Black spots on lawn

Evening all

I have a bit of a problem with my lawn. I have quite a few of these black spots appearing on my lawn and I am not sure what it is. It’s hard to get good pictures of this but I’ve attached a few in the hope you good folk can help out as usual.

If you want any more pics of specifics I can grab some.

I am just about to add a yearly moss and weed killer to the lawn before a good de-thatch and aerate but before I do wanted to check in to see whether I need to do anything for this before I do the above

 

That normally appears after you've applied moss killer! I've had isolated bits like that in the past, but I think it was the moss dying from fox urine. If you have a large area like that, the lawn won't be a problem....the foxes will be! Once again, this is just a guess and I could be utterly wrong

 

Its only appeared over the winter really, nothing there last summer/autumn. I kind of want to just do the annual moss/weed killing and see what happens and see if the scarification takes it all up

 

Bit early for weed killer, weeds need to be actively growing and the temps round here are still not high enough.
is this an isolated area of dead moss or is it seen in other areas that have moss?
Personally looking at the lawn I would be applying a nice spring feed with iron to not only promote Some growth but it will recover quicker after scarifying. It looks a tad weak in coverage so I might be tempted to pass on the scarifying.
Did you scarify early autumn?

 

I think i'll be adding the weed/moss killer in about 3/4 weeks or so. Once that is done, give it a couple weeks, then scarify before getting some April work done. And in late April it will be a aerate, dress and overseed.

The black is in quite a few areas, but it's not in any of the moss (there isnt a HUGE amount of moss to be honest)

 

Do you always overseed each season?

so it’s not all moss that’s black, is it slippery and similar to Algae?

 

Nope, this will be my first overseed on this lawn that has been a bit neglected due to covid and the amount of time spent there.

It's definitely not on the moss only, its on other bits too. It is slippery (not like a dead weed or dead moss) like algae yes.

If it is algae, then the scarification, aerate, lawn dress and overseed should see it off shouldnt it?

The lawn is pretty compact and doesn't drain that well (clay soil)

 

Algae, lichens and liverworts on lawns

I’ve just linked the above to help. Yes aerating is a good step, I would hollow tine though if you are able to get loan of a machine or get a company in.
I can’t say it will cure it but it will help and a lot depends on what’s going on below the turf but its a step in the right direction.
Also need to look at feed and what is going to be beneficial, I’m guessing the lawn needs a nice gentle nudge to thicken up the coverage.

 

Hi @Liz the pot

Could I just jump in while you are around, and ask if now is ok to add lime before using a feed and moss product in a few weeks time.

The lawn is 40 years old and did not respone that well to any feed/moss treatment last year, a simple ph test showed it to be low, but just waiting on a new liquid ph test kit to confirm.

 

I am always cautious with lime And I know a few fertilisers promote it but it’s a devil if you apply too much.

What fertilisers did you use last year?

 

Our childhood dogs (5 of them in the size of labradors) tried to kill the lawn by peeing on it. My mother always had to follow them with a garden hose to water down their urine. Otherwise the lawn would have looked like a wasteland after a few weeks.

 

We tried a carton of Neudorff Clean Lawn which gave 2 treatments over our lawn of about 40sq Mtrs, but have to say we did not notice any visual improvment.

If the awaited liquid ph test kit shows it really is a low PH then we would only apply any lime sparingly and evenly, had found this dosage chart from the web but no idea if its good ?

Out of interest have you used and found any of the non powered ph probes or the more modern 4 in 1 powered dual probe meters return anything like a decent ph reading ?

Sorry @Trigger for hijacking your thread, though hopefully some useful info.

 

To be honest probes are used for rough ideas, normally a soil sample test is best but on a site that can work out expensive as you are testing different areas.
That way you can find out what’s best to apply but I only have a few customers that go to that degree.
Soil pH Meter | Agronomy Tools | Pitchcare

Notice this one has a 10% accuracy. There are electronic versions that offer self calibration but the price jumps right up and again only tells part of the story.
Don’t forget adding fertilisers alters the ph level for a time so tests should be carried out before, during and after if you really wanted to get into this.
Saying all that you can get good results just feeding and watching the turf.

Looking at the fertiliser you used it’s an organic slow release one so you will not see a growth spurt and I’ve never used it so can’t comment on it but I tend to find organic feeds are best mixed with other methods depending on how the lawn looks or what’s going on.