Re: [Grass-Fed-Eggs] Digest for grass-fed-eggs@googlegroups.com - 2 Messages in 1 Topic
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Jim Adams
May 1, 2013, 10:15:34 PM5/1/13
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Agreed .. do get your soil tested. Most times a fungal infection is on sickly rather than healthy plants, ones with lower resistance for whatever reason. And i'd worry more about chickens getting something from the grass or soil which would weaken them.
You say 'fescue sod' ---- is this store-bought sod, or sod from someplace else on your property? If it's store bought sod, have you asked --no, demanded an explanation?
On Wed, May 1, 2013 at 2:45 AM, <grass-f...@googlegroups.com> wrote:
Group: http://groups.google.com/group/grass-fed-eggs/topics
- Diseased Grass -- WHY? [2 Updates]
Bill Brier <bill...@yahoo.com> Apr 30 03:39PM -0700
Hi,
My two four-year-old chickens live in Southern California, in an area that includes 100 sq ft of fescue sod. In time, the grass always dies. Death may occur in a week, or the grass may remain healthy for as long as two months. When death occurs, I replace the sod and start over. (The dead grass looks like straw.)
New problem: Four months ago I planted the same fescue sod in my regular yard, an area that starts 20 feet away from the chicken pen. After four months of thick, healthy green grass, it began dying in patches --- zoom, in a week, from one end to the other it looked like my chicken grass when in the throws of dying.
It appears to be caused by a fungus, but the fungicide I used did not work (I never put that on the chicken grass), and the dead patches, that are now covering 80% of the area, looks and feels like straw. I expect that in another week my lawn will be a total goner.
I'm afraid to re-sod for fear of the same problem recurring. And doing so ain't cheap. Any Ideas? Could the chickens be causing this? Whatever 'this' is. Or???
Thanks, much,
bill brier
P.S. I've shown pictures to the Master Gardeners of Ventura County, and they agree that it looks like a fungus problem, but they didn't know the cause -- or the cure.
-----------------
billbrier.com
Fiona MItchell <fmitch...@gmail.com> Apr 30 07:00PM -0400
Bill - I very much doubt the chickens are causing the problem.
Have you had your soil tested? The soil you lay the sod on? That is always a good place to start. And the cheapest. Your local extension agency should be able to provide you with a soil testing kit that you send to a lab for analysis.
Fiona Mitchell
(914) 261-4986
On Apr 30, 2013, at 6:39 PM, Bill Brier wrote:
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Carole Straughn
May 2, 2013, 1:26:55 PM5/2/13
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I'm of a mindset like long-time organic gardener Fred Montague: Whatever is wrong, the answer is "add organic matter to your soil."
In this case, it sounds like the soil is lacking in a biodiverse ecology of soil micro-organisms, which can be fostered by incorporating organic matter into the soil--like manure, compost, veggie scraps, mulched leaves, chicken litter and more. It sounds like the fungus is overgrowing, because there are not other soil organism to balance it or keep it in check. This can happen if we use chemical fertilizers, which cause a boom in soil organism growth and then a bust making the soil sterile.
Chemical biocides do the same thing in a different way by killing the "good" bugs or fungi along with the bad, so the bad come back with a vengeance, because they have no predators.
Just keeping a lot of organic matter in the soil and rotating crops keeps my garden virtually pest free. I'm thinking it might also work for your grass.
Carole
From: Jim Adams <thetravel...@gmail.com>
To: grass-f...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, May 1, 2013 8:15 PM
Subject: Re: [Grass-Fed-Eggs] Digest for grass-f...@googlegroups.com - 2 Messages in 1 Topic
thanks, jimAgreed .. do get your soil tested. Most times a fungal infection is on sickly rather than healthy plants, ones with lower resistance for whatever reason. And i'd worry more about chickens getting something from the grass or soil which would weaken them.
You say 'fescue sod' ---- is this store-bought sod, or sod from someplace else on your property? If it's store bought sod, have you asked --no, demanded an explanation?We wish you good skill in ferreting this out. Ask lots of people lots of questions and please get back to us when you find out
On Wed, May 1, 2013 at 2:45 AM, <grass-f...@googlegroups.com> wrote:
Jim Adams
May 3, 2013, 12:34:16 PM5/3/13
to grass-f...@googlegroups.com
thanks, Carole. I like your post .. and -- if i may -- here's a bit to add to it. This is a short articlette for Mother Earth News i'm sending in once some friends edit this version down to 300 words"
If his ecosystem is as sparse as it sounds, what i suggest may not work all that well for the first few years. Still, it holds water in and gives an environment for the decomposer ecosystem to build.On Fri, May 3, 2013 at 12:56 AM, <grass-f...@googlegroups.com> wrote:
Jim Adams <thetravel...@gmail.com> May 01 10:15PM -0400
Agreed .. do get your soil tested. Most times a fungal infection is on
sickly rather than healthy plants, ones with lower resistance for whatever
reason. And i'd worry more about chickens getting something from the grass
or soil which would weaken them.
You say 'fescue sod' ---- is this store-bought sod, or sod from someplace
else on your property? If it's store bought sod, have you asked --no,
demanded an explanation?
We wish you good skill in ferreting this out. Ask lots of people lots of
questions and please get back to us when you find out
thanks, jim
Carole Straughn <caroles...@yahoo.com> May 02 10:26AM -0700
I'm of a mindset like long-time organic gardener Fred Montague: Whatever is wrong, the answer is "add organic matter to your soil."
In this case, it sounds like the soil is lacking in a biodiverse ecology of soil micro-organisms, which can be fostered by incorporating organic matter into the soil--like manure, compost, veggie scraps, mulched leaves, chicken litter and more. It sounds like the fungus is overgrowing, because there are not other soil organism to balance it or keep it in check. This can happen if we use chemical fertilizers, which cause a boom in soil organism growth and then a bust making the soil sterile. Chemical biocides do the same thing in a different way by killing the "good" bugs or fungi along with the bad, so the bad come back with a vengeance, because they have no predators.
Just keeping a lot of organic matter in the soil and rotating crops keeps my garden virtually pest free. I'm thinking it might also work for your grass.
Carole
>Agreed .. do get your soil tested. Most times a fungal infection is on sickly rather than healthy plants, ones with lower resistance for whatever reason. And i'd worry more about chickens getting something from the grass or soil which would weaken them.
>You say 'fescue sod' ---- is this store-bought sod, or sod from someplace else on your property? If it's store bought sod, have you asked --no, demanded an explanation?
We wish you good skill in ferreting this out. Ask lots of people lots of questions and please get back to us when you find out
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