I posted a few weeks ago, but my photo was terrible, and people thought it just looked like leaves on grass. So, I’m back with better pictures. These 3 photos were taken three weekends apart. The whole yard is new this fall—topsoil was added, and hydroseed was applied in early September. The lighter-colored grass is thinner and comes up more easily when raked. There’s a clear pattern, and I’m trying to figure out the cause. The hydroseed seemed to be applied evenly—see the last picture.
Could this be due to poor-quality topsoil or not enough topsoil? Is there anything I can do now to help the lighter grass survive and become darker and thicker by spring?
Just funky soil stuff. For whatever reason (construction related probably), the soil just has patches of different properties. Pretty common, especially on brand new lawns. Nothing to worry about, it’ll even out with time as the grass grows deeper roots and the soil is improved just by having grass on it.
To help speed things up:
if this is a brand new lawn: add organic matter. Simplest and least invasive way to do that would be by spreading Andersons biochar.
mow high!
deep and infrequent watering.
consider using a wetting agent occasionally
fertilize 4-6 times a year.
Edit: also, lesco carbon pro g is the “premium” alternative to biochar. Its like biochar 2.0… and has the price tag to match.
@Darwin
Its a convenient product, but it’s definitely a ripoff. If you look close at the label (or maybe it’s the SDS?), its only something like 40% biochar and some small percentage of humic acid.
So, just in terms of the biochar, its like 2-3 times more expensive per lb of biochar. (This is based on my approximate memory of things, definitely don’t take these numbers as gospel.)
Its far more cost-effective to apply the biochar and then liquid humic acid separately.
Shout out to powergrown.com for their cheap humic acid powder.
@Harlow
Hoping I can ask you an unrelated question. If my cool season lawn has a decent thatch layer (~.5 to 1.5”) can/should I core aerate in spring and fall? I already aerated in Sept so more looking to plan out next spring.
First, I would say be sure that the thatch really is that thick. It should be a smoky brown colored mesh of fairly indescribable plant parts… Essentially it’ll look a dense mat of dead roots. Straw colored stuff is usually not actual thatch.
Just covering all the bases to be sure we’re working with a consistent definition.
If that really is all thatch, .5 is fine, .5-1 is… Eh. 1 or more is definitely bad.
Aeration does indeed help. Going in the spring would definitely be a good idea.
spike aeration more frequently does help a lot.
top dressing with sand immediately after aeration helps a LOT. Its essentially the single most effective thing.
verticutting if you really mean business. Save for fall.
then there’s the bio stimulant type products… They work, to an extent, but they aren’t silver bullets… We’re talking like 10-20% thatch reduction. So, not solutions, but they help.
N-Ext’s d-thatch uses humic acid, yeast, and sugar (molasses?) which all help… You can mix up those things on your own for a bit cheaper. (A different kind of lawn beer!)
compost tea type products. An okay way to introduce some decomposer fungi that may not be present in your lawn. Best to introduce them when soil temps are 55-65 and the soil is wet… So mid spring or mid to late fall.
Beyond that, prevention is the most important thing, by far:
deep and infrequent watering is key. Daily watering guarantees thatch.
avoid fungicides… Entirely, in my opinion. Fungi are by far the biggest decomposers of thatch; fungicides kill those just as much as they kill the pathogenic fungi.
don’t overapply grub control products. Too much can kill worms and tiny insect decomposers.
don’t over-fertilize. Keep N under 4lbs/1,000sqft/year
I deffuse fungicides, however I think my usage of fungicides to treat red thread etc is made worse by how much I fertilize and when. Trying to shift most of my fertilizing to fall instead of mid/late spring (i.e. June). Feels like I am on a hamster wheel with fungus at times. Had not considered that thatch build up/fungicide use were related.
@Zyler
That’s exactly why I’m a vocal hater of fungicides. It turns into a vicious cycle real fast. Disease, fungicide, reduction of beneficial fungi (that inherently fight disease and decompose thatch), thatch accumulation, more disease, and so on.
The fertilizer thing too. Its easy to get the lawn dependent on fertilizer. Like a legitimate addiction.
I’ll admit right now, breaking free from those cycles is not going to be without incident. But it can pay off huge in the long run. Just remember that tall grass that isn’t watered every single day is far less likely to die from diseases. Red thread especially will essentially never kill tall grass that isn’t watered daily.
Mulching leaves into the lawn is tremendously beneficial for several reasons:
provides organic matter to the soil (good for nutrient and moisture retention, alleviates compaction, and improves drainage in the long term)
provides the lawn with many nutrients that are difficult and expensive to supply otherwise… Particularly, but not limited to, all of the micronutrients. (Trees are just way better at taking up nutrients than grasses are)
is an incredibly effective form of pre-emergent weed control… Extremely effective for preventing broadleaf weeds, and can even prevent/reduce future poa annua and crabgrass.
According to MSU, up to 6 inches of leaves can be mulched into a lawn at one time. That number partially depends on your mower performance… But even in the worst case scenarios, it might just mean going over the leaves multiple times. (Still quicker than raking or bagging)
Tips for mulching leaves effectively:
go into fall at a high mowing height… Its too late to change that now, but it helps.
use an actual mulching blade (most new push mowers come equipped with mulching blades. Mulching blades are the ones with the curved cutting edge and the blade has curved surfaces on top to generate uplift)
plug the side discharge chute. Push mowers usually have a flap that’s easily closed. Riding mowers often require a separate accessory to plug the chute.
don’t let the leaves pile up. Most of the time, weekly will be enough, but if you have windy days, you might need to get out there an extra time or more.
do it when the leaves are mostly dry. It can actually help if they’re a LITTLE wet… But dry is certainly better than too wet.
Yes you can safely mulch pine needles and walnut leaves. It’s a myth that pine needles acidify soil. There’s insufficient proof that juglone from walnut trees is actually allelopathic… Regardless, spread out over a lawn, that wouldn’t be a concern.
if you notice clumps of matted leaves… Knock them loose. I usually just kick them, but a rake or blower works too.
The classic argument against mulching is “they’ll smother the grass”… Simply put, if you smother the grass, you’re doing it wrong (especially that last step)… Unless you’ve got a lot of poa trivialis or poa annua… Mulching leaves can actually smother those… In which case, that’s usually a good thing… But even then, they’ll still fill back in next year.
Note: Don’t mulch leaves if you plan on dormant seeding… The weed prevention thing I mentioned above also PROBABLY applies to ungerminated grass seed… Probably. Inconsistent data on that one.
I think we are looking at misapplication of fertilizer. It’s easy to see that prob the guard was down on the patio circle. The other shapes aren’t nature made. Too symmetrical and right angle as well. There are also at least one set of tracks spreader width close to camera that go left to right. I really think it’s more N darker green. Sorry but I don’t buy the sprinkler and that the H20 moved the product it’s flat and totally uniform except for color.
@Luca
So as far as I know there was no fertilizer applied other than the fertilizer that’s mixed in with the hydro seed slurry. Which is why this is a mystery to me.
@Luca
Fairy ring is the closest thing basically that could cause discoloration and circular coalescing turf like back left appears more random as nature played a roll.
Maybe the way the sun hits it with the surrounding trees, or not even enough layers. Could have maybe been the strong winds moving it around! Even more water getting to those spots more!
