Non-chemical Lawn Care
In my backyard, I had a large brown spot of dead tan to rust brown colored grass. Most of the advice you find is to treat the fungus with chemicals, but then I read about corn meal gluten which is the new 'miracle' organic treatment for fungal diseases on plants, algae control in water, and weed control. According to the Dirt Doctor, Howard Garrett, you should use horticultural cornmeal (or corn gluten meal) available at garden centers instead of cornmeal from the grocery store. Grocery store cornmeal is not as effective because it is mostly the starchy part of the corn kernel; whereas, corn meal gluten is the protein portion of the corn kernel. Garrett recommends applying the horticultural cornmeal at 10-20 lbs. per 1000 square feet to control fungal diseases in grass. It works by supplying nutrients to microorganisms that feed on the fungus. you can read the pros and cons of using cornmeal on Turfgrass Forums.
So I did try it on my small patch in my backyard. I didn't even bother to go out to get corn meal gluten. I just used up our corn meal from our pantry and two weeks later it has already improved; the brown patch is almost gone!
Non-chemical Lawn Care
In my backyard, I had a large brown spot of dead tan to rust brown colored grass. Most of the advice you find is to treat the fungus with chemicals, but then I read about corn meal gluten which is the new 'miracle' organic treatment for fungal diseases on plants, algae control in water, and weed control. According to the Dirt Doctor, Howard Garrett, you should use horticultural cornmeal (or corn gluten meal) available at garden centers instead of cornmeal from the grocery store. Grocery store cornmeal is not as effective because it is mostly the starchy part of the corn kernel; whereas, corn meal gluten is the protein portion of the corn kernel. Garrett recommends applying the horticultural cornmeal at 10-20 lbs. per 1000 square feet to control fungal diseases in grass. It works by supplying nutrients to microorganisms that feed on the fungus. you can read the pros and cons of using cornmeal on Turfgrass Forums.
So I did try it on my small patch in my backyard. I didn't even bother to go out to get corn meal gluten. I just used up our corn meal from our pantry and two weeks later it has already improved; the brown patch is almost gone!