How To Avoid Brown Spots On Your Lawn
A picturesque landscape is easily ruined by patches of dry, brown grass. Luckily, avoiding brown patches is possible with just a few preventative measures. Learning what causes patchy, brown grass is the first step toward a lush, green lawn.

What Causes a Patchy Lawn?
Overwatering and using too much fertilizer are among the most common causes of brown patches on lawns. Other causes include the following:

Mowing with a dull lawn mower blade

Pests in the soil

Pet urine

Grass is more susceptible to infections, such as fungal infections, when it is stressed. The most common fungus that affects lawns is rhizoctonia, which causes brown patch disease. The disease is easily recognized by the patches of dead grass that are edged by a dark, soot-colored ring. The fungus is most active in hot, very humid weather.

Watering and Fertilizing for Lawn Health
Preventing brown is often as simple as changing your lawn care routine. Use fertilizer sparingly and only in areas where it is clearly needed, and limit watering to once per week unless the weather is very dry. In very dry weather, water grass early in the morning to ensure the grass dries before nightfall. If the affected grass is limited to a small area, check your watering system for leaks. Even a small leak can cause patches of brown grass if the soil is saturated for an extended time.

Sharpening your lawn mower blade regularly also prevents brown patches of grass. Have your mower blade sharpened at the beginning of Spring and again in midsummer, or anytime you notice your mower isn't cutting as well as usual. A sharp blade makes clean, even cuts that heal quickly. Using a dull blade can lead to lawn stress, which leaves grass more susceptible to disease.

Pets and Lawns
Pet urine can transform your lawn into a patchwork of dead, brown grass. To avoid damage caused by pet urine, block affected area areas of the lawn, and amend the soil to rebalance pH levels before reseeding. If possible, encourage your pet to play in new parts of the property each day to reduce urine accumulation in one specific area. You can also gift your pet with their own, less visible, corner of the lawn so you don't have to worry about damage on the remaining lawn.

Preventing Disease
Most lawn problems are preventable, but fungi and pests may invade even if you have a flawless lawn care routine. Early detection and proactive treatment is an effective way to manage pests and disease. Use a fungicide, or another appropriate lawn care product, to treat fungi and other diseases as soon as you notice a problem. You can also consider treating your lawn with beneficial nematodes to prevent pest damage.

Nematodes are safe for humans and pets, but these tiny insects help keep lawns healthy by eliminating soil-dwelling pests that damage grass, such as beetle larvae that eat grass roots. With careful maintenance and proactive lawn care strategies, preventing brown patches is effortless.

5 Organic Lawn Care Tips

It’s becoming well-known now than an overabundance of chemicals can be harmful to your health, but the same is true of your lawn. Treatments that claim to get your lawn “perfect” may only treat it on the surface and leave the actual plants suffering, not to mention pesticides that could be weakening them. Fortunately you have chemical-free, organic options to replace the questionable ones, keeping your lawn healthy without compromising quality. Learn five of them below.

1. Control the pH
Keeping the lawn’s pH regular will keep it healthy, and you don’t need any complex chemicals to do it. Treat it with lime if the pH dips below 6.0; use sulfur if it’s above 7.0. You also have the option of acidic or basic organic additives, like diluted coffee for alkaline yards. Just remember to give any treatment adequate time.

2. Plant “Boosters”
Introducing other species onto your lawn can eliminate the need for chemical treatments, depending on what your lawn needs. Consider plants like citronella and rosemary that repel pests; Dutch clover is well known to process vital nitrogen in soil. Don’t forget the ones that attract beneficial insects, those that will eat pests and pollinate flowers; these plants include Queen Anne’s lace, certain sunflowers, dill, dandelions, and more.

3. Try a Gasless Mower
Instead of using a mower that spews out dirty, dangerous gases, you can look into manual and electric motors instead. Though the one you choose depends on your budget and willingness to push, both versions are clean, waste-free ways to get the lawn cut.

4. Mow High
You may think a lawn cut close to the ground looks better, but it makes it harder for the grass to get nutrients—and may make it grow back faster to compensate. Keeping your grass between two and three inches high promotes healthy growth while keeping weeds and mold at bay.

5. Leave Lawn Clippings
Instead of gathering and disposing of what’s left after you mow, leave the cut-up grass behind to benefit the soil. It helps keep it moist and replaces organic matter and nutrients, acting as a fertilizer you don’t have to seek or pay for. Since the clippings are largely water-based, they easily reintegrate back into the soil with no added effort on your part.

While you can simply go the route of store-bought organic products for your lawn, it pays to know what can and can’t keep it healthy without the use of suspect chemicals. Some store-bought options nonetheless have them, so be cautious and know your lawn before taking the dive. It doesn’t need to be expensive or complicated to have a great lawn, and the five tips above are easy and clean ways to get you there.