Lawn Fungi Problem

Hi All

I hope that someone out there might be able to advise me on how to solve an issue with my lawn. Most of the lawn is thick & healthy, however the is an area that gets less light which has a few issues.

In this area there appears to be some sort of fungi growing in-between the grass. Last year I raked out all evidence of this, and seeded ‘shade tolerant’ grass. While some of the grass taken (although not partially well), it appears the fungi is back again this year – if indeed that’s what it its? Please see the photos attached.

Does anyone know how I can get rid of this fungus once and for all? Moss killers / normal lawn feed and weed does not seem to have an impact. Will I be able to grow grass in this area, or perhaps I’m better off putting a patio down?

My garden is SW facing, however this section is to the right of the shed, at the bottom of the garden in the photo.

Thanks, Matt

 

Hi Matt and welcome

It's a Liverwort, if you want to keep grass there you need to improve the growing conditions above all else.

Remove it and the top inch of soil by hand then dig that small area as deep as you can adding quite a generous amount of sharp sand to improve drainage then over seed with shade tolerant grass again. The problem with that area is it looks like light and air movement are a minimum which leads to a lot of moisture hanging around, perfect conditions for the Liverwort but not for grass.

It's difficult to tell from that last photo but it could also be compact. As it's near the shed door does it get heavy use? If so a couple more stepping stones may help in the area you stand the most, or as you say, a small paved area if you want a guaranteed solution. Vastly improving the drainage is quite a safe bet though so it's down to which you'd prefer.

 

Hi Axl

Thanks very much for the information above. At last I know what it is now! Yes, your right the area is little compact.

In order to resolve the drainage problem how much sand do I mix with the soil? Just a little? Or do I do I dig down as much as possible, then put in an inch or two of sand, then top with soil? This is not something I have done before, so I'm just unsure how much stand we are talking.

Thanks, Matt

 

It depends how big the area is as to exactly how much sand to add so without knowing that I'd aim to get the sand to soil ratio at 30% sand 70% soil. Any more than this and ironically you'll risk losing all the moisture which your shady seed still requires.

If you do this and leave the area for a week to settle you can gauge how much benefit it's had by how moist the area is. If you think the area's still too damp add some more sand then once happy sow the seed.

There is another way of doing this which you may find easier and that's to use a manual hollow tine aerator on the affected area to remove cores of the compact soil. You then fill the holes that are left with a mix of good quality top soil and sand and overseed the area. This would also improve drainage although the first option is the most comprehensive and would be my choice.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bosmere-Hol...5IMY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334079681&sr=8-1

 

Thanks for the advice Axl. I'll go with digging the space out and replacing it with a mix of sand a soil.

Cheers, Matt

 

Different fungal spores may require different treatments. In some cases, you may be able to remedy the problem with simple mowing and raking in conjunction with a specific watering pattern. More likely, you'll need to treat your lawn a fungicidal treatment. Unfortunately, many kinds of lawn fungus quickly develop a resistance to even the best fungicide. Given the worst-case scenario, you may need to re-sod or re-grow a section of your lawn if fungus begins to take over.

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