We moved to Keller in a new subdivision last summer. I did not do anything to the lawn, other than water it. I was pregnant and my husband was overseas.

This spring, I put molasses on and corn gluten meal, not at the same time. The grass in the front looks pretty good. It is not as green as the chemical lawns, but grows well, etc. The grass in the back is terrible. It grows along the sides of the fence, but does not seem to grow in the middle. It is also a brown/tan color, ftmp. Should I put another application of corn gluten meal on the lawn.

I am mowing weekly and have had some trouble with weeds as would be expected. I spot the weeds with a vinegar solution, but haven't seen the grass around the weeds die as a result.

Susie

Hi Susie,
In your back yard, is the middle significantly higher or lower than the edges where the grass is growing?

If it is high, you have a water retention problem. The center will require more frequent waterings until you can get the roots to grow very deep.

If you center is low, then you probably have had a fungal die-off in the past from standing water in the area. The solution here is to level the area and resupply the necessary fungi with compost.

Then the corn gluten meal makes a great fertilizer. It's kind of expensive, though, so I use corn meal or alfalfa meal/pellets. They cost about 1/5 the amount of CGM.

Now are you going to come back and tell me the center is perfectly level??

_________________
David Hall
Moderator
Dirt Doctor Lawns Forum

Susie,

If you have not read the organic FAQ that DHall posted, I would check it out. Follow the information he has provided for us and then your program should really kick off. http://www.dirtdoctor.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=382

Also, since we are in the same area, I am guessing that you have the same clay and rock soil that I have? Do you have an irrigation system or do you have to drag the hose and sprinkler around? How often and when do you water? Have you put down any other food sources for you plants besides the CGM and Molasses you mentioned? What type of grass do you have, Bermuda, St Augustine, etc...? Do you have many trees in the area affected?

One thing you may want to try is this. Apply Bioform Dry at the recommended rate of 20 lbs. per 1000 SQ Ft. To this, add 5 Lbs. of regular Horticultural Corn Meal mixed in to the hopper with the Bioform. Apply all as evenly as possible in an east/west then north/south manner till it is all applied. Next, foliar feed the turf with the following mixture. In you hose end sprayer, mix 1 cup Molasses, 1 cup Liquid Seaweed, 1 Tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar, 1/2 cup of liquid soap (no degreaser or antibiotics should be used, Ivory or plain Lemon Joy is a good choice), 1 Tbsp. Orange Oil, 1 Tbsp. Fish Fertilizer and 1/2 Cup Ammonia (nitrogen). Mix it well and apply all of this before 10 AM or after 7 PM. You should see results within a few days.

_________________
---Scott in Texas---
"It begins with a garden... and becomes a way of life"
"Conserve today and save tomorrow!"

Dearest Moderator,

No, my lawn is not necessarily higher in the middle, but it is very bumpy all over. Does that count? ;) It seems to be getting much better since it has rained. I am thinking that I am not watering enough.

Scott,

I have something akin to cement in my lawn. Rocks, a bit of clay and some grass on top. The grass we have was originally Bermuda. Now, it is Bermuda with some weeds in it. No dandelions, but some other delightful stuff instead. We have an irrigation system put in my the builder. I water once a week and the system is set to run about 20 - 30 minutes at least phase. I have added nothing other than the CGM and Molasses. They only gave me one tree, lol. It seems fine. I added two other trees in the front this week, but the front doesn't seem to be a problem. The rear faces the southish, so I think it just gets more sun.

I can try the bioform concoction, but it will take me a week or so to get to it.

Oh yes, I have read the FAQ, just thought I would see if others had run into something similar here on the boards.

Thanks so very much,

Susie

Susie,

Has you lawn improved any with all the rain we have had? Did you get a chance to put down the dry and/or foilar feeding?

---Scott---

_________________
---Scott in Texas---
"It begins with a garden... and becomes a way of life"
"Conserve today and save tomorrow!"

I'd go from 20-30 minutes to 1 to 2 hours per zone. If you have significant overlap, do 1 hour per zone. If the zones are really independent, then go to 2 hours. Start with weekly since you are already on that plan and see if you can slip back to 10 days or 2 weeks as the grass perks up.

_________________
David Hall
Moderator
Dirt Doctor Lawns Forum

David,

With all due respect , I dont think anyone in this area (North Fort Worth-Keller) could run a sprinkler system for 1-2 hours without the majority making it to the sewer system. We have a mix here of hard red clay and limestone mixed in. It was near concrete before I started my organic program, now it is mushy concrete.

I run my system roughly every 5-9 days (as needed) in ten minute bursts at each zone at one hour intervals for six times that day starting at 4 AM. This is the only way I have found to get the majority of water to saturate the lawn. If I run it longer per zone, all the water just runs off. I am still running it for the amount of time you recommended but without the run-off. Maybe after ten years of a organic program all this clay will be well drained loamy soil...

_________________
---Scott in Texas---
"It begins with a garden... and becomes a way of life"
"Conserve today and save tomorrow!"

Will it ever end?

In the beginning of June, I put the concoction described by Scott on the lawn. It greened up nicely. Then, I used the tuna can method and started watering once a week, though there were some weeks in there where I didn't have to water since it rained so much.

Now I have brown spots. I have read on the forums about this possibly being an iron issues and/or fungus.

This is what it looks like. I don't know how to imbed a picture into the email.

http://www.yorkphoto.com/viewsharedphot ... ndOid=1002

Susey,

I see that this patch of grass is near a structure, what direction does the structure face? Is it between any other structures? What how much sun is it getting? Is this the only spot like this or are there others too? If so, what are the details of the area they are in? Does this grass pull out like there are no roots left, very easily?

_________________
---Scott in Texas---
"It begins with a garden... and becomes a way of life"
"Conserve today and save tomorrow!"

The structure is the back of the house, which faces south.

I have a couple more pics at http://www.yorkphoto.com/share/p=894110 ... ndOid=1002

Most of the brown grass is at the back of the house, but there is another patch on the east side of the house. It started out looking kind of blue/silvery and has progressed to this.

Most of the grass that has this problem is in the sun most of the day. I have a couple of other spots in the lawn. One looks almost exactly like a boot print. I am pretty sure that all of my neighbors are putting chemicals on their lawns.

In addition, it is very easy to pull out of the ground. This is not good, yes?

Thanks for replying. I have no idea where else to go for information and keeping organic is incredibly important to me. I am trying to get my husband to dig up some of the yard for a fall garden and don't know if I should have him dig up some of this grass, in case it is a fungus and will kill the veggies I plan to put in the fall garden.

There should be a class called organic gardening in keller 101.

Susie

Susey,

If it is in the sun most of the day and facing south, I would bet it is not a fungal problem. And the fact that you said it is easy to pull up lends me to believe that something is eating at your roots. Dig up a small area if you can and tell us what you find bug wise.

_________________
---Scott in Texas---
"It begins with a garden... and becomes a way of life"
"Conserve today and save tomorrow!"

I dug up a couple of different areas and all I found was sand. There was one millipede/centipede like bug, but nothing else. The roots were still somewhat intact, but it was easier than I thought to dig into the turf.

The sand is beautiful. Ugh.

Susie