If you are irrigating your lawn too much during all this hot weather, you may start to see brown patch develop. Brown patch is a lawn disease that forms when your turf stays continuously wet for 10-12 hours and the temperature stays above 70 degrees. Symptoms increase from over fertilizing with nitrogen, if you have poor soil drainage, lack of air movement, or if you are watering too much or at the wrong time.
Tips for Preventing and Reducing Brown Patch in the Lawn

1. Apply fertilizer at the recommended amount given from your soil test report. That’s right… take advantage of free soil samples till November!! 
2. Avoid prolonged periods of turf wetness… This means if you are watering your lawn, water at the right time and water only when you need to. Irrigation systems should be running BEFORE sunrise. This helps to remove large dew droplets from the leaves and actually speeds up drying time of your turf after sunrise. Instead of irrigating every day, base your application on weather conditions and test if the soil really needs it by a simple finger test.
3. In the fall, aerate high-traffic areas to reduce compaction and maintain good soil drainage.

*Finger test method for plants in general* 

• Stick your finger into the ground or pot up to the second knuckle. 
• If it is dry up to that point, it needs to be watered. If it's wet, check again tomorrow.

There are many fungicide formulations available to help prevent and cure brown patch in the lawn. Contact our office if you need assistance with controlling brown patch in your turf.