The link

Here is a link that might be useful: Burned lawn

It may come back in the fall. Only thing to do now is wait. Aerate too. Plan on overseeding if you want.

Another absolutely classic set of pictures showing a lawn in desperate need of organic matter.

Plus, in one of those pictures, only certain sections were burned out. Are you sure you didn't apply too much chemical fertilizer in those well defined, burned out areas?

Immediately spread compost over your entire lawn. (You can also use Canadian peat to spread over the lawn.)

Do it every two months until your soil conditions improve then do it once a year and/or fertilize with organic stuff once in a while.

Mulch your grass clippings and mow leaves into the lawn in the fall.

Your new lawn needs ORGANIC matter!!

Thanks everyone.

RDAK, yes, some part of the lawn looks nice, that's only because I didn't fertilize that part.

Please forgive me for being slow, what is compost? where do I get them? I can buy peat moss, is that what you are talking about? i know Peat moss can hold moisture well, but do not add much fertilizing.

Thanks,

Kai

Are you saying that the parts that look bad are the parts that got fertilizer? If so, I suspect that you misread something or miscalculated something znd that you did burn the lawn in those areas.

That's ok Kai, I didn't know this simple treatment until my grandfather taught me when I was a kid.

I use the Canadian peat you can purchase in plastic wrapped bales from Home Depot's, Lowes, Meijer's, etc.

I buy bagged composted manure from Home Depot or Lowes. Sometimes it's called humus and manure. Same thing as composted manure, just a different name mainly.

Spread the peat with the flat end of a steel rake and sprinkle the compost over the peat by hand. You don't need a thick layer, just about 1/4 inch. Don't worry if some areas have thicker than 1/4 inch, it is just an average. The watering in will help spread it out. Just get some on your lawn. (Sprinkling the composted manure by hand can be thin also. You don't need to go crazy if you know what I mean. Over time you'll figure it out.)

It is labor intensive but you'll get alot of exercise from it. (Btw, you can do this as often as you like if you wait a couple of months between "treatments". It's up to you. After you see the results you might get addicted IMHO. LOL!!)

Water it in. Don't go crazy with the water, just a medium soaking is all you need IMHO.

Also, try and mulch mow the autumn leaves into your lawn every year. Just spread them out over the lawn and mulch mow them in. You might have to make a couple, or three, passes with the mower to get the leaves all chopped up. It's just that easy. VERY good for the soil over the long term IMHO. It's free to!!

Good luck!!

Organic matter? While this is a new house and it probably will help in the longrun, that definitely isn't what is wrong here. That is about as clear a case of fertilizer burn as you are ever going to see. You can clearly see the path and it ends abruptly in a straight line. There is zero doubt that this is a man made problem.

There really isn't much to do at this point. Wait for the summer heat to break and then reseed the affected areas.

Rdak,
I am sold by your idea. Will do it in the fall. Actually I prefer organic, that is what life should be.

BTW, what should I do with current burned grass? Are they dean or just dormant? I am think to wait and see, if nothing comes back in the middle of sept, I probably can say they are dead, so I need to re-seed.

If I do have to re-seed, can I just seed on top of dead grass?

Kai

You can seed on top of the dead grass, but you'll have better results if you do something like cut it as low as you can, rake the clippings and do something like core aerate or run a dethatcher. You want to expose as much soil as possible so the seeds get good contact with the soil.

Adding the peat and compost now will allow the surviving grass to grow into the dead spots. All the burned grass probably isn't dead (at the roots) either, don't know for sure though.

I did it many times on over fertilized lawns when I worked for a landscaping company when I was young. Worked like a charm. Did it on a neighbor's lawn a couple of years ago when he put down too much chemical fertilizer and got the "burns". Worked very well. He was happy.

I'd do immediately and not wait until fall Kai.

Sorry to say, but if a lawn is burned in April and doesn't come back by mid July, it is dead. Unless your lawn was the new Lazarus blend, your only viable option is reseeding once the summer heat breaks.

Kaihui - You have gotten some very good advice from some very knowledgable persons here. Compost can be purchased in bulk and delivered to your driveway by the cubic yard. Now, where can I get some of that new Lazarus blend ?

Hi, Bill,
I applied fertilizer in late April, the burn marks showed in May, and then spread out to the whole lawn. We had more than average rain in June, and some grass came back, now it is hot here in July, most of them went back to brown again. (my neighbor's lawn turned brown now as well. He didn't use fertilizer. He planned to, but I warned him after my failure.)

Somehow I still think some grass will come back in fall.

Hi, rdak,
Don't know whether I should do anything right now. I am in zone 7 and you are in zone 5. Last year, I goofed around on my lawn in the summer, nothing worked. However, after septemper, grass turned green beautifully like magic. It is just too hot here now. BTW, my yard has pretty steep slopes around it. Whatever I put on, I am sure it will be washed away by rain. The only time that works for me is fall. Seeds can germinate in 7-14 days before they are washed off by rain. I don't want to use straws to keep the moisture because when straws are washed off by rain, then go to the ditches and clog the drainage.

Kai