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Help!—How to talk neighbor out of making a gick mistake

Eric Hanson

Steward and Man of Many Mushrooms

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Location: Southern Illinois

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posted 8 months ago

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Howdy all,

This has been one of the wettest springs I can remember. My awesome next-door-neighbor, who despite being an awesome neighbor is definitely not a Permie—by a very long shot, recently found black mold in his lawn. He asked me to take a look.

Indeed, he has an unsightly patch of black glop in a low section of his yard. Upon closer examination, it was clear that the mold was growing exclusively on dead grass clippings and the living grass was actually healthy, thriving. I told him that the mold was simply breaking down the clippings, even feeding the grass. If he really wanted it gone his best bet was to rake the material away—and he agreed. However, he is dead-set on spraying something!

Suggestions? I really think he is just looking for something to do and lacks a bit of patience. But any suggestions are helpful.

Etc

Some places need to be wild

Carla Burke

Rusticator

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Location: Missouri Ozarks

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posted 8 months ago

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The only advice I have, is to appeal to whatever is in him that you see as making him a great neighbor. You could offer to help him figure out a "non-toxic" way to deal with it... Vinegar kills mold. Peroxide is a little more hazardous, but kills mold.

Hmmm... you could give him some of your personal stash of 'mold buster' (vinegar & an essential oil, like tea tree oil, orange, grapefruit, or lemon essential oil, lavender...)..

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Nancy Reading

steward and tree herder

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Location: Isle of Skye, Scotland. Nearly 70 inches rain a year

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posted 8 months ago

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I suspect that the grass has been growing faster than he is used to, due to the damp weather, and that has resulted in a greater bulk of grass clippings. Cutting more frequently and higher is one thing that would help.
Maybe improving the lawn drainage too? If it is one spot, it might be that the lawn is staying damper longer there and the clippings are starting to ferment and go anaerobic. You can get hollow tined forks to remove tubes of soil from lawns to help aerate them...That would keep him busy for a bit, but won't do the lawn any harm. Brush sand in afterwards to maintain the improvement.
It may just be that the way he cuts the lawn results in the lawn clippings accumulating in one particular spot. Changing the direction of cut may help - going up and down the lawn, rather than round and round for example.

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Eric Hanson

Steward and Man of Many Mushrooms

Posts: 6053

Location: Southern Illinois

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posted 8 months ago

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Carla,

Yeah, he mentioned spraying vinegar, but I thought that the vinegar would kill the grass in the area.

Nancy,

Yep, he has plans to adjust the drainage. The only places where he has the mold is in a small dip that doesn’t drain. He actually wants to fill in those areas to level the ground.

This one is a tough one. I did manage to at least temporarily talk him out of spraying some gick as the black glop is right where his dogs go out. And I did manage to show him that everywhere we saw the glop, it was only on clippings and not on the living grass which was actually thriving. Basically, it’s just in his nature to do something as opposed to nothing.

Thanks for the input!!

Eric

Some places need to be wild

Anne Miller

steward

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Location: USDA Zone 8a

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posted 8 months ago

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If the neighbor has pets or children that is the best way to tell them about the harmful affect taxic gick can do to pets or children.

Maybe provide some written proof ...

Invasive plants are Earth's way of insisting we notice her medicines. Stephen Herrod Buhner
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Carla Burke

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Eric, the vinegar will only temporarily burn it. It would grow back, soon. But, if it's only on the clippings, the sun should kill it. So maybe just getting him to be patient...

Douglas Alpenstock

pollinator

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Location: Canadian Prairies - Zone 3b

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posted 8 months ago

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People have been conditioned to panic about "black mold" from media headlines though most strains are harmless to health. It's only a couple of varieties inside dwellings that are actually dangerous/toxic.

If he wants to do something, then your advice is good: rake up all his clippings so sun (UV "sterilizer") and air can get at the living grass. Drainage improvement is also meaningful "action."

Maybe he could also rent a plug aerator to get air into the roots of the turf and improve drainage?

C. Letellier

pollinator

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Location: Greybull WY north central WY zone 4 bordering on 3

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If it is a small area offer to do the raking and compost the material.

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Re' Burton

pollinator

Posts: 95

Location: zone 4 Wyoming

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My entire neighborhood, except me, flood irrigates with water coming thru ag land. I have the smallest lot at 1/2 acre. They also pay Nitro green to spray their lawns seasonally, mow or have their lawns mowed way too short, and water constantly. I'm the lowest elevation and their waste water comes to me along the road at the front of my property. I have had a neighbor with a tractor come and scrape down the road along my property to create a grass curb and planted some mini shrubs out there to intercept. I eat my "lawn" and explained that at many ditch meetings...to no avail. I understand how hard it is to get neighbors to learn. But anyway. I have since allowed my edibles to thrive at the back of the property and rarely harvest the front although a close neighbor blames me for birds existing due to my front yard berries. Lol As the old saying goes, "When the student is ready, the teacher appears".

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