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A few brown patches in lawn. Be concerned?

fourstringdrums

16 years ago

I noticed today that I have about 4 or 5 small patches in my front lawn that have turned brown. They're not really round, they're just random shapes, one area almost looks like an X, although it's not very large. Because some of the grass through my lawn is turning brown for the winter (as well as my neighbor's lawn and his is very nice year round), I'm assuming that it's nothing to worry about. I had got hit with some late red thread and wasn't sure if that was just from the grass browning in an area that had it. I put down my winter fert 21-3-21 last week and was told by Lesco that any red thread or other problems should be resolved by that application and at the worst, I'll have some brown spots in the spring that I'll just have to rake up, but everything will grow back in.

I just want to know what this might be, including Brown Patch, and if it's really a concern or just something that in the spring, it may take a little longer for these small patches to green up, but they will eventually.

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Comments (5)

lawnmasters
16 years ago
What type of grass do you have, I am guessing Fescue or Bluegrass or ryegrass. The red thread thing is going to be answered by the application you put down, it is caused by lack of nitrogen. It is really too late in the year, or more pointedly, not enough humidity, (in our area) to encourage Brown patch. If you can post a picture that helps. It is hard to diagnose a problem without seeing it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lawn Care Tips
jeannie7
16 years ago
Drums, I'll assume you are regular applyer of fertilizer...and this, to my understanding, is one reason why "brown patch" can come about.....by overuse of fertilizer.
Then again, under feeding can also bring it about if other circumstances are present. The advice sometimes is to aerate....aerate often.

While you cant very well begin to fix a lawn at this date, you might still think, if aeration is not in the cards, then maybe a stiff raking of the area next spring when the soil has firmly warmed up, might open the soil more for increased moisture.
You'd be the one to know whether you have over or under fertilized to possibly bring this patch about.
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fourstringdrums
Original Author
16 years ago
It is just strange because it is only in a few spots, places that got no more or no less fertilizer than the rest of my lawn which is fine. Also the patches aren't round in some spots which I thought was. Looking at some of the blades, I can see some streaks of green in the blade although most of it is brown. So I'm thinking it is some sort of fungus, I just don't know what.

I was told at Lesco that most likely if it is a Fungus, with the temps getting colder and us having more frosts now, it shouldn't spread much, if at all, and shouldn't harm those areas. So in the spring it should grow right out.

Come to think of it, at the beginning of the spring, as well as last year toward the end of the summer I had two small areas that turned brown and I didn't know why, but they wound up growing out. I'm thinking they may be the same thing. I notice that my neighbor has more of these spots through his lawn, but his always rebounds. So at this point I'm not too concerned.
eplina
16 years ago
do you leave in South Carolina ? Brown patch is most common disease of tall fescue in the Southeast.

Here is a link that might be useful: lawn care
fourstringdrums
Original Author
16 years ago
No I'm in Massachusetts.

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