Powdery Mildew and Lawn, large area... what to do?

Watch Reply
More
Mark unread Print Skip to new
ABarker San Francisco Coast , CA(Zone 10b) Feb 28, 2013

Is there anything I can do for my lawn which is ridiculous with powdery mildew right now? I've heard of spraying a cow milk/water mixture as a preventative measure, and understand that powdery mildew isn't curable, but is preventative... but is there anything I can do for my lawn - other than waiting until the summer to dry it out? =( I don't like the kids playing in the grass when they put their foot down and a puff of white powder billows up! =(

Cheers!
Adrienne

Post #9434898
Quote
Diana_K Contra Costa County, CA(Zone 9b) Mar 03, 2013

You can try any of the 'organic' methods to reduce the powdery mildew. I have heard of using milk in some recipes. Here is one without milk:
Baking soda, but only one application (maybe 2). It will raise the carbonate content of the soil when it falls off the plants, and this raises the pH. Not so good, but tolerable for a few treatments. Too many treatments results in too much carbonate build up.
1 tablespoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon liquid soap
1 gallon water

In conjunction with this, feed the lawn and water it (weather has been VERY dry this winter!) to make it actively growing. The new growth is not yet infected, so spray the new growth to prevent the PM from getting started.
There is not much you can do about the older leaves that are already infected. If they are still growing, they will grow taller and get mowed off.

Also, improve the stand of grass in other ways. Dethatch, aerate, reseed, fertilize, topdress with organic materials, either home grown compost or soil conditioners. These will counteract the effects of the baking soda on the soil, and will help the lawn in other ways.
San Francisco and nearby areas are often cool, and just humid enough without being too humid for powdery mildew. This has been a bad season so far for PM, it likes drier weather. Lawn grasses thrive in full sun, and good draining soil so they do not stay too wet. If you are trying to grow a lawn in a partially shaded area such as under a tree, then thin and open the canopy as much as you reasonably can to allow more light and better air flow. This can discourage PM.
Switch to some other plant if it is too shady for a lawn.

If you go the full lawn renovation (dethatch, aerate, reseed, topdress) then keep the kids off it until the new grass is strong enough to handle being mowed several times. This will also give it time for the PM to disappear, so they are not playing in poofs of PM dust.

Post #9437456
Quote

Post a Reply to this Thread

Please or sign up to post.
Back to Forum Homepage

More Beginner Gardening Threads

Go to all Beginner Gardening threads
BACK TO TOP