Another lawn question

[Tgo01]

My lawn needs your help! It was looking pretty gosh darn green and good, it looked even better after I mowed it, until the day after I mowed it...

Now the tips are yellow and I'm wondering what's causing it.

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The grass is mostly Kentucky bluegrass but also some rye and another kind I can't remember the name of at the moment thrown in.

I thought maybe it's not getting enough water but one part of the lawn I haven't mowed yet is still looking green and good which leads me to believe it has to be with how I mowed it.

I want to say I cut it too short but everywhere I look says it should be cut between 2 and 3.5 inches and I cut it down to 3.2 inches. The only other thing I can think of is my mower blade is already dull but I put a new blade on there earlier this year and I think this is only the third time I've cut the yard so far this year. I do have a pretty big yard though so maybe it needs sharpening/replacing more often than I thought. It's kind of hard to tell in the picture but the tips of the grass blades do look ragged and it doesn't look like a clean cut so I suppose the dull blade is a possibility.

Any other ideas? Is it possible it's some sort of disease?

[Anebriated]

This is a hybrid. This is a cross bluegrass, Kentucky bluegrass, featherbed bent, and northern California sinsemilla. The amazing stuff about this is that you can play 36 holes on it in the afternoon take it home and just get stoned to the bejeezus-belt at night on this stuff. I've got pounds of this stuff. Here, take a puff on this big ole' Bob Marley joint.

[Anebriated]

On a serious note though, I am not sure what area of the country you are from but have you had a lot of hot weather recently?

[Aluvius]

You should come over sometime, we have a pond which would be good for you.

[Aluvius]

Rye grass isn't very hardy, it just grows real fast. We usually just use it in areas where we don't want to erode too much while waiting for the fescue to come up. We also tend to cut at the maximum height allowed by our mower. My guess is cut it higher and maybe it needs water? You can get cheap soil testers, too but it doesn't really seem like an acidity problem.

[Tgo01]

This is a hybrid. This is a cross bluegrass, Kentucky bluegrass, featherbed bent, and northern California sinsemilla. The amazing stuff about this is that you can play 36 holes on it in the afternoon take it home and just get stoned to the bejeezus-belt at night on this stuff. I've got pounds of this stuff. Here, take a puff on this big ole' Bob Marley joint.

For a minute there I thought you were being serious, I thought my grass was more special than I thought.


On a serious note though, I am not sure what area of the country you are from but have you had a lot of hot weather recently?

Fairly hotish but we've had a lot of rain too.


Rye grass isn't very hardy, it just grows real fast. We usually just use it in areas where we don't want to erode too much while waiting for the fescue to come up. We also tend to cut at the maximum height allowed by our mower.
My guess is cut it higher and maybe it needs water? You can get cheap soil testers, too but it doesn't really seem like an acidity problem.

Fescue! That's the other type of grass mixed in there. I think I'm going to try cutting it higher next time although there is only one more setting higher I can go to on my mower :/

I checked the part of the lawn I haven't mowed yet and I noticed some of the grass tips are actually white, not yellow. Although the white tips aren't really noticeable until you get close. Now I'm really wondering what's going on here...

[MotleyCrew]

I asked the hub he said could be grubs, a fungus or was it wet when cut or rained shortly after?

[Tgo01]

I asked the hub he said could be grubs, a fungus or was it wet when cut or rained shortly after?

It was not wet when cut but it did rain a lot a couple of hours it was cut, it wasn't supposed to rain but it did :/

[Gelston]

It was not wet when cut but it did rain a lot a couple of hours it was cut, it wasn't supposed to rain but it did :/

You signed your grass up for Obamacare and Death Panels have ruled against it receiving care.

[Tgo01]

You signed your grass up for Obamacare and Death Panels have ruled against it receiving care.

Damn you OBAMAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

[Parkbandit]

Sharpen the blade on your mower.. you probably aren't getting a clean cut.

[Gelston]

http://www.libertynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/obama-drinking-guiness-thumbs-up-e1359564382968.jpg

[Keller]

I hope to never know the brand of grass I have in my lawn.

Losers.

[Tgo01]

I hope to never know the brand of grass I have in my lawn.

Losers.

A couple years ago I never thought I would know such a thing either, but it kind of grows on you. I used to view taking care of my lawn as more of a chore than anything...and I still view it as a chore but it's kind of fun now to try and get it green and take care of it and shit like that. It's an penis measuring thing! I like to be able to look out from my back porch and say "HA! Look at my neighbors' lawns! They are all brown and dying! Mine is green and thriving! Except now mine looks like it's dying too because it's turning yellow..."

[Taernath]

Could be ants. When was the last time you aerated?

[Tgo01]

Could be ants. When was the last time you aerated?

Last year. Can ants really cause this or you just fucking with me? :/

[Taernath]

Last year. Can ants really cause this or you just fucking with me? :/

I'm just bringing it up, I don't really think they're causing whitish or dried, ragged tips. Ants are the #2 killer of lawns where I'm at.

[Rallorick]

Yeah, it's probably you blades... or your grass hates you.

[AnticorRifling]

I hope to never know the brand of grass I have in my lawn.

Losers.

Brand huh?

[Parkbandit]

Let me break it down into terms you might better understand.

It's the sharpness of your blade. It's like you are using a cudgel to "cut" your lawn. You need a scimitar or falchion.

You have no OHB training.

[Ker_Thwap]

Stop watering it and mowing it for the summer. Have it hayed when it gets really tall. Mock your neighbors who complain.

[Whirlin]

Parkbandit is spot on... who would have thought with Park being in his name.

Yellowing of plants is caused by death. Death to plants comes from four major things: Trauma, Overwater, Underwatering, or critters. You already ruled out overwatering and underwatering.

Seeing the fracturing pattern of the lower blade, and the inconsistent cut of the top blade. This could be caused by a few potential reasons:

1) You're only supposed to cut grass when you're removing an approximate 1/3rd of it's length. If you're overmowing, the airflow around the blades is likely moving the grass prior to contact with the blade, and leading to an inconsistent, uneven cut, and causing more trauma than good.
2) If the blade is not sharp enough, you'll get more fractures in the grass than clean cuts, which causes increased water loss, and potential death of grass. You murderer.
3) Critters... they're murderers too.

[Gompers]

I'm agreeing with parkbandit. Your blades aren't getting a clean cut. When you make a pass with the mower are you seeing a lot of random blades of grass sticking up? Tell tale sign that blades need to be sharpened.

[Tgo01]

You've all convinced me; I'll sharpen the blade and finish mowing the other part of the yard today.

I shall return with results!

[Keller]

A couple years ago I never thought I would know such a thing either, but it kind of grows on you. I used to view taking care of my lawn as more of a chore than anything...and I still view it as a chore but it's kind of fun now to try and get it green and take care of it and shit like that. It's an penis measuring thing! I like to be able to look out from my back porch and say "HA! Look at my neighbors' lawns! They are all brown and dying! Mine is green and thriving! Except now mine looks like it's dying too because it's turning yellow..."

If you're going to measure penises, just measure them. Don't waste time installing and nurturing invasive species.

[Parkbandit]

You've all convinced me; I'll sharpen the blade and finish mowing the other part of the yard today.

I shall return with results!

Take it to a place to be sharpened. Or replace with a new one (which might actually be cheaper).

The People have spoken: Parkbandit is always right.

[Gelston]

Just cover your yard with lava rocks. Then you only need to kill weeds.

[poloneus]

Just to reiterate what others have said:
1) dull blade
2) cutting too much at once

Sharpen the blade, make sure your RPM's are high (check your air filter!), slow down your forward motion, and check how much you're lopping off. You should also test the soil every 3 years or so and most do-it-yourself kits suck. Just don't check until several weeks later if you've fertilized recently.

If you let the grass get too tall don't, get it back to the right size all at once. As annoying as it is you need to slowly lower the height over a couple-3 weeks or your lawn will look like shit.

[Tisket]

I don't know if this has been suggested already but, what height did you have the mower set at? Cutting it too short can stress grass out and even put it into a state of shock. Or so I've been told. I scalped our lawn once and it took a while to recover.

[Tisket]

I need to stop posting immediately after reading the OP but before reading the rest of the posts. It's a bad habit of mine.

[Tsk Tsk]

Looks like you got the answer already. Good luck!

[Tgo01]

Finally had some time to finish mowing my yard. I changed the blade and set the mower to cut at the highest it will go and so far so good! The yard is looking beautiful and green. I'll keep everyone apprised as to the health of my yard.

[Johnny Five]

Finally had some time to finish mowing my yard. I changed the blade and set the mower to cut at the highest it will go and so far so good! The yard is looking beautiful and green. I'll keep everyone apprised as to the health of my yard.

Where are the pictures!? I had my happy hands all ready. :(

[Tgo01]

Where are the pictures!? I had my happy hands all ready. :(

You want to see my bare naked yard?! Not happening, good sir! You shall not spoil her innocence!

[Laviticas]

Normally yellow = nitrogen starved and grass loves this shit. If you have a lot of leaf debris in your yard spread lime in late fall or early spring or your lawn will become to acidic, don't make the mistake of buying lime in the powder form or you will have a bit of a mess on your.....everything. Sharp blades help too

[Whirlin]

Normally yellow = nitrogen starved and grass loves this shit. If you have a lot of leaf debris in your yard spread lime in late fall or early spring or your lawn will become to acidic, don't make the mistake of buying lime in the powder form or you will have a bit of a mess on your.....everything. Sharp blades help too

Partial credit.

Somewhat true about nitrogen. From what I've read, nitrogen won't cause those types of effects, a nitrogen deficiency will results in slower growth rate, and thinner blades of grass, but not the yellowing. Nitrogen level requirements vary based on the type of grass. The best remediation for nitrogen deficit lawns or gardens is actually coffee grounds. Coffee grounds are amazing, incredibly nitrogen rich, and very quick to compost and integrate in with your soil.

Acidity is completely separate. Acid patches are best identified through moss. Moss thrives ridiculously well in acidic conditions. And completely agree with lime... use pellets rather than powders, just much easier to manage.

http://www.uwex.edu/ces/forage/wfc/proceedings2000/cuomo.htm

Next guide: Whirlin's Guide to Lawn care.

[Johnny Five]

You want to see my bare naked yard?! Not happening, good sir! You shall not spoil her innocence!


http://www.thecultureconcept.com/circle/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Grass-Woman-Eden-Project1.jpg

[cwolff]

Finally had some time to finish mowing my yard. I changed the blade and set the mower to cut at the highest it will go and so far so good! The yard is looking beautiful and green. I'll keep everyone apprised as to the health of my yard.


Where are the pictures!? I had my happy hands all ready. :(

Yes we need pictures. Would love to see that little slut topless.


http://www.uwex.edu/ces/forage/wfc/proceedings2000/cuomo.htm

Next guide: Whirlin's Guide to Lawn care.

Here's an article that Paul Wheaton wrote about lawn care. Until Whirlin's guide is up and running you might want to check it out. Sounds like you're already doing the first step.


Must do:
Set your mower as high as it will go (3 to 4 inches).

Water only when your grass shows signs of drought stress and then water deeply (put a cup in your sprinkler zone and make sure it gets at least an inch of water).

Optional:
Fertilize with an organic fertilizer in the fall and spring. I recommend the Ringer brand.

Have the pH of your soil professionally tested. Add lime if it is below 6.0 and gardener's sulfur if it is above 7.0.

How much top soil do you have? See how deep a shovel will go into the soil. How deep can you dig a hole in one minute? Four inches of topsoil will make for an okay lawn. Eight or more inches of topsoil will make for a great lawn. Wheaton (http://www.richsoil.com/lawn-care.jsp)

If you do go with the pH testing I'd love to see/hear/read about the results.

Here's another piece he wrote about pH.


first: have your pH professionally tested!

Without knowing the current pH of your soil, you run the risk of making things worse!

Testing pH is real science. And nearly all of the products available on the shelves of your local gardening supply are crap. They can be (and in my experience, usually are) off by so much that the prescribed treatment can kill your lawn. The most basic pH meters that will do any good start at about $65. Then you need calibration solutions and you need to know how to use them. pH testing for realz (http://www.richsoil.com/ph/)

[Laviticas]

Partial credit.

Somewhat true about nitrogen. From what I've read, nitrogen won't cause those types of effects, a nitrogen deficiency will results in slower growth rate, and thinner blades of grass, but not the yellowing. Nitrogen level requirements vary based on the type of grass. The best remediation for nitrogen deficit lawns or gardens is actually coffee grounds. Coffee grounds are amazing, incredibly nitrogen rich, and very quick to compost and integrate in with your soil.

Acidity is completely separate. Acid patches are best identified through moss. Moss thrives ridiculously well in acidic conditions. And completely agree with lime... use pellets rather than powders, just much easier to manage.

http://www.uwex.edu/ces/forage/wfc/proceedings2000/cuomo.htm

Next guide: Whirlin's Guide to Lawn care.

Using lime causes a composting effect and produces nitrogen from the leaves, yard waste, etc as well as maintaining a good ph level. Why I say nitrogen for yellowing, the yellowing if I remember correctly is a phosphorus shortage, which is often a result of nitrogen shortage, kind of a domino effect.

For our gardens, we save all the chicken shit in plastic 55 gallon drums, let them cook a for a few months then spread it in the fall.

[Tgo01]

Hmm...okay so everything seemed fine after my last post so I figured the sharp blade did the trick however I'm noticing the same problem again.

I mowed part of my yard the other day and it looked like shit afterwards, the blade is still very sharp with no noticeable nicks. The part of my yard I didn't cut still looks good but there are still some grass blades with a white tip. I usually mow about once a week and I was mowing at 3.5 inches but I took a ruler out to the part of the yard I hadn't mowed yet and it wasn't quite 4 inches high yet. If I stick to the 1/3 rule I could let it grow to a little over 5 inches and only be mowing 1/3 of the grass off at once.

Is it possible I'm mowing too often? Maybe once a week mowing is causing too much stress on my grass. I don't know. Why can't lawn care be simple?!

[Tgo01]

Tgo's lawn needs your help: Part 2

This time with pictures!

So here is a picture in the middle of my mowing; showing part of the lawn before being cut and another part of the lawn after being cut.

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The grass looks much worse after being cut so I thought it had something to do with the way I mowed or the mower itself. That's why I replaced the blade and tried waiting longer between mowings this time but what I noticed today is the brown patches of grass are already there before I mow, it's just a lot more noticeable after I mow. It seems there are patches of lawn where the grass is turning brown but when the surrounding grass grows long enough it's harder to notice the brown grass underneath.

Here is a closeup of an unmowed patch of grass and you can kind of see what I mean in the picture.

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Here is a close up of a brown patch after being mowed.

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When the grass grows tall enough it looks pretty good from the street or from my house but as I'm walking on it I can see the brown underneath all of the green.

Any idea what the problem is? Should I torch the entire lawn and start over? It can't possibly be from underwatering because we've had almost non stop rain for a week straight. I guess it could be from overwatering in that case but I had this same problem when I originally made this thread and it wasn't too much water back then.

[Laviticas]

Spread lime this fall, and keep fertilizing. Also may need to airirate your lawn, I'm not seeing any grub problems, how much rain have you had?

[Laviticas]

It could be grubs, tough to tell with these pics. Meh, throw down insecticide too, could not hurt

[Tgo01]

Spread lime this fall, and keep fertilizing.

How often should I fertilize? I usually fertilize 4 times a year. What would the lime do?


Also may need to airirate your lawn

I could do that, I aerated last year too.


how much rain have you had?

I don't have an exact figure but I'd say at least 2-3 inches in the last week.

[Laviticas]

Ah, be carefull with how much you water. Your lawn will become hydroponic and you will have a hell of a time

[Laviticas]

Lime reduces the acidity and breaks down all the yard waste. Fertilize as often as you like, pretty tough to burn anything.

[Tgo01]

Ah, be carefull with how much you water. Your lawn will become hydroponic and you will have a hell of a time

The rain has been good and steady this year, I've only used the sprinklers once.

Here is a part of my lawn before being mowed:

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You can clearly see where the property line is with my neighbor at the top of the photo.

I think you might be onto something with the insecticide idea though because I noticed this just a few minutes ago, it's a close up of part of my yard that hasn't been mowed yet:

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It looks like a ring shape of brown grass, I thought I remember reading something about that being caused by insects/pests.

[Laviticas]

Yea those are grubs, ring shaped brown spots, those grubs are usually June bugs and well it's June

[Laviticas]

This is why my lawns get tilled up and turned into vegi gardens. Cheaper and much more rewarding. Last year I grew my first giant pumpkins, my biggest was over 100 lbs