We have a nicely manicured front lawn. We have been living here for almost year and a half. Last summer and spring there was a dark green line that snaked across the "normal" grass, that grew faster, longer, darker, courser, and got a series of poisonous mushrooms growing in it. We killed the mushrooms but again this year when the grass came back from winter, we have this same line. EVEN darker green. Its longer and more spiraly. No mushrooms yet, but its only May. What could cause this? We don't fertilize or spray for weeds. We water minimally and have a sprinkler system but we don't use it. Not now yet we have to have it fixed.
JO- no run off, our yard is actually elevated (inches) from the sidewalk. The neighbor on higher ground doesnt fertilize or weed, but the neighbor lower than us does. When it rains it actually all runs to his house first. So its not getting more water, I was thinking for a while it was cause the tree was shading it, but this line is going out beyond the trees shade into full on sun.
Beth- never thought of that, but yes i would say it runs that way, only not in spirals and rings I would think. Though I think it could be a leak we live right on Main St downtown and a few blocks down there was a sewer pipe crack. Not too far fetched.
Could be crab grass. I'd put on a weed killer and when the strange grass is gone, seed that section of the lawn.
agrees with beth. even if you don't have a leak, after so many years the sewer line can do this. that could be it.
It may still be the effect of the mushrooms.......
Mushrooms help decay plant material, making it into "compost" ... this helps feed your lawn.
"Fairy Rings" often show a ring of darker green vegetation due to this effect....
"Sometimes the only effect of the fungus is to stimulate grass growth in arcs or circles; this growth is caused by the release of plant nutrients as the fungal hyphae decompose organic matter in the soil." (This quote is taken from the article I linked...)
A few years back, a senior class took lawn fertilizer and wrote "Class of 2002" in the schools lawn.
Yup, the message grew brighter and greener for a long time.
Is it possible anyone ran across your lawn trailing fertilizer?
(It's far worse if someone fertilizes so much it burns the grass out for awhile).
You could try fertilizing the rest of the lawn and the effect would blend the streak in.
is there a sewer or water line near the area?
It could be fescue grass, it grows really quickly and is thicker and darker than normal grass. It also can take over a yard, we had a little bit that started from our neighbor's yard and it has taken over our yard over a couple summers.
Is it a water run off area. In other words when it rains does more water run in that area? If so you are getting fertilizer run off from your neighbors. It is more pronounced because you don't use fertilizer yourself.
Probably the yard was dug up along that line, possibly for the sprinkler system or other conduit, and they replaced the grass that was dug up by a different type of grass - probably a kind that holds more moisture and therefore is susceptible to mushrooms.
