Hello,

I live in Nashville and recently moved to a new house within the same neighborhood. Although it is only a mile away from where I've been for a long time, my soil appears to be different than what I've had before. It holds more water and from my uneducated assessment, has more clay make up, etc.

The previous owners apparently had sod put in the backyard and it is growing strong in places, but other places it is bare dirt. After it rains it is very easily damaged and can slip away when walked on if you aren't careful. Now that it is getting warmer it has started growing stronger and turning blue-green and this issue doesn't seem to happen as often but it is still much more sensitive than lawns I've had before.

My only goal for my backyard is that there is grass growing throughout and that it doesn't get torn up by simply walking on it when it is wet. I don't care if the grass matches, but I would like to fill in the bare places and have it grow in places where the sod was not placed which are currently just dirt sections outside the main square shape of the yard (paths near fences and garage). Right now it gets a ton of sun, but there are trees around that I expect will create some shade once they have their leaves.

I bought the house a few months ago so I don't know how long ago the sod was put in. Will it fill in on its own, or should I put down seed? I have attached a series of photos to show what I'm dealing with. I live in East Nashville and the previous two homes in the neighborhood I've lived in had grass lawns that could stand up to just about anything and spread like crazy, never leaving bare spots even after being dug up, etc.

Thanks for any help you can provide.