black mold on top of soil

[DeepGreenLawn]

I have had two customers so far with this problem and it seems to be more and more an issue. There is a black mold that grows on the soil surface under the grass, not on the grass, in areas that seem a little more damp and thinner maybe due to shade. Bermuda lawns. It seems to be a side problem to the thinning grass as the grass is thin so it then allows the mold to grow.

Two questions, what is it? and How do I get rid of it and not have it come back. I believe one cause is the areas being more damp. I believe I stopped it in one area but not sure what stopped it as I threw some organics and synthetics at it trying to get it to stop.

SO, any help would be appreciated. I believe I took pics of it in a earlier thread.

[Grohorganic]

ok so the first step is NOT getting rid of it.... the next step is out competing it.

dude look up popular war advantage...........

[ICT Bill]

You guys went through a heavy drought for 2 years and then had a wet spring and early summer

The fungi that have been in spore form now have a wonderful environment to grow, wet, humid and warm. It could be anyone of a 1000 different fungi

The issue is trying to change the environment on the turf so that it is not such a pleasant place to live, turf likes a 1:1 fungi:bacteria environment mostly

Let me do a little research and get back

[44DCNF]

I can't find your pic in a thread, unless it is the one by the side of the house were it is real bare. I thought you meant a close up. Could it be algae?

[ted putnam]

Originally Posted by DeepGreenLawn

I have had two customers so far with this problem and it seems to be more and more an issue. There is a black mold that grows on the soil surface under the grass, not on the grass, in areas that seem a little more damp and thinner maybe due to shade. Bermuda lawns. It seems to be a side problem to the thinning grass as the grass is thin so it then allows the mold to grow.

Two questions, what is it? and How do I get rid of it and not have it come back. I believe one cause is the areas being more damp. I believe I stopped it in one area but not sure what stopped it as I threw some organics and synthetics at it trying to get it to stop.

SO, any help would be appreciated. I believe I took pics of it in a earlier thread.

Just an idea I'll throw out here. I have a couple of zoysia lawns that have it (the black mold)in full sun. both are areas where a swimming pool was installed. The soil was dug out then the red clay was spread around the perimeter and a poor grade of sod was installed. Of course they have an irrigation system and we've had a wet year as well so there has been ample moisture. Enough that the soil doesn't dry out and the extremely poor clay soil won't drain at all. I'm going to recommend aeration and topdressing to my customers. I'm thinking if we can get the very top layer to dry after rain and irrigation the mold will be a thing of the past.

[roccon31]

Originally Posted by ted putnam

Just an idea I'll throw out here. I have a couple of zoysia lawns that have it (the black mold)in full sun. both are areas where a swimming pool was installed. The soil was dug out then the red clay was spread around the perimeter and a poor grade of sod was installed. Of course they have an irrigation system and we've had a wet year as well so there has been ample moisture. Enough that the soil doesn't dry out and the extremely poor clay soil won't drain at all. I'm going to recommend aeration and topdressing to my customers. I'm thinking if we can get the very top layer to dry after rain and irrigation the mold will be a thing of the past.

i agree, i think its a moisture/compaction issue. aerate and topdress with compost would be a good move. i see this very frequently around here, with our clay soil. compaction is probably more the culprit than anything, since the more compacted the soil is, the less it tends to drain.

[RigglePLC]

44DCNF is right, I think. Algae. But I am not sure how to get rid of it. It will probably dry up if you let the area get dry. But I suspect it would return if wet conditions occur again. Improve drainage and light penetration. Reduce excess sprinkling. Recuce clock time or use smaller nozzles. Change from 3 gal per minute to 2 gal per minute sprinkler heads. Also algae are sensitive to various forms of copper.