Slimy grass- Gardening help

[KevF]

Got a few patches of yellowing lawn which I have put down to the amount of snow/rain we have had over the last few months.
However, on closer inspection yesterday, the yellow areas have a slime on them. I have googled it and there are mentions of a green slime mould but this is a clear mucusy knd of slime.
the size of area is about 2'x2' square.

Any gardeners out there give me any advice?

[Simpo Two]

There are slime moulds but I've never heard of them on grass.

Maybe try a fungicide and see if it works? There are also algicides but I'm not sure if they're safe to use on grass - they're usually designed for paved areas.

[racing green]

There must be an underlying reason for this and chucking chemicals at it won't solve it, just cure it for a while. Sounds like poor drainage/wetness which can be cured by scarifying the lawn ( a good wire rake and a ten minutes hard work should help) followed by hollow tining the lawn to improve aeration and drainage (again this can be done using a garden fork to make the holes). Brushing in some fresh top dressing (some sand or good quality top soil) will help though don't go to mad and then make sure you feed the lawn at least 4 times a year with lawn fertiliser applied just before rain. Oh and don't cut your lawn to hard throughout the year. This simple routine carried out each year will make your grass stronger and more able to cope with bad weather! Do as much or as little as you want but if your grass isn't healthy .....

[Simpo Two]

Textbook answer! (see 'moss')

[KevF]

My concerns are that we use GreenThumb to give the lawn a treatment every quarter. The last visit was in October.
I guess I should call them but dont want the 'Yes we can sort the problem out for £400' when all it needs is airating and scarifying.

[sleep envy]

I have this on mine - 3 patches which have resulted in 3 circles of about 100mm with dead grass, haven't worked out what it is

a bit of a pain in the grass seeing as I returfed the lawn in the autumn and if it weren't for this, the lawn would be perfect (no weeds or wild grass yet)

will have to pull it out and returf later in the month if it ever stops raining...

[Simpo Two]

sleep envy said:

I have this on mine - 3 patches which have resulted in 3 circles of about 100mm with dead grass, haven't worked out what it is

50p on 'bh'

[sleep envy]

eh?

[GKP]

Female dog doing a wee wee.

[Simpo Two]

Female dog urine - high in nitrogen if not ammonia - if too strong will kill grass - immediately flood area with water to dilute, train dog etc etc. In smaller amounts you get dark green tufty bits instead as it acts as a fertiliser. Cats can do this as well.

Also from the textbook of lawn care

Edited by Simpo Two on Monday 1st March 18:21

[sleep envy]

ah, might be talking at cross purposes here

mine started out with the slime patch

my only guess is the cat coughing up a fur ball or the foxes puking up

no dogs in the garden

[Simpo Two]

Ah, so you had three 10cm circles that went slimy and then died?

My best hunch is still fungal attack of some kind. Weeks of wet weather, weak grass, opportunistic fungal spores go yum yum... perhaps.

[andy c]

We need pictures to be sure!!!

[sleep envy]

Simpo Two said:

Ah, so you had three 10cm circles that went slimy and then died?

My best hunch is still fungal attack of some kind. Weeks of wet weather, weak grass, opportunistic fungal spores go yum yum... perhaps.

yup, I'm guessing so

[Shaolin]

You can get slime moulds on grass with similar effect to that described in the OP. It's very odd at this time of the year though, usually happens in a very wet summer when it's much warmer, though I suppose it could happen in winter but at a slower pace.