Why is the grass in my lawn turning brown?

Question

I am a new house and lawn owner. I was first dealing with fire ants and mosquitoes and seem to have them under control. I purchased a bag of weed and feed from home depot and sprikled it all around my lawn. I noticed that some areas turned brown and I am worried about that. My neighbors have beautiful lawns and I feel I am ruining their image as well. I turn on the sprinklers 2 to 3 times a day. And oh yes, Im in Houston, Texas. Any advice on products I can use? Or things I can do? Anything?

Answer 1

#1. DO NOT water your lawn 2 or 3 times a day. It is better to water for a longer period of time than several short periods. Laws need about 1" of water per week, maybe 1.5" if the humidity is low.
#2. The brown spots may be caused by the fertilizer, if you put too much in one area it will burn the grass. Suggest you really sook those brown spots, that will wash the fertilizer down and allow the roots to recover.
# 3. You say your neighbours lawns are nice and green, ask their advice about your lawn.

Answer 2

Lawn Turning Brown

Answer 3

It's because of the combination of the "weed and feed" along with daytime watering. Water once a day only in the early morning or late at night. The chemicals in the fertilizer are strong and maybe you didn't soak the grass before and after applying, but that will get better as the new little sprouts come up. I prefer to water early morning as opposed to late at night. I think the water sits in the ground too long and there's a possiblity of mold build up (even on a small scale), whereas with morning watering it's not long until the sun comes up and the chlorophyl process starts. Best wishes.

Answer 4

If I read your post correctly, the brown areas appeared after you used the weed & feed. What happened is you put too much of your weed & feed granules in those areas and it's "burned" the lawn...too much nitrogen. It will grow back; just keep to your usual watering schedule.

I prefer liquid fertilizers to the granules for just this reason; if you are going to continue using granular weed/feed, adjust your spreader so it is not ejecting quite as much product, and try your best not to overlap as you make passes over the lawn with it...that's how your burned spots happen. Also, don't overdo it...stick with the recommended application schedule.

Another idea...ask your neighbors what they are using...if it's working for them, it should for you, too. It could be that your current fertilizer is too nitrogen rich for the type of grass you have.

Hope this info helped.

Answer 5

If you are turning on the sprinklers while the sun is out, you are likely killing the grass. The water magnifies the sun onto the grass, which then gets burned up by the sun. Water only in the evening or early morning hours.

Answer 6

Sounds to me like you haven't read, or did not follow the instructions for application on the bag of your weed 'n' feed.
Uneven application, just a bit too much, and worse, under dry soil conditions, can actually "burn" the grass. I use only liquid feeder, and weed my lawn with the nose to the ground.....
BUT....
You could also have cats and/or racoons pissing on your lawn. That also causes brown spots (1-2 square feet).
Remember. though, "neigbour's grass is always greener" ;-)

Answer 7

First of all..DO NOT WATER DURING THE DAY..the sun will burn the grass if it is wet-this could be causing your browness. You could also be over watering. How much weed n feed did you use on your lawn? What did you use to get rid of the bugs? To heck with the nieghbors and what they look like.if they were real neighbors they would offer assistance. Why not ask one of them to help you out. Houston is hotter than the 7th level of heck and it must be hard to grow anything out there-good luck with it.

Answer 8

try to water your grass in the morning because if you do it in the afternoon/night then the grass blades will stay wet causing fungus which makes the grass brown and fertilize it 3 to 4 weeks then again 6 to 8 weeks

Answer 9

It's the heat...the grass doesn't stand a chance with temperatures ranging between 105 and 125 degrees. Sorry and I hope that you find something that can protect your lawn.

Answer 10

I work at a huge lawncare company. You need to water 3 times a week for about 20 min in each zone. Watering for 45 min is only going to cause more issues (more fungus). You either A: have a fungus and need to slow down the watering... or B: are in drought stress.... in which case you need to water 2-3 x a week. It being a mth old means the root system isnt quite matured. You probably are suffering option B: