It's being kept too wet all the time - water well, but only once some of the soil has dried out, and the soil should really be quite gritty, and not mostly 'potting' as it's full of peat and never dries out (beyond the top layer). Also, good air circulation is important, so an airy room, not necessarily intensely bright, is better than too much heat and constant watering.

Good. We can rule out fertilizer burn and damage from other chemicals. That leaves hot compost, smothering and disease as possible problems. Did your compost smell incredibly wonderful? Or did it have any overtones of musty, rank, dank, sour, ammonia, or anything else that wasn't perfectly fresh? Was it warm to the touch? Did it have any pieces of wood or other material you recognized as not being completely decomposed? If the compost was fresh enough that you would feel very comfortable plunging your nose into a heaping handful of it, then we can rule out immature compost. If the compost was not finished composting, the heat from the compost process can literally cook the grass when it sits there. It would look kind of crispy and very dried. How long did the compost sit on the grass? Did you drop the wheel barrows on one day and finish scattering the piles the next day? Some grasses can smother quickly when buried under a pile of something. Smothered grass usually just looks wilted. Can you see any yellow or brown lesions or spots on the blades of the dead looking grass? Sometimes when you cut off the oxygen to grass for long enough disease can get started. Pockmarks are not the brown grass. In the lower left quadrant of the photo there are hundreds of very dark spots that look like holes in the turf. Are they illusions from the grass? Is the grass tufted so that it would cast shadows like that? I could be tufts of rye or fescue thriving in a sea of KBG that is recovering from summer dormancy.

Talley Sue, I feel your pain. After remodeling our kitchen I chose a middle-end self-cleaning electric stove. I can't believe how hot to the touch the top gets. So much harder to clean too. I will have to try some of the above suggestions. I HATE to cook on the darn thing because it's so hard to clean up. Next kitchen remodle will consist of a microwave and vending machines only ;) To think I gave up my almond-colored 18 yr old, still working, stove. Now I know how my Mom felt two years ago when she had to give up her 1949 Tappan. Still working perfectly and in beautiful like-new condition! They sure don't make stuff like they did in the "old days" LOL

My GE Profile has a hidden bake element, and I've had good results out of it. Maybe you aren't preheating long enough? Models with a hidden element take longer to stabilize at the target temperature. If it beeps as a signal that the temp has been reached, wait for another 15+ mins before putting in the food, see if that helps. Also, consider getting an oven thermometer to confirm the thermostat is accurate.