I live in Fort Worth. My St. Augustine front yard started showing decline last summer with patches of yellowing, then dying grass. It continued to spread through the lawn in irregular patterns. Could be Brown patch, but the roots in some areas look rotted out. Either way, the yard is getting worse.

What could help save my lawn? I was thinking of having the lawn aerated, then spreading compost or peat moss over the lawn. Just don't know if that will help. I'm reading lots of conflicting information. Seems fungicides are iffy on their effectiveness, and expensive.

For starters, should I be avoiding watering the lawn at all? I've read that fungus of any kind loves water, so that was my first plan of attack.

See the expert's (Neil Sperry) informaion regarding TARR in links below:

Battling TARR

TARR Update

Neil's response to an individual that asked about aerating his lawn...not related to TARR:

Quote:

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"Neil, do I need to aerate my lawn? How can I tell? What about dethatching?"

There are three times when lawn aeration is a good plan. If a vehicle has been parked daily on an area for a long period of time, it will have compressed the soil. The same goes for prolonged pedestrian traffic like a pet pacing back and forth in an area or kids playing ball in one space.

The most common issue, however, is when a layer of thatch forms. It's usually going to be with bermudagrass, and most commonly with one of the hybrid types. The small clippings accumulate on top of the soil and beneath the runners, and they do not decay. Eventually they pack tightly and impede penetration of air, water and nutrients into the soil.

Use a "core aerator," a piece of machinery that actually pulls small plugs out of the thatch. Dethatching machines, by comparison, flail the grass. In the process, they damage runners. They're not the technique of choice.

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Had that shizz last year. Fungicide with a top dressing peat moss helped a lot.

Do you remember what fungicide you used??

Looks like peat moss will be my next attack as well.

You're pretty effed. Get the soil conditions fixed or new sod will continue to get blasted by this.

FDXAg said:

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Do you remember what fungicide you used??

Looks like peat moss will be my next attack as well.

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Don't recall which one. Also treated for grubs because they are terrible out here and can cause similar destruction.