Matted down, yellowed patches in lawn

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JaySone
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Matted down, yellowed patches in lawn

Post by JaySone » April 1st, 2021, 2:41 pm

Hi everyone. I just moved into a new home and with the snow melted I'm assessing my lawn. I could use some help identifying a couple large patches that are still yellowed. These areas seem to completely block out the soil and have a bit of spongy feel to them. When I rake, or just work it with my hand, it seems to get rid of the matted down appearance and most of the material gets removed. It doesn't look like there is very good coverage and the material looks thick, almost weed-like rather than thin grass blades.
Outside of mowing and trimming, I'm a total noob so I could really use some advice on what to do with these areas. I'm guessing now is the time to attack it rather than waiting. Thanks!

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MorpheusPA
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Re: Matted down, yellowed patches in lawn

Post by MorpheusPA » April 1st, 2021, 5:34 pm

That looks like areas that simply haven't come back yet; it's awfully early. Right now, my own lawn looks a little like that after the awful winter I had.

While odd for April Fool's Day in Pennsylvania, well, the winter was also an odd one. I might wait a bit before disturbing things too much to see if it regreens. Scraping it causes damage to the crowns, which costs the grass energy to repair.

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Re: Matted down, yellowed patches in lawn

Post by falcon » April 20th, 2021, 3:20 pm

Morpheus, if patches on your lawn still look like this at this point in the season, would you worry?

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MorpheusPA
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Re: Matted down, yellowed patches in lawn

Post by MorpheusPA » April 20th, 2021, 5:49 pm

I'd need photos to be sure, plus of surrounding lawns. It was not a pleasant winter, and the spring so far hasn't been a fantastic one. I'm actually due for my first mow now--about two weeks late. At least two weeks late.

Some minor remaining patches wouldn't be a problem if they look like they're coming back. But some people had die-out problems.

falcon
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Re: Matted down, yellowed patches in lawn

Post by falcon » April 20th, 2021, 7:45 pm

Out of respect for the OP, I'll hold off unless they think it will be helpful to them, which it probably will be. Otherwise, I'll start another thread.


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MorpheusPA
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Re: Matted down, yellowed patches in lawn

Post by MorpheusPA » April 21st, 2021, 12:30 am

Either/or. I suspect we're discussing exactly the same thing as well, so if you want to add on, go right ahead. If you'd rather start a new thread, feel free. :-)

I'm not a thread gatekeeper and if either of the two who are think it should be separated, they'll take care of it if you post here.

falcon
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Re: Matted down, yellowed patches in lawn

Post by falcon » April 22nd, 2021, 7:41 am

Morpheus, let me know if these photos are helpful. The rest of the lawn looks amazing, which is why these concern me at this point. I had a lot more of these patches two weeks ago, but nothing seems to be happening in these spots. The rest has greened up perfectly and is ready to cut.
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MorpheusPA
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Re: Matted down, yellowed patches in lawn

Post by MorpheusPA » April 22nd, 2021, 10:46 am

It's hard to tell if that's a dead patch or still snow mold; it doesn't have the overall "still living" look of snow mold, though, and the surrounding grass is green...

My personal opinion is that some of that might still come back but I wouldn't count on it. I'd make sure to feed the lawn well in late May and through the fall for spread, and think about overseeding in August.

falcon
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Re: Matted down, yellowed patches in lawn

Post by falcon » April 22nd, 2021, 12:16 pm

Thanks. That's what I figured. I did plant a blend, but I have no idea how much of the KBG actually germinated. I'm not counting on much spread, but thankfully I have plenty of leftover to overseed these patches. The positive of needing to over seed will be that I can be ruthless digging up the wild onion and wild garlic that keeps popping up, despite meticulously walking the lawn and removing hundreds of bulbs.

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MorpheusPA
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Re: Matted down, yellowed patches in lawn

Post by MorpheusPA » April 22nd, 2021, 7:40 pm

There's, at least, some silver lining to the cloud, at least. If you haven't had a soil test done, I might do one at this point as well. With an overseed coming, you'll have the rest of spring and summer to fix the soil as well.

Let's just say that...I'd get a soil test done.

falcon
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Re: Matted down, yellowed patches in lawn

Post by falcon » April 23rd, 2021, 6:58 am

Andy and Andy are already on the soil test!

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