get the soil tested for specific chemicals something not "usually" done but a soil lab would be who to ask about it if you can find one.

As far as other culprits for it's demise....I'm a warm-season grass guy so am not too familiar with your grass variety's culture. You could Google your grass variety (example "Fescue" or Bluegrass") and see what issues it has and then try to match up what actually happened to what it says in your Google search.

The advice about contacting your county agent is spot on - that would be a good start.

If you have a Lesco Welcome to LESCO.com store nearby - they sell turf care products and may also be able to help. They were bought out by John Deere but still go by Lesco on a lot of their marketing stuff.

On the question of drought - it would depend on if you have and use an irrigation system PLUS the variety of turf you have and what it's irrigation requirements are PLUS your historical rainfall conditions.

I wish I could tell you what to do to restore your turf - a Lesco rep would know if you could get a hold of one. They would also be able to steer you to a reputable turf care specialist or provide directly to you what's needed to do it yourself, if that is of interest.

Good luck and keep us posted!

[sammyg2]

looks like you hired the football field groundskeeper from Trona high school

Warriors at the Trona Sand Pit

[HHI944]

So, anyone else remember what makes the green grass grow??

[regency]

I've seen "turf kills" like this a few times, it could be a combination of things. Cutting the grass at 3" or, to the quick could have contributed, having a Commercial herbicide / pesticide / fertilizer applications Co. could also contribute. Sometimes these Co. apply a "cocktail" application and it could have been, wrong, or a old batch. Then there's bugs / grubs and fungus.

Steve

73 911 T MFI Coupe, Aubergine

[Buckterrier]

Originally Posted by masraum

Wow, that's bizarre. How quickly did it occur? Have you had drought conditions this year?

It was a slow process, I'd guess over a 6-7 week period. After the scalping it did not rain for a week or two & was very hot, (August).

Originally Posted by Seahawk

Your County Agent can do a soil sample for you, let you know what you need. My guess would be lime.

I'd aerate, spread seed, aerate again and then cover with straw before winter hits.

If you have a lawn tractor then buying/renting the equipment and doing it yourself would be much cheaper. Could be done in a day.

Good luck.

Yeah I think I'll look into renting equipment and doing it myself. With having to repair the Porsche after my mild off course excursion I don't have that kind of coin.

Originally Posted by Por_sha911

Most lawn chemicals break down quickly and your chances of finding "proof" in the soil isn't very good. Have you googled to see if a fungus would leave any kind of residue? You can contact your local Dept of Agriculture and see.
We had a massive drought here in TN this past summer. Drought will kill a lawn or tree that isn't fully healthy but not necessarily dying. In drought conditions even normal weed control chemicals will kill a lawn that normally would do fine. I suspect that the company put down too much weed control and then your friend cut the lawn at 3. The two probably stressed it out.
My question is why are you paying big money to a company if they cannot keep your lawn looking perfect? Doesn't their products "immunize" your lawn from a fungus? If they refuse to give you any assistance I'd look elsewhere.

After the scalping it wasn't very healthy. Your comment about paying big bucks is a good question. In fact I'll ask the guy when he comes back next week. I was home the day the gal was doing the late summer application. She was finished and ready to put down the little sign they are required to have on the lawn. I said If I were you I'd put it further back. If people see that sign with your company's name on it and see my lawn it won't be good advertising!

Originally Posted by 1990C4S

Start here:

Soil Test Kit - Lee Valley Tools

Thanks 1990, I'll check it out. I'll bet you can't wait to get rid of that signature

Originally Posted by Shaun 84 Targa

Sorry to see that Mark, your lawn was gorgeous when I was there last.

Call up UCONN. The have an agriculture college. I think they would be eager to help either as a class project or just be able to do a full analysis for you.

College of Agriculture and Natural Resources

It does suckith. I will contact them Shaun and see what they say. And thanks for the link.
Hope all is well.

Originally Posted by Baz

Mark:

Whether or not the wrong chemical was applied would depend on how fast the turf died and if there was any type of pattern created immediately after application. Usually a chemical burn shows up right away except for a systemic product such as Roundup. As far as finding any in the soil - you'd have to get the soil tested for specific chemicals something not "usually" done but a soil lab would be who to ask about it if you can find one.

As far as other culprits for it's demise....I'm a warm-season grass guy so am not too familiar with your grass variety's culture. You could Google your grass variety (example "Fescue" or Bluegrass") and see what issues it has and then try to match up what actually happened to what it says in your Google search.

The advice about contacting your county agent is spot on - that would be a good start.

If you have a Lesco Welcome to LESCO.com store nearby - they sell turf care products and may also be able to help. They were bought out by John Deere but still go by Lesco on a lot of their marketing stuff.

On the question of drought - it would depend on if you have and use an irrigation system PLUS the variety of turf you have and what it's irrigation requirements are PLUS your historical rainfall conditions.

I wish I could tell you what to do to restore your turf - a Lesco rep would know if you could get a hold of one. They would also be able to steer you to a reputable turf care specialist or provide directly to you what's needed to do it yourself, if that is of interest.

Good luck and keep us posted!

I do also think it was a combination of the scalping, temperature, lack of rain & the fertilizing. And sure will, hopefully next summer I can post another picture like the first.

Originally Posted by sammyg2

looks like you hired the football field groundskeeper from Trona high school




Warriors at the Trona Sand Pit

Sammy, you are a hoot! And unfortunately my lawn does look like that!

Originally Posted by regency

I've seen "turf kills" like this a few times, it could be a combination of things. Cutting the grass at 3" or, to the quick could have contributed, having a Commercial herbicide / pesticide / fertilizer applications Co. could also contribute. Sometimes these Co. apply a "cocktail" application and it could have been, wrong, or a old batch. Then there's bugs / grubs and fungus.

Steve

73 911 T MFI Coupe, Aubergine

That's it Steve. I may even put some irrigation in on the ridge that runs across the middle. To hard to keep watered.

[944Larry]

I'd say some kind of application killed it. I can see some "streaks" in the pic where the coverage had gaps in it.

[turbo6bar]

Originally Posted by 944Larry

I'd say some kind of application killed it. I can see some "streaks" in the pic where the coverage had gaps in it.

That's what I noticed. Looks like a streak on the right side of the pic. If they were spraying pre-emerge, then ignore this. If they were spraying a post-emergent weed control with a spray rig, then this is a definite concern.

You would notice immediate (within a few days) yellowing and wilting of the grass if the chemical concentration was too great. Scalping the lawn also adds a stress factor. Add a lack of water and killing off a lawn is not unreasonable.

Did you have to cut the grass in the 6-7 weeks. Chemical interaction would stunt growth.

[ODDJOB UNO]

my solution to this would be to get a front end loader, build some nice table tops, some banked corners, some twisties, a nice long 6th gear WFO straightaway, a pit area, beer stand, some porta potties, and have yerself one hell of a nice dirt bike track and save yerself time and headaches.

[livi]

That is just too bad. Suck a nice lawn it was.

[Buckterrier]

Originally Posted by turbo6bar

That's what I noticed. Looks like a streak on the right side of the pic. If they were spraying pre-emerge, then ignore this. If they were spraying a post-emergent weed control with a spray rig, then this is a definite concern.

You would notice immediate (within a few days) yellowing and wilting of the grass if the chemical concentration was too great. Scalping the lawn also adds a stress factor. Add a lack of water and killing off a lawn is not unreasonable.

Did you have to cut the grass in the 6-7 weeks. Chemical interaction would stunt growth.

Yeah I had to cut it a few times. The grass grows like hell up here.

Originally Posted by ODDJOB UNO

my solution to this would be to get a front end loader, build some nice table tops, some banked corners, some twisties, a nice long 6th gear WFO straightaway, a pit area, beer stand, some porta potties, and have yerself one hell of a nice dirt bike track and save yerself time and headaches.

If it's cheaper then replanting I'll do it!!

Originally Posted by livi

That is just too bad. Suck a nice lawn it was.

Thanks Markus, hopefully it will be back like a few years ago.

[strupgolf]

One of my golfing buddies had the exact same problem. His grass was green and good. A company came in to fertilize and a few days later it was dead, brown. They applied a grass killer rather than fertilizer. The company was a fault, but it looked the same as your lawn.

[Buckterrier]

Wow Strupgolf. How did your buddy find out they applied the wrong chemical????