# Need help with a very strange fungus in my lawn



## Rocketman (Apr 22, 2021)

Hi all! Sorry for the long first post, but here's my story: I moved to New Jersey and built a new house in 2016 on a lot that used to be farm land. I'm not exactly sure what was grown here, but I do know it was some sort of vegetables. But I'm not sure if that's important or not.

Anyway, the lot is 1.1 acres and I ended up with about 30,000 sq.ft. of lawn. The builder had hydroseed put down and covered with straw. The lawn ended up looking terrible, more weeds and stones than anything even resembling grass. So in 2017 I hired a landscape contractor to do some hardscape work and install a full lawn irrigation system and sod the entire lawn. The sod is mostly Tall Fescue, but I believe there are some other grasses mixed in too. The lawn looked fantastic that first year. I had the landscape contractor care for the lawn and cut the lawn for the first two years. At the end of year two, I noticed some small (maybe 12" diameter), mostly circular yellow patches of grass randomly popping up on both front and back yards. They sort of resembled pet urine spots, but they are definitely not. Upon closer inspection, the individual blades of grass are only yellow toward the top, with the bottom of the blades nice and green. The landscape guys told me it was a fungus and sprayed the yard. A few weeks later and the spots were gone.

So the next year, I decided that I wanted to take over caring for my lawn. I purchased a zero turn mower, a 21-gallon tow sprayer, a spreader, and some other lawn care stuff. I created my own program that included preemergent with fertilizer in March when soil temps reach 55 degrees. Then I do my first round of fertilizer in April. In May, I do a combination spray of humic acid, T-Zone, Bifertherin, and quinclorac to take care of weeds and ticks (I have a dog who spends much of the day outside in the fenced in back yard). In June, I do a second round of preemergent and fert. I don't really do much to the lawn in the hottest months of July and August, but then in September, I'll fertilize again. I also aerate and overseed in September. Finally, I'll apply the last round of fertilizer in November before the grass goes dormant for the winter. As a side note, my dog is well trained and never urinates or deficates on the lawn. She only does her business in a mulch bed that belongs to her. She's such a good dog!

Anyway, I followed that basic program my first year of doing my own lawn care and I noticed those same strange spots of fungus throughout the growing season. It started in May and continued through November. To clear up the fungus, I ended up spraying the entire lawn with fungicide four or five times. I used Eagle 20EW and also Clearys, never using the same one more than twice in a row. This completely clears up the fungus every time, but it always returns.

Got the same results the next season of caring for my lawn. I can't figure out what fungus I'm dealing with, as it doesn't match anything I've found in my research. I'm spending a lot of money on fungicide and only getting temporary results. Is it possible to fix this issue or will I forever be fighting this strange fungus?

This year, it's only mid-April and I already have three of the fungus spots on my front lawn and two in the back. I haven't even started irrigation yet! The lawn just started to green up nicely in the last two weeks and I'm already dealing with this weird fungus. I tested the pH of my lawn and it's right at 8.0. From what I understand, that on the high end, but I also read that fungus prefers a pH that is on the lower side, so I'm hesitant to do anything that will drop the pH into the preferred range of 6.5 to 7.0 for my lawn. And quite honestly, I have no idea if changing the pH will do anything to help with my fungus issue. I really need help figuring this out. I've attached a couple of pictures from last year of the fungus spots. Keep in mind that ONLY to tops of the blades are yellow. The bottom of the blades are healthy and green. So if I do nothing at all, the spot always clear up after about two mows, as the tops are cut off, leaving just the healthy grass to grow back out. But of course new spots pop up constantly, so that's why I have to use fungicide all season. It's frustrating to put so much time, energy, and money into my lawn only to see it look terrible from this weird fungus. If I knew what I was dealing with, maybe I'd have a better chance of solving the issue.

A couple of other notes---I cut my lawn pretty high, never lower than 3.5". I experimented quite a bit with different irrigation schedules and times for the !ast two seasons and nothing helped.

Again, sorry for the long read, but I figured every detail was important. Any help you can provide is greatly appreciated. I'm hoping someone recognizes this fungus and has dealt with it already.


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## Rocketman (Apr 22, 2021)




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## Rocketman (Apr 22, 2021)




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## Rocketman (Apr 22, 2021)

Those are not good pictures. I can take new ones tomorrow so you can get a better look.


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## ionicatoms (Mar 8, 2020)

Have you already ruled out Ascochyta Leaf Blight?


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

It does not look like fungus or pee spot. What is the green thing in the back of last image?

Definitely closer pictures. Go grab a long screwdriver or a shovel and go right in the middle of that spot. Any rocks?


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## Rocketman (Apr 22, 2021)

ionicatoms said:


> Have you already ruled out Ascochyta Leaf Blight?


No, but let me make something clear---im a novice at lawn care. I'm learning as much as I can, but almost everything I've learned about lawn fungus is from reading and researching. I haven't been able to find anything that looks like the fungus in my lawn, but I'll research the one you mentioned. Thanks.


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## Rocketman (Apr 22, 2021)

g-man said:


> It does not look like fungus or pee spot. What is the green thing in the back of last image?
> 
> Definitely closer pictures. Go grab a long screwdriver or a shovel and go right in the middle of that spot. Any rocks?


That's one of the plastic lids for the septic tank.

I'll post better pics tomorrow. No real issue with rocks. I mean, there are rocks everywhere under the sod, but only small ones. Nothing bigger than a goofball and most much smaller than that.


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## moedank (Sep 10, 2019)

Rocketman said:


> A couple of other notes---I cut my lawn pretty high, never lower than 3.5". I experimented quite a bit with different irrigation schedules and times for the !ast two seasons and nothing helped.


Have you gotten a lot of rain this spring? Are those spots similar in size, appearance and number during the hotter months when the lawn is more dry?

Do they appear in the same areas season after season? Take some super up close shots and some zoomed out wide lawn pics so we can see where they are and what is around them.

No idea what it is. Just asking some investigative questions.


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## creediddy2021 (Mar 27, 2021)

Had the same thing in my yard around Sept 2020. It will go away. Just water and fertilizer in that area. After a mowing it will go away. I thought at first it was a fertilizer burn.


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## whitetrash paradise (Mar 25, 2020)

Got a big window that faces the sun around there?


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## Rocketman (Apr 22, 2021)

moedank said:


> Rocketman said:
> 
> 
> > A couple of other notes---I cut my lawn pretty high, never lower than 3.5". I experimented quite a bit with different irrigation schedules and times for the !ast two seasons and nothing helped.
> ...


This spring has been average rainfall, I'd say. Most of the spots are circular or close to circular and they are usually about 12" in diameter, sometimes a bit smaller, sometimes a bit larger. They appear completely randomly, different spots all the time. Hotter or cooler temps and/or rain or dry doesn't seem to matter.


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## Rocketman (Apr 22, 2021)

creediddy2021 said:


> Had the same thing in my yard around Sept 2020. It will go away. Just water and fertilizer in that area. After a mowing it will go away. I thought at first it was a fertilizer burn.


As mentioned, they do go away after about two mows because I'm cutting off the damage and leaving the good part of the grass to grow out. But they continue to pop up randomly all season long. The only thing I've found to control them is the two fungicides I've mentioned early. Other fungicides may also work, but I haven't tried anything else yet.


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## Rocketman (Apr 22, 2021)

whitetrash paradise said:


> Got a big window that faces the sun around there?


No, that's definitely not it because the spots are all over the acre of property. Some close to the house, some really far away.


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## Rocketman (Apr 22, 2021)

Here are some pics from today. I have three small spots, all about 8" in diameter.


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## Rocketman (Apr 22, 2021)




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## Rocketman (Apr 22, 2021)




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## Rocketman (Apr 22, 2021)




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## Rocketman (Apr 22, 2021)




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## Rocketman (Apr 22, 2021)

So if you look at the picture of the single blade of grass, that's typically what all the blades in the spot look like. They are all yellow on the top half and healthy green at the bottom half. What causes that?


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## hammerhead (May 14, 2019)

My spots also look quite similar and appear overnight. However they then like to grow together with other spots and form stripes/arches. I'm quite sur we are dealing with the same thing or at least something very similar. I have not found out what it is yet. Here my post just in case: /viewtopic.php?f=9&t=27341.


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## Rocketman (Apr 22, 2021)

hammerhead said:


> My spots also look quite similar and appear overnight. However they then like to grow together with other spots and form stripes/arches. I'm quite sur we are dealing with the same thing or at least something very similar. I have not found out what it is yet. Here my post just in case: /viewtopic.php?f=9&t=27341.


It's funny that you say that......towards the end of last season, I did have one spot in the back yard that was shaped like an arc or an arch. My neighbor thought it was a fairy ring. I don't think I took a picture, but I'll have to search my phone. It was just a one-time thing though. I don't think it was separate spots that combined together to form the arc, I'm pretty sure it just appeared that way all at once.

I ended up pulling up some of the damaged grass in the arc because it appeared to be completely dead. Then I just roughed up the dirt and seeded. It was in good shape in a matter of weeks as the new grass grew in and it hasn't been a problem since.


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## Rocketman (Apr 22, 2021)

No other ideas? I was hoping someone would know what I am dealing with here....


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## SumBeach35 (Jul 11, 2019)

I would look into taking a sample and seeing if you can get an ID from a lab. They would likely want turf and soil.

Are these spots only happening in the septic tank and leech field area?


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

The only one I know in cool season that dies from the top is Ascochyta Leaf Blight but just 8in diameters don't make sense to me.

I think the best thing to do is to send it to a turf pathology lab. I think rutgers has one.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Uff they have one but very expensive even for in state($50). NCSU or Purdue might be cheaper even if out of state.


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## SumBeach35 (Jul 11, 2019)

$50 is cheaper than the band-aid fungicides have been providing thus far @g-man


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

It is $22 for out of state and $11 for in state at Purdue.

https://ag.purdue.edu/btny/ppdl/Pages/Submit-A-Sample.aspx


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## Diane (Jul 27, 2020)

Rocketman said:


> hammerhead said:
> 
> 
> > My spots also look quite similar and appear overnight. However they then like to grow together with other spots and form stripes/arches. I'm quite sur we are dealing with the same thing or at least something very similar. I have not found out what it is yet. Here my post just in case: /viewtopic.php?f=9&t=27341.
> ...


Omg- I had the exact same thing! I perfect arch, almost made me think someone had what to do with it because it was so perfect, though I know no one did. Will have to find a pic.


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## Diane (Jul 27, 2020)

Not a good pic- but you can def see the arc from here. Did yours also look like this?


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## Rocketman (Apr 22, 2021)

SumBeach35 said:


> I would look into taking a sample and seeing if you can get an ID from a lab. They would likely want turf and soil.
> 
> Are these spots only happening in the septic tank and leech field area?


No, all over the lawn. I noticed it's even starting to spread into my neighbor's yard.

What kind of lab would I use for something like this?


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## Rocketman (Apr 22, 2021)

Diane said:


> Not a good pic- but you can def see the arc from here. Did yours also look like this?


Here's mine.


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## Rocketman (Apr 22, 2021)

g-man said:


> It is $22 for out of state and $11 for in state at Purdue.
> 
> https://ag.purdue.edu/btny/ppdl/Pages/Submit-A-Sample.aspx


Thanks, maybe I'll give them a try.


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## Rocketman (Apr 22, 2021)

One thing I forgot to mention----these yellow spots happen overnight or sometimes during the day while I'm at work. These pictures were just taken a few minutes ago. When I left for work this morning, the grass here was perfectly green, no yellow spots at all. So in just eight hours, this is what can happen. So strange.....


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## Rocketman (Apr 22, 2021)




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## Rocketman (Apr 22, 2021)




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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

This is so strange. Do you have security cams? Wyze cams?


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## hammerhead (May 14, 2019)

Same thing happens to me. I watered heavily and now it dramatically improved.
I would like to know the cause of this as well. Also happens from no symptoms to dead grass in a few hours in my case.
Is it currently dry at your place as well?


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Would you humor me and grab a shovel and go straight down in the center for 6-8in?


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## Togo (Jun 7, 2017)

Any chance it's someone else's pet or an animal coming on the property?


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## Rocketman (Apr 22, 2021)

g-man said:


> This is so strange. Do you have security cams? Wyze cams?


Haha....I know where you're going. No, it's not people or animals doing this to my lawn. This even happens in my fenced in back yard. During the day with people home sometimes.


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## Rocketman (Apr 22, 2021)

hammerhead said:


> Same thing happens to me. I watered heavily and now it dramatically improved.
> I would like to know the cause of this as well. Also happens from no symptoms to dead grass in a few hours in my case.
> Is it currently dry at your place as well?


It hasn't been too dry here in New Jersey so far this season. I'd say about average. I just recently turned on my irrigation system, but I haven't watered much yet. Today is supposed to be hot (86 F), so I'm watering this morning since it hasn't rained in a few days. I'd say my soil is definitely not dry.


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## Rocketman (Apr 22, 2021)

g-man said:


> Would you humor me and grab a shovel and go straight down in the center for 6-8in?


I already tried that in a spot out back. I got down through the entire root system and pulled it all up. Nothing strange to see, it all looked very normal. I should have taken pictures, but I didn't think to at the time.


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## Rocketman (Apr 22, 2021)

Togo said:


> Any chance it's someone else's pet or an animal coming on the property?


No. These are definitely not urine damage. Like I mentioned, the grass is turning yellow from the top down and the damage almost always stops by the time it gets halfway down each individual blade of grass. So no matter how bad it looks, it's back to normal in about two weeks after I mow it twice because I'm cutting off the damaged area and leaving the healthy part to grow back out.

I'm telling you, this is the strangest thing and I can't figure out what's causing it.


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## davegravy (Jul 25, 2019)

Following. I don't have this issue but it's a very bizzare mystery.

@g-man if it were a neighbour how would they even create this effect? Spray bottle with salt water?


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

I wasnt thinking of a neighbor or anything like that. A camera will allow to see what happens over time. Maybe an animal lays down in there. Maybe the maid dumps a bucket of mop water.

It appears to start at the tip and moves down towards the crown, but in circular random spots.

Your profile says TTTF, but I just noticed KBG and PRG. Is this a mix?


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## Old Hickory (Aug 19, 2019)

@Rocketman Do you have a very grainy photo of a UFO flying above?


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## hammerhead (May 14, 2019)

@g-man If i remember right the OP mentioned that fungicides work to make it disappear.
Who else in this forum is a fungus expert? Maybe could chime in.


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## Rocketman (Apr 22, 2021)

Old Hickory said:


> @Rocketman Do you have a very grainy photo of a UFO flying above?


I'm beginning to think that a UFO is shooting a laser beam down from above and burning the tips of my grass in random spots.....but seriously, it's something really strange going on and I'm at a total loss.

All I can say for sure is that Eagle or Cleary's fungicide will completely get rid of the spots for a few weeks and then it starts all over again.

I keep wondering to myself if I change something with my lawn, like maybe the pH, would this issue go away or at least be reduced. I'm spending too much money on fungicides every year and the time to apply them. My lawn really looks great when I don't have random 12" yellow spots popping up every day.


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## Rocketman (Apr 22, 2021)

hammerhead said:


> @g-man If i remember right the OP mentioned that fungicides work to make it disappear.
> Who else in this forum is a fungus expert? Maybe could chime in.


Yes, exactly correct. I just mentioned that in my most recent post. Fungicides do clear up the issue for a few weeks. So basically, I'm applying fungicide to my lawn once a month for the entire season to prevent this from happening. My strategy is to apply when the spots start to appear rather than just apply it preventatively. But that still results in applying about once every month, which gets expensive and is a pain in my butt.

I don't know for sure if this is a fungus or not, but I was just assuming that it was because 1-the landscapers originally told me that it must be a fungus, and 2-fungicides do clear it up completely for a few weeks before the spots return.


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## Rocketman (Apr 22, 2021)

New pics from today. Two new spots, a big one in front and a small one in the back. Every day is a surprise....


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## Rocketman (Apr 22, 2021)




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## Rocketman (Apr 22, 2021)




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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Yeah, UFO or the 5g towers. Only a single spot is so strange. Send a sample to a turf pathology lab.


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## Girls4green-beginner (Sep 21, 2020)

How sharp is your lawnmower blade ?


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## davegravy (Jul 25, 2019)

Have you caught a spot that is in the process of going yellow? Or you only find them once they're good and yellow already?

Wondering how quickly they deteriorate and how it progresses.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

It doesn't look like you mowed, but you ruled out exhaust heat from the mower?


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## Rocketman (Apr 22, 2021)

Girls4green-beginner said:


> How sharp is your lawnmower blade ?


I just sharpened the blades this season. The cut looks good, nice and clean


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## Rocketman (Apr 22, 2021)

g-man said:


> Yeah, UFO or the 5g towers. Only a single spot is so strange. Send a sample to a turf pathology lab.


Yes, I think that's what I have to do.


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## Rocketman (Apr 22, 2021)

davegravy said:


> Have you caught a spot that is in the process of going yellow? Or you only find them once they're good and yellow already?
> 
> Wondering how quickly they deteriorate and how it progresses.


It happens quickly. By the time I see it, it already happened. And they don't seem to get any bigger. It's almost like it's over as soon as it starts. And then it grows out and disappears.


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## Rocketman (Apr 22, 2021)

g-man said:


> It doesn't look like you mowed, but you ruled out exhaust heat from the mower?


Yes. I purposely try to avoid stopping my mower on the lawn for that reason. My particular mower is a 50" Toro Time Cutter Zero Turn and some people have reported that their grass can get scorched if they leave the mower with the engine running for a while in the same spot. So I'm pretty careful to not stop the mower on the grass, but I should probably make sure that I never stop the mower on the grass. But still, I cut the grass on Saturday and I'm getting spots popping up today.


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## Rocketman (Apr 22, 2021)

Just as a follow-up, it has been more than a month and my lawn has been 100% free of this issue. I can't explain it at all, but so far so good....no yellow spots popping up anywhere. The only thing I've been doing differently is that I've been running irrigation twice per day, once early morning and then again late afternoon because it has been very dry and pretty hot in NJ lately.


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## M32075 (May 9, 2019)

I guess the UFO's left jersey came to NY I have a bunch of spots in my backyard overnight


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## Ngilbe36 (Jul 23, 2020)

Rocketman said:


> g-man said:
> 
> 
> > It doesn't look like you mowed, but you ruled out exhaust heat from the mower?
> ...


Ive got a 42 Toro ZT and I get spots similar to this if I stop the mower for even a few seconds. If I stop to pick up a stick Ill get a spot like this in a day or two. If it is that, they make a bolt on heat shield that has seemed to help for me.

Could your mower be leaking any fluids? Gas or oil?


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## Rocketman (Apr 22, 2021)

Ngilbe36 said:


> Rocketman said:
> 
> 
> > g-man said:
> ...


It's a new mower and I don't think anything is leaking, but I have been super careful lately to make sure that I never stop the mower, even for a moment, on the lawn. So I don't have a good answer, but I guess there's always the possibility that my mower was contributing to the issue. But let me ask you this--how long did it take for your grass to yellow after cutting your lawn? The reason I ask is because most of the spots in my lawn don't seem to appear immediately after I cut my lawn. It's usually a few days later. Could it take that long for the grass to turn yellow?

EDIT: Just realized you said "a day or two" before you get your spots. Is it always consistent?


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