Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 May 13, 2010 4:20 pm Hi all, I recently rolled out SW lawn on my front yard. As I had excess rolls left over, I ordered some more organic soil so I could prepare an area in the backyard. The soil was delivered and dumped on the front lawn and pretty much sat there for a week (I only had time to work on the backyard on the weekend). Now that all the soil has been carted to the back, there is a very distinct and large brown circle under where the soil had been. Oops. Have I just cooked my grass? This 'circle' is made more prominent by the fact that it is encircled by a ring of nice greeny grass blades. Obviously these were the grass blades on the edges of the soil pile, and so have enjoyed themselves and spurted in growth. I guess my newbie question is: do I need to do anything to help the poor grass living in 'brown patch' land? Or is this something that will sort itself out over time? In future I suppose I should move that soil pile quicker! Thanks! Re: Oops - big brown patch on lawn under soil pile 2May 17, 2010 11:59 am Yep, you cooked it. I cooked a bit in only two days! under a pile of compost. But two weeks later it was back and 3in high Give it a good soaking and some time and see what happens. Re: Oops - big brown patch on lawn under soil pile 3May 17, 2010 12:18 pm Hi englyn! Thank you for the reply. Yah, it looks like a UFO has landed on my lawn. Almost like a crop circle Thanks, I'll keep watering it and hopefully it'll change back to green!. Cheers. Re: Oops - big brown patch on lawn under soil pile 4Jun 17, 2010 12:40 am It will be fine. That stuff will have sent the soil organisms nuts! Molasses and some pure blood and bone right now, especially before rain Re: Oops - big brown patch on lawn under soil pile 5Jun 17, 2010 12:51 am Hi Fu! Thank you for your advice. I think I've sourced a place for the molasses. As for the pure blood and bone, any particular brand or are they all the same? Just grab a bag from the big green shed? Cheers. Re: Oops - big brown patch on lawn under soil pile 6Jun 17, 2010 1:10 pm They don't seem to do much in the way of pure blood and bone. I would get that from an agricultural supplier. I did get some once from a pet and garden place but there was a heap of sand added and also foam rubber bits which seemed to pad out the bag! Avoid the ones with potash added and trace elements IMO. Stick with just good old plain blood and bone. Re: Oops - big brown patch on lawn under soil pile 7Jun 25, 2010 1:02 pm Hi Fu! I found a bag of Baileys Pure Blood and Bone from a garden place NOR. Unfortunately the place only had 2 4kg bags, but I think I need around 5 to do all the lawn. The big green shed does have a bag that quotes "90% blood n bone", but also states "with added Potash". Now at the place where I got the Baileys, a young hort guy asked if I needed any help. I told him I was after 100% blood n bone, to which he asked, "why do you want that?" He then explained to me that he has always been told that potash needed to be added for the plant to be able to absorb the blood n bone. He also told me that "there had been research done" which showed that without the potash, bnb on its own does nothing much. I have been thinking about this, and maybe what he meant was that bnb without the potash, 'does nothing much' for the plant directly. But this does not mean the soil doesn't benefit from it. And so if the soil is the main benefactor, then according to Fu law - this is GOOD. Anyway Fu, I was just curious as to why you said to avoid the ones with added potash. Re: Oops - big brown patch on lawn under soil pile 8Jun 27, 2010 12:53 am Because you only need that in it if you focus on entering the merry round to know wehere and feed the plant. It isn't what it is about. Saw Monty Don on gardening Australia tonight. He was saying how the soil is an entire universe of life in it's own right. Of course there has been research done on potassium and how it improves the cell wall thickness etc etc but that isn't what we are focusing on. It is about feeding what lives in the soil. So many are wasting time and money on the wrong thing The lawn will look just fine without it or other synthetic nutrients. I say this of course because every now and again a fertiliser is required to act as a supplement. However that maybe once in three years. Something else you folks should try. Tip your unused off milk into the watering can and fill with water. (Yogurt as well) Apply it to one area of your lawn. You watch the difference after a few months Re: Oops - big brown patch on lawn under soil pile 9Jun 27, 2010 10:32 am Fu Manchu Something else you folks should try. Tip your unused off milk into the watering can and fill with water. (Yogurt as well) Apply it to one area of your lawn. You watch the difference after a few months Ooh, science homework! I'm trying this on my little tiny nature strip lawn.... Re: Oops - big brown patch on lawn under soil pile 10Jul 05, 2010 12:31 pm Thanks Fu. That was pretty much what I was thinking. You do teach your students well. Thanks for the tip too! Re: Oops - big brown patch on lawn under soil pile 11Jul 08, 2010 4:11 am Proteins to sugars Calcium Potassium Sodium Other goodies. Fungi -> sugars -> nutrients + carbon. I have been putting milk into the garden for years, the lime tree loves it. Sugar water, rice leftovers and coffee grounds. Coffee is carbon and nitrogen in one nice package. Get the grounds from the local cafe, say nothing! Re: Oops - big brown patch on lawn under soil pile 12Aug 10, 2010 2:38 am Redman I have been putting milk into the garden for years, the lime tree loves it. You too! We have been mucking around with it and am loving the results! Natural yoghurt as well. Dilute in water and apply with a watering can or even in a hose on pack. A mate is getting full sun WA natives growing to perfection in full shade. Just milk is going on. They should be dead but they look like plastic. Almost too perfect. the leaves that are now underground go yellow, the tips that poke through photosynthesise and have chlorophyll, same reason they grow rhubarb in the dark. 5 4864 Thanks for the insights, that makes perfect sense, and yeah, I will be leaning on the experience of the excavator operator entirely. 6 16142 |