With all this rain, why is my lawn not greener?
Photo by Dominics pics
My first and only lawn was a disaster. During the
If only Yahoo! Answers had been available then. Community member “logan_sell” has some excellent advice on maintaining a healthy lawn, particularly during the cold winter months. And other members chimed in with tips on caring for a patchy lawn and avoiding overwatering during the winter. As it turns out, many grasses go dormant during this time, and the yellow patches I was talking to were perfectly natural. At least my grass was normal, even if I wasn’t.
For those of us who micromanage our lawns, winter can be a difficult season. Do you have any advice for keeping a lawn healthy when it’s cold and wet outside?
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Let it die and put useful in that space. Lawns are a frivolous and wasteful use of resources.
Well, probally your lawn is not so green because it’s to wet and you water it again. Or you water it when the sun is out. People are suppose to water their grass when it’s not so sunny outside.
Maybe you have a groundhog or other underground mammal. They feed on bugs and roots of grass, usually. Walk around your lawn, after it has been dry a few days. If you find any soft spots that are NOT muddy, that confirms it. You have a ground hog, a mole, or any other burrowing animal. If you know someone who likes to garden, they can help you. Around the border of your lawn, spray the grass with a mist of water mixed with any soap & salt. The groundhogs (or whatever they are!) smell salt when there is dead grass, and soap will give them a bad taste if they continue to burrow. The grass that you sprayed may die but the groundhogs will probably not come back and your lawn will soon be green again!
The chemicals in the soil can be the cause of your lawn
problems – try using
You may have groundhogs or other types of burrowing mammals. Usually they feed on bugs, small rodents, & grass roots, so it makes sense for your grass to be dead.
Put water, LOTS of salt, and any kind of soap in a spray bottle & shake it. Then spray the perimeter around your lawn. The grass on the perimeter will die, but the groundhogs (or whatever they are) will probably never come back. The salt tells them that the grass ahead is dead, and the soap gives them a bad taste if thet continue on. Try spraying near the roots. It’s okay, though, if you just spray a mist on top of the grass blades. It will eventually meet the roots. Burrowing mammals like juicy, damp grass roots, so if your neighbors have green lawns and more trees or other plants in their yards, the rain probably reaches yours better; thus, the groundhogs devour your grass.
Try using some type of chemicals to provide better nutrients in your soil. The chemicals can be overused
causing the lawn to burn up – this is the principle behind
broad-leaf killers. I have used SCOTT’s products with
good success.
Well there are several factors that can be involved, first of all it is possible to overwater a lawn, if you tend to water your lawn during times where rainfall is frequent, you can very easily overwater your lawn.
The amount of watering required depends on the season, tempature outdoors, amount of sunlight the lawn is exposed to and your soil.
Your soil my need its PH tested, there are certain nutrients natrually found in the soil that determain how well the grass will hold up. Also keep in mind what type of soil is your grass growing on, sandy, clay, and so on can have a major effect on the preformance of your lawn as well. If your lawn is heavly shaded by trees it wont need as much water, however also take into account that if your lawn has trees in it that sometimes roots close to the surface of the ground will make it very diffacult to grow grass in that area, due to lack of soil, space for the root of the grass to grow in, and the fact that the tree will compete with the grass for water and other vital nutrients.
You may also want to invest into using certain types of fertilizer. The type of fertilizer you use should be determained by what season it is, for instance the three numbers on a bag of fertilizer determains the percentage of each active ingredient in the product, in michigan we mostly use 24-0-16 but that only because phospherous fertilizer is not to be used in the state of michigan, which my statement makes it obvious that the zero stands or the amount of phosphite in the product, the other two numbers indicate nitrogen and pottasioum.
Even if you dont want the services of a lawn care company, most of them will give you a free estimate and often times will give you advise on what is the best measure to take to green up your lawn.
Yes mate
You are welcome for the advice
Maybe because when it was so dry that it created a impermeable surface and then once it did rain it just ran off ? Or that the root system died during the drought? If that is the case,No amount of moisture is going to bring it back.
Try a bit of top soil and some seed
well it all starts from early spring if your ph and fertilizations levels are off your lawn will never truelly green also if your soil is more clay then the water wont drain as well and youll be able to water it less but also if its more sand it may drain to go in which case youd have to water it more and remember the best way to keep it green after spring is to follow a good fertilization plan
Well if its raining too much than the grass may be getting overly watered, and than it will stop growing, and turn brown. Maybe you should try putting top soil, or sand on it because the top soil drains best, but sand drains moterately.
Its true rain is good for your yard but too much rain can kill it. try some chemicals, but dont overuse them.
Let the dog pee on it.
It really, really works.
My lawn’s not green because there’s 2 feet of snow on it.
But I expect it will be again because I got TruGreen. 6 or more times a year. Of course it costs more than doing it myself, but I found I do not do it myself. I never get around to doing the bag thing, and the bottle on the hose thing was always ineffective.
Grass grows down as much as it grows up. If I go an extra notch higher on the lawn mower, the roots are deeper and don’t turn brown at the first day of drought.
They also blend in the clippings better, provided I keep up with it. If not I have to bag it.
When this place was built 40 years ago, it was a handfull of dirt thrown on clay, with sod on top of that. If it rains a bit, the puddles last a week. If it rains alot, the sod floats on the water. It’s like walking on a waterbed.
Consider what Kim said, and think a bit more about where you live. Much of California is desert, including much of the Los Angeles area. Think of the areas that have burned recently near LA, Sand DIego, and elsewhere. They’re in the desert, and the plant roots (but not the leaves) have evolved to withstand fire. Contact the agricultural extension agent for the county where you live, and get an unbiased answer about what kinds of plants would normally live in your area. You might be better off with a xeriscaped yard (using native plants and grasses instead of water guzzling turf). You could also save a lot of money on a greatly reduced water bill.
Hot weather grasses go yellow in winter, cold weather grasses go yellow in summer–your choice. Keep you grass cut long about 2.5-3.5 inches, the height keeps back low weeds like crab grass and other seeds from germinating. Pick up a book on lawns from Lowes or Home Depot.
I forgot. Fee the lawn and water the lawn when it’s actively growing. Don’t water at night–it breeds fungus. Water at dawn if the lawn is dry, or in the afternoon otherwise. Feed and weed according to directions to help the grass get a good start. Seed twice a year. Grass needs about 1-2″ of rain each week. Give it to the grass all at once, i.e. an hour once of week, not 10 minutes 6 days a week. It encourages growing deep roots, which are better able to hold moisture, and which are better protected from summer sun. Good luck.
You are proabbly using too much chemical fertilizer on your lawn. Any artificial chemical fertilizer is too much. The best way to get a truly lucious green lawn without poisoning people and the water ways, is to add natural organic top soil to your lawn over a period of a few years and to spread pelleted lime on it twice a year (that acts as a buffer against acid).
It’s quite possible you have “winter dormant” grass. It yellows in the winter, and then will green up in the spring and summer and as cold weather approaches in the fall, it will start getting yellow again.
You will find that many people have this variety of grass and it’s not from you doing anything wrong, just simply that the grass goes dormant in the colder months.
More nitrogen will green up your lawn.
I can’t be 100% sure from the photo , but it looks as if you’re mowing it too short . (Look @ the grass/pavement boundary ) 3 1/2″ to 4 ” is ideal . That leaves more “green” on the plant , leading to more vigorous plants . This allows the grass to better compete with weeds . It also shades the soil surface , keeping the roots moister and cooler . The shade also decreases the germination of weeds, and their vigor if they do germinate.
Given that you are in California, the grass roots may be getting just too hot , for the varietie(s ) of grass that you have . (I live where it’s cold , so not sure of the exact heat tolerances) . Identify your grass, and find out what are the species/varieties best suited to your area . Overseed with those, if necessary .
Also try doing core aeration once or twice / yr. That will help any lawn. Good luck.
Do you use any lawn treatments ? As I sat back a bit , I noticed the green and yellow areas are in strips . This could be the result of overlap when applying , or some sort of malfunction with the spreader leading to it selectively dropping too much .
Another possibility : do you use one of those 0-radius riding mowers ? I’ve heard from a couple lawn professionals, that where the ground is soft , those heavy mowers can cause compaction , and the appearance shown in that photo .
Maybe it’s dead because it’s the middle of winter and it’s 22 degrees outside. o_O
The nitrogen and nutrients is being washed away. You have to add it back in to keep it healthy.
Reseed. I live around golf courses and they are always cut down and reseeded around October. And use fertilizer.
Everything is all moderation so as the rainning too much is good to your lawn gras and other plants in the yard and garden.Perhaps you should add some compost and dirt on the top of the grass or pplants.
comment posted on February 22 2008 at7:22p.m.by:evelyn lim
You have to remember that here in California we’ve been having a drought for several years now. As a result, many places are planted with desert adapted grasses. Aside from preventing erosian, this saves you lots of money on your water bill and stays greener in the summer, but in a winter like this one there’s too much water. It will look nicer by spring and better than most come August. You should be able to reduce the yellow spots by installing a better drainage system. It will still grow fast though.
I love yahoo! Q& i learn the imformative interesting topics.that is why i join this line thanks.
Lawns (and trees if you have the land) are a way of keeping neighborhoods cool in the summer time, for those who think its such a waste of resources.
Enter a neighborhood with no lawns and you will find it degrees hotter in the summer, enough to make you quite miserable, cement and dirt don’t do anything for the enviroment either. I lived in poor neighborhoods, and nice ones, and there is more to it than just safety.
are you crazy
hi ur grass has been soaked and had to much water
Why have a lawn at all in California? Southern California and most of California for that matter cannot sustain a lawn on its own without watering as it is essentially a desert in many of the most populated places. It boggles the mind at how much water is wasted in California to make it “look” like a much wetter place than it is.
Jeremy, I notice in the photo that there is a large tree and that the lawn seems to extend up to the tree. If you have trees in your yard then I suggest that you create garden beds that extend out to the tree’s “drip line”, the end of it’s branches. Most grasses used in lawns do not tolerate shade, and so the lawn will always look thin and scraggly near trees. You could just mulch around the trees, or better yet plant some shade tolerant plants-away from the tree trunk but near the drip line. Douglas Iris, Sierra Iris, Orange Honeysuckle, California Honeysuckle, Wood Rose, Hummingbird Sage, Yerba Buena, or Johnny-jump-ups will all grow in a shady area.
dont worry, you’re not the only one who talks to your lawn…
I see at least 3 potential problems (based on your photo): First, the last fertilizer application was very uneven as evidenced by the obvious streaking of green and yellow. If you applied the last nutrient application, check out your spreader and your application techniques. Second, based on the streaking, I would wager that the excess rainfall leached your nitrogen and sulfur nutrients out of the soil profile. Only the green streaks that received excess nutrients during the last nutrient application are still green. Your may also be short on potassium and/or phosphorus. Phosphorus is essential in optimal use of nitrogen and sulfur as the grass builds chlorophyll and proteins. Third, you may have a white grub, sod webworm, or other insect problem. If the sod in the yellowed areas pulls up easily, check for evidence of insect feeding. Two recommendations I would make: send a sample of the top two inches of your soil to a reputable soils laboratory for analysis and follow their nutrient application guidelines, or employ a reputable lawn service, at least until you get the situation straightened out. By reputable, I mean a lawn service that will solve your problem without putting you on a meaningless fertilizer or insecticide schedule. A reputable service should give you information on how to solve the problem, give you a reasonable price to solve the problem, then set you up on a program of meaningful, purposeful, and well timed nutrient, weed control, and insecticide applications — as needed, when needed, and if needed.
In the winter wet and cold months, try adjusting the mower to cut the grass higher. the extra longer grass will take up the extra moisture during that time and drown your grass less quickly. Also, you may have different types of grasses mixed together. Take a closer look. If you care for your grass, you can choke out one grass and weeds by fertilizing in the spring and also pulling out those odd patches of grass and weed. (Ive used “Miracle Grow” and hand watered) Airrate the lawn and sprinkle with manure and a larger sand. Doing this one spring/summer faithfully, you should see a lovely lawn in the winter and following years. manure, airrate and resand and (reseed with same grass for a fuller lawn) once a year and remember to cut the grass longer in the winter!
good luck
I know I don’t live in California and I am not familiar with your soil mixture, types of grasses, etc, however; I remember going through a draught in Houston, TX and then a large amount of rain came. Your lawn looks a lot like my lawn did after we received the rain. Came to find I had a disease called thatch. The way I resolved the problem and got my lawn green again…I raked the lawn. Got rid of the layers of dead grass underneath the greenish/yellow layer. The next spring my grass was a deep, deep green. You might want to see what is happening under your lawn because that is probably the problem especially after the many years of draught.
Every spring or fall,I put compost on my lawn,I have
not had a problem with having a yellow lawn.It doesn’t
have to be a thick application. Good Luck.
well it is probably because there is to much rain. or its the season or it lacks nutrients
put fertiler on it
When I was a teenager, I had some jobs mowing lawns. It gets pretty busy during spring time. May be your lawn gets yellow because it needs furtalizer spread every now and then.
I have the same exact problem. Do you have pets? Or animals in the neighborhood that come into your yard frequently? Sometimes urine stains from animals can mess your lawn up bigtime. If that’s your problem, the pet supply stores,or home improvement stores like Home Depot usually have stuff you can use that repels animals from coming on to your lawn,but won’t hurt them either. I think what you should do is get some landscapers that really know about grass,and have them put some real good fertilizer on your lawn. That’s what I am going to do.
To everything there is a season…Bide your time.
The problem is your grass is not nation green or your not giving the grass natures for that type.