Do you love sitting in the garden in the evenings and enjoying your lush lawn? But what if you discover fungal growth in your lawn? This can ruin the grass. You have to act quickly.
We will give you the relevant information on how to recognize lawn fungus, what symptoms it has, how you can combat it with home remedies and how you can prevent it so that your lawn continues to grow healthily. You need to check your grass regularly to avoid any problems and diseases.
How does lawn fungus come about?
If the weather is unpredictable for too long, fungal infestation can occur in the lawn due to the high moisture in the soil. The mushrooms are usually found in the soil and they need favorable conditions to develop. Improper mowing, overwatering, compacted soil, excessive fertilizer can also be reasons for the development of fungus in the grass.
If your lawn has been attacked by fungus, some symptoms will appear. Learn to recognize the symptoms and once you are sure that it is a fungal infection, act appropriately and quickly.
What are the symptoms of lawn fungal infestation?
There are some clear signs that you can tell that your grass has been infected by the fungus. Pay attention to the following:
- A powdery substance that covers the blades of grass
- Large, irregular patches of dry and dead grass
- Light green or yellowSpots on the lawn
- Circular, brownish spots
- Thin red hairs or strands sticking out from the blades of grass
- Thin patches with frayed blades of grass
Fight lawn fungus with home remedies
My lawn has fungus, what should I do? There are some effective home remedies to combat fungus. Below we show what you can do to get rid of fungi on the lawn. Please note that you must act before the fungal disease has spread too much. Fungal infections can spread very quickly and kill your grass.
Use neem oil to combat fungus
Which remedies for fungal infestation in the lawn? It is advisable to first use chemical-free agents to combat lawn fungus. A neem oil spray is perfect for this task. Neem oil prevents fungal spores from penetrating the plant tissue and can therefore curb the fungal disease. It is a natural insecticide and is used in over 100 pesticide products.
Dilute120 g of neem oil in 4 l of water. Typically, you will need to apply this solution two or three times, 7 to 14 days apart, to ensure effective control.
Baking soda kills fungus
With a homemade baking soda solution, you canFungal infestationfight in the lawn. The solution should be strong enough to kill fungi but too weak to upset the soil's pH balance. How to make the solution: Mixa tablespoon of baking soda with 5 liters of water. Spray the solution on your lawn every three days until the fungus dies.
Treat lawn fungal infestations with compost tea
Compost tea adds good fungi and beneficial bacteria to the soilkeep the lawn healthy and strong.You can make compost tea yourself from your compost by mixing it with water. For lawnsdilute the tea about 50/50 with water. Apply the tea morning or evening with a sprayer - with 40 liters of diluted compost tea you can treat almost half a hectare.
Prevention is better than cure
You can take appropriate measures and properly care for your lawn to prevent fungal infections. Here are the most important tasks to pay attention to and your grass will thank you!
- Don't overwater.Excessive watering promotes fungal diseases, and excessive water is particularly a problem when the soil is compacted. Water your grass early in the day. The grass needs time to dry well so that the moisture does not encourage fungi. If you water early in the morning, your lawn has all day to dry. MostRequire lawnsup to approx. 4 cm of water per week - either through rain or irrigation.
- Mow properly. When mowing, do not remove more than a third of the grass height, otherwise the grass will be stressed and weakened. Mow frequently when the grass is growing quickly. How to promote grass health.
- Sharpen your mower blades, because dull mower blades tear off the tips of the grass leaves instead of cutting them. This makes grass more susceptible to fungal diseases
- Remove dead grassby scarifying the lawn. Dead grass and debris increase the risk of lawn fungus.
- Ventilate your gardenand loosen compacted soil. The compacted soil reduces drainage, which can lead to lawn fungus growth.
- Check your soil for the correct pH level. The recommended pH for most types of lawns is between 6 and 7.
- Pay attention to the right amount of fertilizer. Do not fertilize too much or too little. If your grass doesn't receive enough nutrients, it will become weak and susceptible to disease. And if you fertilize too much, you encourage rapid growth of the stalks that the roots cannot support.
