Catching Lawn Disease Before It's Too Late

For lawn and garden enthusiasts, the summer season is the best time of the year. You've worked hard throughout the fall and spring seasons to ensure your lawn is summer ready. You've put in the work and now you're finally ready to reap the rewards of a beautiful, healthy lawn that boosts your curb appeal and leaves all your neighbors in awe.

But there's one thing that can turn your beautiful lawn into an eyesore ¬- lawn disease.

While your lawn might not be showing any obvious signs of damage, distress or disease, it's possible that the damage could be hiding beneath the surface - out of sight and likely out of mind. If this is the case, it's possible that by the time you see the effects of the disease, it will already be too late.

It's important to keep a close eye out for signs of lawn disease so you can pinpoint a problem before it causes significant damage to your lawn. Because the signs of lawn disease aren't always obvious and the term itself is quite vague, we've put together this helpful guide. Below are some of the most common types of lawn disease, what they look like and how you can protect your lawn against them.

Common Types of Lawn Disease

Ring Patch

Ring Patch diseases have distinct ring patterns that look like large spots of dead grass on your lawn. The rings are caused by spores or fungus.

Fusarium Patch

This type of lawn disease is caused by a fungus that thrives in a wet, cool environment. Oftentimes, it grows in the early spring or late fall when the weather is cool and the soil is moist. Fusarium Patch can take on a number of different colours, usually starting out as small brown spots before turning white with a pink-coloured edge. Eventually, when the grass is completely dead, it will appear brown in colour once again.

Leaf Spot

In Southern Ontario, Leaf Spot is one of the most common types of lawn disease because it thrives in our humid weather conditions. The disease usually starts as small purplish spots on the grass blades and then spreads to turn the entire blade of grass into a straw-like look and texture. This disease can appear after you've fertilized your lawn but have not given it enough water to wash the fertilizer off the grass blades and into the soil. It can also appear if you mow your long too short.

How to Fend Off Lawn Disease

The common lawn diseases mentioned above can all be prevented by practicing good lawn care maintenance, including proper mowing, aeration and irrigation.

Mowing

Properly mowing your lawn will give your grass the strength it needs to successfully resist disease. As a rule of thumb, it's usually best to keep your grass mowed to a height of 3". It's also crucial to ensure you are cutting off no more than 1/3 of the blade each time you mow. Following these best practices will help keep your soil shadowed so it can retain the nutrients and moisture it needs to develop healthy root systems that can fend off lawn disease.

Aeration

When your soil is too wet or too moist, it can become susceptible to lawn disease. To help create more favourable soil conditions, you'll want to aerate your lawn. Aerating your lawn will help level out the pH balance of your lawn which will stimulate healthy plant growth and allow oxygen to penetrate deep down into the soil.

Irrigation

Giving your lawn the right amount of water can be difficult. Some homeowners water too much, while others water too little. This task becomes even more difficult if you are manually watering your lawn with a surface sprinkler or a garden hose. Installing an inground sprinkler system can help take the guess work out of properly watering your lawn. Instead of trying to figure out when to water your lawn and how much water you should be using, let the programmable settings and weather sensor technology tackle that equation for you.

Contact Nutri-Lawn Burlington Irrigation

Your best defense against lawn disease is practicing good lawn care maintenance. That's why it's important to properly mow, aerate and water your lawn. To ensure your lawn is getting the care and attention it needs, have an inground sprinkler system professionally installed today. With Nutri-Lawn, a professional installation is quick, easy and non-invasive. Contact our irrigation professionals today to schedule a consultation.