I'm not certain, but I think some of the fungal growth and general thinner lawn is a result of my poor lawn mower. I proudly own a first-gen Ego 20" mower that I've been using (somehow) on the St. Aug here in DFW. I bought this mower when I lived in Colorado and it handled my cold season grass just fine on a lawn that was only about 1,000 ft2. Now I'm at 5,000 ft2 with St. Augustine and it struggles significantly.

I regularly sharpen the blades, but they are made out of some pretty soft metal so they don't hold their edge very long. Also I've been mulching - mostly because I was too lazy to bag, but I don't think this mower mulches very well and it is added a thick humic-type layer of thatch, helping to choke the living grass and contributing to the fungus(?).

I'm committed to a new gas mower as it rolls around to the new year. I'm undecided between a Honda HRX217HYZ and a Toro Timemaster or Turfmaster. I'm also looking at the Honda HRC commercial line, but they seem a bit more oriented to a business than a resident. There is also a Ferris 32 inch I'm considering, but it is pretty bulky to store.

 

I'll be watching your journal! Good luck!

 

Makes me feel better that I'm not the only SA owner with Virginia Buttonweed issues! Stuff drives me crazy. My wife and kids make fun of me crawling around pulling it out by the roots!

 

@dubyadubya87 , I know what you mean!

It started popping up in a wetter section of the lawn this year. I had never seen it before in the lawn, and with the ground spread and unobtrusive little white flowers it looked like something from an alien outer space!

I hit it with Blindside and it seems to have controlled it well to where I can actually pull it up quickly when it shows up from time to time. Unfortunately the St. Aug took a beating where the Blindside landed.

Brutal weed to stop!

Somewhere on my list is to re-level some portions of my yard that have settle as little bowls that trap water. Maybe in the spring.

 

Rain has been brutal today and is forecast over the next three days, so not much lawn activity happening.

I purchased 2ea Fire Dragon Maples this weekend to plant in the front yard replacing two Silver Maples. Was supposed to plant today, but it will probably be Thursday given the rain.

 

So cooler weather has landed in the DFW area with lows in the high 30's and a lot of rain. Grass is pretty much going dormant. My lawn had a late feeding of Milo and the nitrogen is certainly showing through. I think I have the greenest grass on the street!

That being said, there is a pattern to the grass with a lot of shriveled brown grass leaves amongst the broader leaves. Is that simply dead leaves showing up as the grass grows dormant and growth slows? Or is it an indicator of another problem?

 

I have the same in mine right now. Curious to hear if anyone knows for sure what it is.

 

I'm also looking at the Honda HRC commercial line, but they seem a bit more oriented to a business than a resident.

I tend to agree they are worth skipping. Some of the commercial Toro's in my neighborhood weren't any more robust and didn't cut any better. They were simply larger, with bigger fuel tanks for fewer fill-ups. They might be tougher on the wheel and handle area, but I doubt a home owner would ever recoup that extra expense.

IMO, I'd stick with Honda or Toro but purchased from a local dealer instead of a box store. Better service, and higher quality models are sold there. I'm shocked the EGO lasted this long - I know some gas mowers that have fits with St. Aug and Zoysia. You'll be happy with a new mower. Cheers.

 

I have the same in mine right now. Curious to hear if anyone knows for sure what it is.

I have a theory on the shriveled St.Aug blades. I have been fighting a fungal outbreak and this may be leaves and/or stolons attacked by the fungus and it was a full blade kill. I think they were there all season, but I tend to cut my StAug high and maybe these were leaves under the top of the turf that I did not see during the growing season.

Thoughts?

 

I have the same in mine right now. Curious to hear if anyone knows for sure what it is.

I have a theory on the shriveled St.Aug blades. I have been fighting a fungal outbreak and this may be leaves and/or stolons attacked by the fungus and it was a full blade kill. I think they were there all season, but I tend to cut my StAug high and maybe these were leaves under the top of the turf that I did not see during the growing season.

Thoughts?

Could very well be. I noticed mine only in one area and seemingly overnight. I was able to lightly rake much of it out. It was almost like 'hay' in texture, mixed in amongst my SA. I haven't bothered spraying for whatever it might be, as I'm dealing with St. Aug Decline anyway and will be slowly transitioning to zoysia via plugs.

 

I have the same thing going on in my SA. I did a light rake and pulled a bunch of brown soggy blades out. Came here looking for some insight on what it could be. Or a better rake lol...

 

Planted 2 Shantung Maples in the Front Yard to replace the Silver Maples that were there previously. Honestly the Silver Maples were crappy trees that died quickly and were very susceptible to fungal development...



Also noticed about 5 mushroom outcroppings in the turf in a more wet area of the yard. I suspect it might be related to all of the organic material (Milo and N-Ext products) I dropped about 2 weeks ago as a final fertilization going into the winter. The rain over the last 4 days didn't help as well...



Time to put down fall tree spikes for these and others.

 

Time to put down fall tree spikes for these and others.

You can do that, but when I planted my 12 trees, Fannin told me that Milo/N spread for the grass will feed them just fine.

 

Laid down tree spikes. Sorry but I missed the Milo recommendation. I will target for the Spring.

 

Dropped curative rate of Propicanozole fungicide. This is my third curative drop on alternating rounds of Propicanozole and Azoxystrobin. Hopefully after the last 6 weeks the broad lawn fungus will be greatly reduced. I plan on doing monthly preventative rates through the Winter and into the early Spring and see where things stand then.

 

First time to mow in about 3 weeks. I hate this mower. Bagged top leaves but the mower did not grab any lower leaves between the StAug blades. I hate this mower.

I dropped some Advion ant bait chasing some ants that had been tracking through my front beds. I can't see any mounds so I am pretty certain that they are building underground. I was initially thinking as temps dropped that their foraging for the season was complete but warmer temps prevailed and the drop looked good in terms of attracting them.

Also I have started to make an attempt to straighten a large tree in the front yard while it is going dormant.

The new maple trees are starting to color up nicely giving quite the show.

 

I am getting ready for some fall trimming in my beds and these grassy-like plants are notorious for wanting fall trims. I regularly forget to trim them and then I'm left with all of these brown leaves the following spring when the new green leaves grow in.

Does anyone know what kind of plants these are, when I should trim them back, and how I should trim them? Thanks!

 

I dropped 2oz each of N-Ext RGS and Humic 12 onto the new maples in a gallon of water drench, and then 4oz each for a larger tree. We'll see how it goes.

 

Raked fallen leaves two days ago and then today...enough already! For 5K ft2 you wouldn't think we would have so many leaves. One of the things I like about raking is it really pulls the leaves, acorns and generally dead St. Aug blades up and out. However, it takes forever and more frustrating, I get to do it again in 2-3 days.

What are some of the tricks available to make the process of dealing with large amounts of leaves easier? I've done the mower mulching technique, but all it does is choke up the grass and spit a ton of leaf particles in the air triggering my allergies.

I was also thinking that if I did mulch, then I could use the leaves for bed cover going into the winter months before I refresh with new mulch in the spring.

Thoughts?

 

Do you have bagging capability for your mower? I find that to be the most efficient way to pick up leaves and other organic debris on my lawn. It's almost like a vacuum for your yard. @UltimateLawn

 

I do but my mower is a first gen Ego with horrible vacuum suction. I am set to replace it soon. I was thinking this would be the best option.

 

Does anyone know what kind of plants these are, when I should trim them back, and how I should trim them? Thanks!

Mondo grass. Not sure about maintenance, but a Google search will get you there!

 

So I picked up a new Honda mower today and used it to bag leaves...what a difference compared to the Ego mower.

Also dropped a preventative 2 fl oz. per 1,000 ft2 of Clearys 3336F fungicide. This is new on a rotation of class 3, 11 and now 1. Grass was full of fungal growth about a month before and it is looking better now.

 

Long time no post, so picking up in the new season. Did a 2ea 4 gallon water mix to drop 0.18oz/1,000ft2 of Prodiamine WDG and 0.11floz/1,000ft2 of Specticle Flo. This is my first time using Specticle, so we will see how things go. Specticle is crazy expensive for the 18 floz bottle, but each application is about 5$ per for my 5,000ft2 lawn.

I'm planning on another drop of this combo in about four weeks as things continue to warm.

 

Specticle is crazy expensive for the 18 floz bottle, but each application is about 5$ per for my 5,000ft2 lawn.

This made me laugh. Ever since I got in the lawn game my concept of "expensive" keeps getting "enlarged."