Would you just knock it down to around 3" right away and just let it heal after that? Or, do it in steps in order to follow the 1/3 rule?
What could cause this pattern of dead grass
Mower just got done with lawn. I've noticed this lined pattern of dead-ish grass after he was done. Now, if he had mowed too low, I would assume the entire area would be this color. I thought there may have been some grub damage because I saw a LOT of birds in this area over the summer. But, why would there be solid lines of green matching the mowing tracks?
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Winter is coming. Knock it all down to 3" right away and go from there. I maintain 2.5" for the winter. Not sure you could get there just yet since lawn isn't close to flat. But I wouldn't want those trampled areas to remain, invites problems.
I'll give it a shot this coming week. I just went out there to use the blower and the real tough part is that the direction of matting seems to vary wildly. One area might be facing due east and within a couple of inches, there's an area matted due west.Knock it all down to 3" right away and go from there
Also try a metal leak rake. I\e got a standard one and a plastic rake but really want a Groundskeeper II rake. Its hard work either way.I'll give it a shot this coming week. I just went out there to use the blower and the real tough part is that the direction of matting seems to vary wildly. One area might be facing due east and within a couple of inches, there's an area matted due west.
@tommydearest if I were you, I’d try to get it down sooner than later. At least before next weekend. A week from now, temperatures will be dropping and presumably staying low, so growth will probably cease. I’m taking my front down to 2.50” tomorrow, to avoid cutting it lower before temps drop below 40°.
I had actually gone out there about twenty minutes ago with a rake. Can't rake real easily "against the grain" because the rake seems to want to keep hopping up and down. It will raise up the grass then sort of jump off it and start raising the grass in humps. I found that kind of raking along the matted lines in perpendicular motions kind of works best.Also try a metal leak rake. I\e got a standard one and a plastic rake but really want a Groundskeeper II rake. Its hard work either way.
Think I'm going to end up doing it in stages. Raking in one direction, mowing perpendicular to that, then raking in opposite direction and mowing perpendicular again.
Looks like creeping bentgrass. It has lots of brown stems and stolons that grow along the soil surface.Ok, went out this morning and inspected more. Pulled a couple of plugs and realized roots were probably around 4" in both spots. Soil was moist in both spots.
I was somewhat mistaken when I said the green spots pulled up like carpeting. They were so long that I just thought it was all coming up. This morning, I tugged against the direction they were matted and they just pull up so far, it felt like I was pulling them out by the root. When I tugged in the direction of the matting, they pretty much stayed put. It's folded near the soil so it's almost like expanding an accordion, if you know what I mean.
The browner grass is exactly 3". I'm estimating the matted grass is in the neighborhood of 6" minimum.
So, how do I proceed from here? Looks like a week before warm fall temps are over for good. The only mower I currently have is a manual reel mower with about 2.5" height max. I plan on buying a riding, or zero-turn, this coming spring. Do I just wait until spring to deal with this or is there something I can/should do now?
Thanks for the ongoing help everyone.
An image of the matted spot pulled up View attachment 3197
It doesn’t really have good upright growth. It lays down and forms a matt. That’s why it lifts like carpet.
mower height may have been dropped exposing the brown material.
Mower wheels may have also folded the grass down and the blades didn’t hit those spots as well.
for the foreseeable future do Not mow in that direction again---- cut at 90 or 45 degrees to the the old lines. It will take time for the soil to recover/level.
classic case of mower ruts.
classic case of mower ruts.
I keep thinking you have a very thick lawn and maybe they were also driving the mower too fast??? I drive slow on my lawn. I find it mulches it to smaller pieces of grass and it feeds my lawn... In the hot months here in PA, I keep my mower setting at the highest number. 4 inches I believe and when the cold season hits, I gradually lower the deck and will go down to 2 1/2 for the final mowing. This keeps the snow mold away for me.
Did you mow when the grass was damp? If so, the wheels could be keeping the grass lower and you may be cutting off too much or too low. If there truly are ruts then perhaps the fertilizer settled there and the rest is starved for nitrogen
I wonder what kind of grub item you put down, e.g. was it the quick kill type or the season-long as in Scotts Grub-Ex ? If it is pulling up so easily like a carpet, I go back to grubs of some sort. Have you done an extensive search for grubs either CURRENT OR eaten their way down the proverbial road ? (they do migrate some). If it is pulling up like a carpet…I honestly think it is too late (November), as they would have dived down. But you NEED to apply, heavy and even, Grub-Ex next spring. And then re-apply about four months later (even though they say “season-long”). Watering in deeply enough is crucial and I think this is underdone by homeowners. As in any application of anything, timing is always critical.I lean towards grubs mainly because I put down grub killer in the area highlighted in this pic. That is right around where these lines of dead grass stop. But, those lines of dead grass don't seem to pull up like carpeting, as my grub damage in front did. View attachment 3149
Sorry, I know Im late...read thru and saw many of my ideas were already shared by others.
Great lawn with solvable issues. My 2cents. Cut opposite and awkward directions and not in the same ruts until at least next June. Sharpen your blades. When I get that browny haze in stripes it's always due to me being behind on sharpening my blades. You have very large lawn so some might also suggest heat "burn" as a contributor to the yellowing.. Decks doing that much work can get hot. That can be hard to fix, but raising HOC and doing 2 fast passes is better than 1 slow one according to my commercial mowin buddy, to avoid deck burn. My top tip is avoid mowing in those ruts for a long time.
Great lawn with solvable issues. My 2cents. Cut opposite and awkward directions and not in the same ruts until at least next June. Sharpen your blades. When I get that browny haze in stripes it's always due to me being behind on sharpening my blades. You have very large lawn so some might also suggest heat "burn" as a contributor to the yellowing.. Decks doing that much work can get hot. That can be hard to fix, but raising HOC and doing 2 fast passes is better than 1 slow one according to my commercial mowin buddy, to avoid deck burn. My top tip is avoid mowing in those ruts for a long time.
Thanks for all your suggestions everyone. I'm going to try and blow or rake up areas of long grass where I can. It's hard because some areas of matted long grass are matted in different directions, even though they are right next to each other. In other words, if I try blowing or raking in one direction it will lift some grass up while matting back down grass I've just lifted.
This weekend, I'm going to have the guy mow perpendicular to his normal direction.
One more question. I've noticed that these lines are over a good portion of the lawn. It looks to be like he slightly scalped the areas without ruts. Those spots are exactly 3" whereas the green lines vary from just above 3" to like 7". Why such a difference in some areas? Some are matted down and ridiculously long but some are just above 3". Seems as if going to 3" just broke the 1/3 rule, which I can understand because he was mowing higher for a lot of the summer. But, why is some of that grass SO long?
This weekend, I'm going to have the guy mow perpendicular to his normal direction.
One more question. I've noticed that these lines are over a good portion of the lawn. It looks to be like he slightly scalped the areas without ruts. Those spots are exactly 3" whereas the green lines vary from just above 3" to like 7". Why such a difference in some areas? Some are matted down and ridiculously long but some are just above 3". Seems as if going to 3" just broke the 1/3 rule, which I can understand because he was mowing higher for a lot of the summer. But, why is some of that grass SO long?
“if I try blowing or raking in one direction it will lift some grass up while matting back down grass I've just lifted.”
This makes no sense in practicality. Rake it to stand it up and move on. There’s no “matting back down”.
“Why are some areas so long?”
Because it’s constantly being mowed in the same direction; ie. constantly being pushed forward, then driven over, is now growing at an angle and never stands up straight to be mowed properly.
This makes no sense in practicality. Rake it to stand it up and move on. There’s no “matting back down”.
“Why are some areas so long?”
Because it’s constantly being mowed in the same direction; ie. constantly being pushed forward, then driven over, is now growing at an angle and never stands up straight to be mowed properly.
For anyone that was here helping me out, I've made a discovery.
I did have the guy start mowing in different directions this year. It's helped to remove the tire lines. But, that grass that I thought was not being cut was bentgrass! I can't believe how long it gets when you pull it up straight.
Anyway, now I have to figure out how I'm going to tackle this problem. Either try to Tenacity it out or do a full reno. The lawn seems to have a decent amount. I may do one round of Tenacity, see where all the spots are and go from there.
I told him I’m fine with him continuing to mow the “back 40” as he used to. You can see where he started changing it up.
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I did have the guy start mowing in different directions this year. It's helped to remove the tire lines. But, that grass that I thought was not being cut was bentgrass! I can't believe how long it gets when you pull it up straight.
Anyway, now I have to figure out how I'm going to tackle this problem. Either try to Tenacity it out or do a full reno. The lawn seems to have a decent amount. I may do one round of Tenacity, see where all the spots are and go from there.
I told him I’m fine with him continuing to mow the “back 40” as he used to. You can see where he started changing it up.
Deleted for duplicate.
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