How to Control a Fairy Ring in Lawns

It is common in June to see the appearance of Fairy Rings in lawns. The initial burst of spring lawn growth has worn off and unless a second fertiliser feed is applied to the lawn now, it is common to see the dark rings of stimulated growth of a Fairy Ring should your lawn be afected by them. The soil is full of flora and fauna - mostly friendly bacteria and sometime not so friendly bacteria, munching away at the thatch that naturally accumulates in the upper surface of the lawn, old grass clippings and other debris. Sometimes the environment of the soil changes, sufficiently for the Fairy Rings to develop. I hear horror stories of lawn owners trying to dig them out and remove the infested soil only to see them reappear the next year in a slightly different location in the lawn. Fairy Rings are easy to get rid off so long as you apply some simple turf cultural principles.

As with any lawn 'disease' you need a Pathogen, Host and Environment in a triangle of equal sides to see the Pathogen (the mushrooms) appear. Sometimes, the mushrooms or 'fruiting bodies' do not always appear in the ring. The Host is of course the grass plants but more importantly the soil underneath and the Environment is the prevailing climatic conditions. Although the presence of mushrooms in your beloved sward does not mean that the lawn is diseased, the Disease Triangle as it is known follows the same principles as the Fire Triangle, which has Oxygen, Heat and Fuel forming the side of the triangle to make it all happen. What you have to do is to change the environment as this is the only side of the triangle you can actually change. We wrote about this in greater detail last year on the subject of Controlling Fairy Rings in your Lawn. You can download and print off our Technical Leaflet on Fairy Ring Control To change the environment, you need to apply a Wetting Agent to the affected areas by way of one of the readily available hose end diluters and the Wetting Agent in the form of a tablet that dissolves over time as it is applied to the lawn. The trick is to get the soil within and surrounding the Fairy Ring, no matter if it is a Type One, Two or Three wet to a depth and you will slowly control the problem. You can purchase liquid wetting agents and granular wetting agents too. Should you need a greater quantity, please email The Lawn Company. To colour in a Type Two Fairy Ring - apply a lawn fertiliser to your lawn. If you have only fertilised your lawn once this year, now is the time to do it again even if you do not have Fairy Rings! Professional Quality Lawn Fertiliser available in handy 10 Kg or 20 Kg units of sale.