Natural Lawn/Sod Fungus Remedy

Probably the trickiest lawn problem is fungus.  Many homeowners waste money by replacing the sod because they just think it died.  Unfortunately, replacing the lawn is a waste of money.  The underlying problem is not resolved, and the sod becomes re-infected.  

It took me years to figure it out, and I had a couple of disappointed customers, even though I never billed myself as the sod disease expert.  Eventually, because I like a good puzzle, I came up with a natural solution.  Or maybe I just synthesized info I got off the Net from IFAS. Who can remember?

First thing to know is that most lawn problems exist because there is something systemic going wrong.  Applying a bag of pesticide or hiring an Environmental Poisoning Company that comes monthly to kill everything that crawls or flies will not resolve the stubborn lawn fungus.  They'll go on about appying a fungicide, etc., but yeah, you kill the fungus that exists at present, but what CAUSED the fungus?  Basically, these solutions treat the symptoms, not the disease.

The underlying problem with lawn fungus is usually moisture and soil alkalinity.  Is your irrigation system creating over-watered areas?  Does the sidewalk cause a water dam?  Do you live next to a swamp?  Do you live in a former swamp?  Florida swamps are formed by clay layers that hold in the water.

Your first line of attack is to try to eliminate the excess moisture.  Break the dam, fix the irrigation system, or fill in the low areas.  If you live in a former swamp, like Westchase or Tampa Palms, or where there is an abundance of clay, like South Tampa, then that is not practical.    

If you have removed all the water possible or if that is not the problem, then it is time to address soil alkalinity.  Fungus likes alkaline soil and it is the dominant soil type in Tampa Bay.  You can buy an $8 acid/alkaline soil tester at Walmart. Changing soil acidity will take time.  You can add a bag of sulfur, which will kill anything living if added improperly.  When water hits sulfur, it turns to sulfuric acid.  However, if applied correctly, adding elemental sulfur is the quickest solution.

You could also begin fertilizing with an acidic fertilizer usually labeled for citrus trees and azaleas.  If you read the label, you'll note that they add the sulfur for you.  My thought is, "Why pay them the markup?"  Buy the sulfur yourself, take advantage of the Internet riches for proportions and techniques, and voila, you've learned something you can share with neighbors, been green, and saved at the same time.  

Save money-be smart-be green.  Win-win-win.