What's this?

I noticed some yellowing areas of grass after mowing yesterday and upon closer inspection of the blades, this is what I found:

Kentucky bluegrass blade with disease

Kentucky bluegrass blade with disease

General appearance of grass

What is it? I don't know. I've been doing some research online and reading the Purdue publications on various diseases, but I'm still not sure. It looks like it could be either leaf spot or leaf rust disease. I can test to see if it's rust by seeing if it rubs off easily. I'll test for that when I get a chance. I could see it being leaf spot going by this description from the Purdue publication on the disease:

Leaf spot (caused by Drechslera poae) is a summer disease that requires long dew periods, warm evening temperatures, and ample precipitation to establish and spread. Close mowing can aggravate disease outbreaks by increasing stress on plants and allowing spores greater access to crowns and roots.

I have been mowing closely for several weeks since planting and have irrigated frequently (not so much any more). It also appears that only the old grass is infected, which also gives credence to the theory since the newer varieties are likely more resistant. I'll keep an eye on it, but I sure hope it doesn't get worse - that would make me sad...

Seven week post-germination fertilization

Today marks seven weeks after germination, which means it's time to fertilize according to the Purdue guide I've been following. Since we are forecast to get rain tonight and/or tomorrow, I decided to get it done today. I applied 5 lbs of 32-0-4 Scott's fertilizer (5.7% slow release Nitrogen, which I think is a good amount for this time of year since there isn't much growing time left) over the 1600 sq. ft. of the front yard using my little broadcast spreader which resulted in roughly 1 lb Nitrogen per 1000 sq ft. I didn't apply any to the backyard - I never know what to do back there...

As promised, here are some photos of the front and backyard taken yesterday.

The front yard is looking decent. There are some streaks of thin to no grass due to uneven seeding, but overall I think it'll turn out ok eventually... I hope...

Unfortunately, there isn't much to see in the backyard. Supina bluegrass grows extremely slowly and didn't appear to germinate very well. The few patches of grass that there are look pretty nice, but overall I think it was a flop. I don't know what I'm going to do...

I think I'm about ready for winter...

Heavy rain - September 25

Well, the good news is that we got a good amount of rain. The bad news is that it was heavy - frail new grass trampling heavy. As evidenced in the photos, the rain appears to have flowed and/or puddled over the lawn. Upon inspection, it looks like it may have trampled a lot of the young little grasslings in the backyard. The front yard grass is much more mature and didn't have any problem with the rain, but the supina bluegrass is growing much, much slower.

I'll post some updated photos of the backyard as soon as I get a chance.

Grass after 5 weeks

These photos were taken September 21st - a little over one week after the photos in my previous post.

Still crabgrass growing near the road.

A view from the street - looking greener!

 Then there's the backyard - still not much to see, but there is a little green fuzz visible, but it's patchy...

Grass after 4 weeks

Yes, I'm still alive and thankfully so is the grass I planted some seven weeks ago. I'm a little behind in my blogging...

These pictures are from September 12th, roughly four weeks after planting.

There's not much to see in the backyard...