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4 Steps to Help Your Lawn Recover From Brown Patch!

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brown patch If you live in the Mid-Atlantic States and Tall Fescue is the predominate grass in your lawn, be on the look-out since this is the time of year when Brown Patch begins to show up. It has been a wet, humid year and now that the temperatures are beginning to rise, the prime conditions for Brown Patch to develop are in place. These conditions include: night time temperatures above 80 degrees, high humidity and turf that is growing quickly. Watering at night is an all too common practice for many home owners and creates a breeding ground for brown patch. Watering in the early morning is better. If you have an automatic sprinkler system, set it to start at 3 or 4 in the morning. It is still dark at that time, but the Brown Patch fungi do not have enough time to grow and develop before the sun rises again.

If your lawn does develop Brown Patch here is what you should do:

  1. Change your cultural practices for watering as outlined above.
  2. Mow at 3 to 4 inches.
  3. Use a fungicide or call Spring-Green to treat your lawn.
  4. Core and Overseed your lawn in the late summer and fall. Spreading new grass seed after aeration is recommended to help the lawn recover from the stresses of summer.
There are several fungicides that are labelled to control Brown Patch. Read the product label before purchasing the product so that you can confirm that Brown Patch is one of the diseases that the material will control. In many cases, the label will list both a preventative and curative rate. If you choose to apply a fungicide, you will want to use the higher curative rate. Of course, if you are a Spring-Green customer, you can call your local office to schedule a Brown Patch treatment. The conditions for Brown Patch to develop can last several months, but the effectiveness of most fungicides last 28 days or less. That means you may have to apply two or more applications during the summer. Be sure to read and follow all label directions before using any pest control products. Spores of all types of diseases can be found in most lawns. These diseases may develop if the environmental conditions are present for a long enough time for the pathogen to grow and attack the lawn. Following good cultural practices along with a balanced nutrition program will go a long way in making sure your lawn looks good all year. For more information on Spring-Green additional services call your local Spring-Green office.