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How to improve lawn with brown patches?

Hi Team,

I live in Syd and understand the heat impacts etc on grass however I hot this run down patches of brown area and green grass us around it.

I have tried watering , seasol and sherly 17 etc. But nothing working. Someone mentioned wormas but couldn't find... Back yard has a bit of a slope..please assist

Oh a tradie told me its couch grass type

Back yard

front yard

front yard with some organic soil

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MitchellMc

Hi @newfast,

Could you provide some more details about when this issue started occurring, whether the soil is hard and compacted and what time of the day you water?

If you dig a small section of lawn on the boundary of the dead area, you could discover if you have a curl grub infestation. I'll add an image of what you are looking for down below. If you find evidence of them, you can apply a grub killing product. There is also a chance that you have a fungal disease. These are caused when the grass is both wet and hot for many hours. It's best to water in the mornings before the sun is overhead. This gives the water enough time to evaporate off before it really heats up.

Although couch spreads easily, you have some extensive areas which are completely dead. It looks like you'll need to aerate, topdress and then re-seed.

You might like to check out @mich1972's advice in her recent discussion: How to restore an old patchy lawn. She's had some brilliant success, and the lawn is filling in nicely.

You'll also find these step-by-step guides useful:

How To Aerate And Top Dress Your Lawn

How To Grow Grass From Seed

How To Revive Your Lawn

I look forward to following along with your lawn rejuvenation. Please let me know if you need further advice or had questions.

Mitchell

newfast

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/11990#Comment_11990

@MitchellMc

Re watering, due to working hours , usualky water in the evening at same time watering the garden plants. Duration and timming vary.

I did some digging in the back yard at 3 different places and didn't see any grubs etc.

... I have attached the pics, due to the slop in the area I could see the rocks after 2/3 inch digging at one place and others were bit deeper

Jason

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/68428#Comment_68428

Thanks for the extra investigation work and photos @newfast.

Let me tag resident lawncare expert @Adam_W to see if he might like to kindly share his expertise while we are waiting for @MitchellMc to return to the site on Friday.

Jason

Adam_W

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/68428#Comment_68428

Hi @newfast
I think you have a number of things going on there.
- Quite likley has been some curl grub activity. Have you seen any little black/brown beetles around? Especially under outside lights at night. They are about 1cm long. The give-away of curl grubs, apart from dead grass, is that if you grab the dead grass it will easily come away from the soil as the roots have been chewed off.

- Hot weather can be hard on lawns. Soil looks damp enough now but if dry soil, which can happen in patches, is likley then add a granulated soil wetter as per recommendations on pack.

- Shallow soil. Seems you have a lot of rock or rubble underneath that grass. When close to the surface this will always lead to browning as the rocks heat up more than soil, they retain the heat more and the surrounding soil dries out faster. Best solution there would be to lay new soil on top, at least 5cm thick and it must be a soil suitable for lawns, not a garden soil.
Not sure if there's much I can add beyond that I'm afraid but please, come back with any more questions or info.

MitchellMc

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/97129#Comment_97129

Many thanks for the additional information @newfast.

Has this been an ongoing issue or did the vast die-back start occurring at a certain point? I'd agree with @Adam_W's recommendation that there is very little soil for the grass to be growing in due to the rock directly under the surface. This will mean that it dries out very quickly on hot days. Hortico 25L Lawn Top Dress Mix would be a suitable soil to lay, and you might like to consider delivery of ANL 1m³ Organic Top Dressing as it would be the most cost-effective solution.

Please let us know if you need further assistance or had questions.

Mitchell

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