Lawn is yellow/brown

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dcook23
Posts: 3
Joined: June 24th, 2017, 1:20 pm
Location: Omaha, NE
Grass Type: Tall fescue
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Lawn is yellow/brown

Post by dcook23 » June 24th, 2017, 2:01 pm

I live in Omaha, NE and my lawn is tall fescue. The lawn is thick and has very little weeds but it is not near as dark as the lawns around me. Kind of has a yellow to it. This past Spring I overseeded with RTF grass seed because it claims to be a dark green and my lawn has always been lighter in color than the neighbors. I have a Rachio irrigation controller which is a smart controller and is supposed to handle getting the lawn the right amount of water. I purchased a PH and moisture sensor and the PH is around 7 and the moisture is anywhere from 5 - 10 depending on the last time my sprinklers ran. This year I tried using granulated lime 2 months based on a suggestion and after that didn't work I tried Ironite 3 weeks ago. Neither or these have changed the appearance. Wondering if it could be due to over watering or too much different type of product on the lawn. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Image

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andy10917
Posts: 29739
Joined: February 23rd, 2009, 10:48 pm
Location: NY (Lower Hudson Valley)
Grass Type: Emblem KBG (Front); Blueberry KBG Monostand (Back)
Lawn Size: 1 acre-2 acre
Level: Advanced

Re: Lawn is yellow/brown

Post by andy10917 » June 24th, 2017, 2:11 pm

Want a suggestion? Stop guessing what's wrong and get a real soil test. You've spent 10X the amount of the test on products that haven't worked, and even conflict (Iron and Lime shouldn't be applied near each other and granulated lime takes up to 12-14 months to break down.

If you use the Logan Labs basic test, we'd be happy to help you build a plan for the entire year. See the Sticky Thread at the top of the Soils Forum for details. If you use any other lab, you'll have to interpret the results yourself.

dcook23
Posts: 3
Joined: June 24th, 2017, 1:20 pm
Location: Omaha, NE
Grass Type: Tall fescue
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: Lawn is yellow/brown

Post by dcook23 » June 24th, 2017, 3:00 pm

Do you recommend the "Complete Package" soil test?

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andy10917
Posts: 29739
Joined: February 23rd, 2009, 10:48 pm
Location: NY (Lower Hudson Valley)
Grass Type: Emblem KBG (Front); Blueberry KBG Monostand (Back)
Lawn Size: 1 acre-2 acre
Level: Advanced

Re: Lawn is yellow/brown

Post by andy10917 » June 24th, 2017, 3:10 pm

No. The Standard Test is all that is needed for 95%+ of the folks with lawns here. Saturated Paste tests are used here mostly only when the results are poor even when the soil is fine ( < 1%). We also recommend Ammonium Acetate tests for areas with proven of suspected calcareous soils (~2%-3%).

Make sure to reads and follow the advice at the Stick Thread at the top of the Soils Forum.

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Dchall_San_Antonio
Posts: 3339
Joined: December 17th, 2008, 1:53 am
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Grass Type: St Augustine
Lawn Size: 5000-10000
Level: Advanced

Re: Lawn is yellow/brown

Post by Dchall_San_Antonio » June 26th, 2017, 2:14 pm

Going forward, follow Andy's advice about the soil testing.

Looking back, try not to repeat these mistakes.
Home pH tests usually determine the pH of the water you used. 7.0 is a very common result from these tests. Moisture testers usually test the ability of the soil to conduct electricity. Electrical conductivity is based on both moisture and salts. Basically these test devices are more amusing than effective.

Don't reseed a northern grass in the spring. Fall is by far the best time to overseed northern lawns. When you do that you are not dealing with the summer weed seeds sprouting. Furthermore when you sprout northern grasses just prior to summer, the summer heat kills off the tender new seedlings. They need a good 9 months to develop some roots.

Don't trust the Rachio to answer your lawn's need for water. Generally you should not need to irrigate until about April and that would only be if you have not gotten any rain in the previous month. If your sprinkler went off before that, or if it watered more than twice prior to May, then it isn't adjusted right. I live in Texas dealing with lots of heat and only 2 inches of rain in the past 6 weeks, and I have only watered 3 times this year. Watering too frequently can make your lawn look just like yours does in the picture. So the solution for you "may" be in doing less to it and watering less frequently. Deep and infrequent is the mantra for watering. When you water it should be for a long time. It takes my oscillating sprinkler 8 full hours to put out an inch of water on a full sweep. But then I might not water it again for several weeks. By the time I water it again the soil is very dry and hard at the surface.


dcook23
Posts: 3
Joined: June 24th, 2017, 1:20 pm
Location: Omaha, NE
Grass Type: Tall fescue
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: Lawn is yellow/brown

Post by dcook23 » June 26th, 2017, 3:01 pm

Thank you for the thoughts. I am sending in a soil sample to see what I can find out.

Question about overseeding. If I put down new seed in the fall and it starts to come up is there any concern about heavy traffic on young seed over the winter? My kids and the neighbor kids play outside on the dormant grass a lot in the winter and do a good bit of damage to the lawn. Do you think the roots are find and still advise overseeding in the fall?

Marinegrunt
Posts: 483
Joined: October 25th, 2016, 10:37 am
Location: Central IL
Grass Type: TTTF + 10% KBG
Lawn Size: 10000-20000
Level: Some Experience

Re: Lawn is yellow/brown

Post by Marinegrunt » June 26th, 2017, 5:35 pm

I'm curious to the answer about winter damage to seedlings seeded in mid August. I would think the grass goes dormant and wouldn't be able to do too much damage to a frozen lawn. Our yard gets some heavy traffic from me in the winter from hauling and splitting firewood.

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andy10917
Posts: 29739
Joined: February 23rd, 2009, 10:48 pm
Location: NY (Lower Hudson Valley)
Grass Type: Emblem KBG (Front); Blueberry KBG Monostand (Back)
Lawn Size: 1 acre-2 acre
Level: Advanced

Re: Lawn is yellow/brown

Post by andy10917 » June 26th, 2017, 9:51 pm

Cool-season grasses can very much be damaged by cold weather plus traffic. The blades can completely fracture in early morning frosts when walked on, and you can find no shortage of "black footprint" postings here in November. Worst is when owners try to get a little more growth out of the new grass and use fertilizers that force tender new growth in the later Fall - that can be a large problem when tender growth meets cold, desiccating winds.

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Dchall_San_Antonio
Posts: 3339
Joined: December 17th, 2008, 1:53 am
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Grass Type: St Augustine
Lawn Size: 5000-10000
Level: Advanced

Re: Lawn is yellow/brown

Post by Dchall_San_Antonio » June 27th, 2017, 1:41 pm

I remember when they seeded at my college they put caution tape around the area for months and months.

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