Kurt V. Ullman wrote:
On 7/15/17 7:05 AM, songbird wrote:
Kurt V. Ullman wrote:
...
This is all in full or near full sun. The ground is heavy in clay, but I
have aerated it every year since we bought the place 29 years ago. There
are still some areas where the ground is like cement.

after 29yrs?

there's a few things that make clay tough to
have in a lawn, but you can often work around
them.

when you core that area put down some extra
organic materials (compost is best) and rake it
a bit to get it into the holes before the clay
plugs break down and return there instead.

The yard is just a little less than acre and I am in my early 60s, so
that raking part won't work (grin). I'll try that for the places this is
worse.

yes, that's all i intended.


mow higher and don't remove the clippings.
Already as high as it will go and and clippings have
always stay.

interesting. clay is very fertile and good for
holding nutrients, after 29yrs of grass clippings
that area should have built up somewhat to excellent
soil. is there a slope there or some other way that
the organic matter is moving away? or is it a low
spot that collects extra water?


don't mow the area when it is too wet as
that compacts the soil (especially for clays).

Try not to, but sometimes, like this year, you have the choice of
mowing wet or not mowing at all.

that is also likely the reason why the white
stuff has shown up anyways. i would just put it
all under "natural variation" and keep on mowing
as needed.


encourage or add worm species that will improve
drainage (but they do need the organic material
from mowing left behind). if your area is not
environmentally sensitive and you can bring in
night crawlers they will improve your drainage
but they need to be transplanted with a little
work. they don't start new burrows easily so
you have to dig up several areas and then put
them under several inches of soil so they have
a chance to start their burrows (when you see a
night crawler away from its burrow after it rains
that usually means it's in trouble). worms are
bacterial factories and help break down dead
organic materials (which helps reduce problems
fungal diseases).

I tried that a couple of times early on and didn't see
much more than an increase in the number of worms in my pool.
Maybe I'll try that again.

now is a horrible time (mid summer) IMO. later
in the summer/early fall will be better (but i
don't know your location so i'm not really sure ).
for crawlers you have to give them a start, you
can't just dump 'em out and expect much. the other
earth worms and red wriggler aka compost worms they
are much smaller and don't need such an approach.
what worms did you try?


as for fungicides and such, often a pointless
expense as the fungi spread easily on the wind
and rains.


Thanks.

i hate to say it, but you could use it if you
really are that concerned. as in probably early
will help more rather than later. but like i say
i consider it a waste of time/money. then again
i'm just one of those strange people who doesn't
much mind fungi - they're a part of this life cycle
so when they show up they're doing something
important. we have a friend who actually goes out
into her lawn and picks the mushrooms thinking that
it will stop them. *SMH*


songbird