Good news! Judy from VT was able to get me some pictures to help more positively diagnose her lawn problem. If you'll recall, I had posted a video response to her first question about possible grubs. Check it out here: Grubs in VT in August? This is definitely NOT grub damage. It appears to be Dollar Spot, which is named for the silver dollar sized patches it leaves on a golf green. In a lawn, the patches are a bit more sporadic and uneven. Dollar spot is caused by a fungus that LOVES lots of water. The incessant rains are basically to blame here. It also thrives under lower nitrogen conditions, which result when the incessant rains flush all the nutrients out of the soil.
Luckily, this very rarely becomes too serious. Most of those patches will actually bounce back again and be fine. In the meantime, definitely plan on getting a good fertilizer application down in the beginning of September. When you see Dollar Spot, that means the lawn is getting hungry.
Why not fertilize now? Well, just as Dollar Spot thrives under LOW nitrogen conditions, there are other far more destructive fungi that thrive under HIGH nitrogen conditions when the temperatures are hot. That's why we wait until September, when things are beginning to cool off. Otherwise, it'd be like taking a carcinogenic chemical to treat a headache.
Good news on this one. It could have been much worse!
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