Thursday, July 19, 2012

Grass Again!

We have had issues with our front yard for a few years now. If I had Photoshop I would be tempted to alter my pictures of our front yard to remove our issues. It started a few years ago when a big lawn chemical company sprayed our grass instead of our neighbor's. Now... our grass was not perfect before, but it dramatically started to die in a matter of days. We were totally organic and I think that what ever they sprayed burned it.

Warning these images may be disturbing to some viewers.




At first we didn't know what happened. Mr. Bill accused me of forgetting to water. Not so. Our only clue was a little leaflet on our front porch. It wasn't attached to the door so we thought it blew over from next door. Our neighbor confirmed that he thought his lawn was not sprayed. The company did replace the dead grass, but not the whole lawn and Mr. Bill had to do all the preliminary work. 
 The workman who came and laid the sod said that we should have had them dig up two inches of topsoil and replace it because our lawn still had the poison in it.
I really thought that was over stating the case and we did nothing further with the company.
Well, I should have listened to that guy because as of last summer our front yard was virtually dead. 
I think that our soil was indeed compromised and as a result of that we got a fungus called Take All Root Rot. 
It took hold after our huge snow. (huge for Texas at least.) 12 inches during the winter of 2010.
I diagnosed the problem thanks to images on the internet and we took steps to cure it. 
Peat Moss! My husband spread peat moss over the whole lawn and grass began to grow again.

See the giant row of shrubbery? It is no longer there. We ripped them out last summer.
I can't wait to show you what we did. While I was busy inside this past spring, Bill was busy outside. If we can do it, you can do it too.
Because this post is a prelim to other stuff I am showing in a few weeks, I will at least leave you with some pretty images of what is to come. 







I don't know if you have had problems with your grass, but I hope this helps.
Sprinkled with peat moss,
Katie

2 comments :

  1. Why, yes, I do have a problem, one day my grass out front was green, the next there were patches of dead grass, so I have been putting the sprinklers on twice a week now, but I cannot see that much difference yet...now I'm wondering, I know my neighbors next door get their grass sprayed...the nerve! Where did you purchase the peat moss, and most importantly, what on earth is it? I am clueless when it comes to landscaping. Can't wait to see the reveal.

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  2. Peat Moss is Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss. I believe it changes the Ph of the soil.
    Bill bought it at Home Depot and it comes in big cubes. There are oodles of places to read about it on the internet.
    I hope your lawn takes a turn for the better.

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