Background Info: Just purchased newly constructed home and the yard has Tifway 419. Sod was laid in December of 2010 while dormant. I have approx. 17,000 sq. ft of sod. I live just south of Atlanta, GA. Sod did not start rooting until late Feb. 2011 sat totally dormant all winter.

Here is what I have done so far. Around 3/15 I put out 1000 pounds of lime. Soil in my area is notorious for extremely low PH levels. Also fertilized with 5-10-15 400 pounds as per recommendation of the sod farm website where the sod came from for establishing roots and not promoting blade growth. I had a big problem with Kentucky Bluegrass coming up in various spots in the yard due to drainoff from other areas so I used Image for Nutsedge around the first of April. Bermuda has not completely covered from that. I am waiting until fall to put down pre-emergent. Around the first of May I fertilized again using Lesco 18-0-9 which after my reading way probably not enough Nitrogen. I have used plenty of water with my new irrigation system. Also I am mowing at 1 to 1 1/4 inchs using a riding rotary mower.

Here are my questions:

The Tifway is producing seedhead like mad any ideas as to why? I have used the pollen test method and all seems to be sterile.

I am starting to notice a thin layer or what appears to be black mold or fungus on some bare spots that need builders sand. Any ideas why this is occurring or why?

Soil here has a heavy clay base. Should I go ahead and consider core aeration to assist in keeping the ground soft?

Parts of the yard are looking good that are not producing seedheads. Other parts are a light green color and those are the biggest offending parts which are really producing the seedheads. Maybe this helps out with some clues.

Also another thing I did have 2 pallets of sod put out around beginning of April(had builder replace what didn't make it through our rough winter). All of the new sod is gorgeous with no seedhead production as of yet. However it is not growing fast yet at least the blades aren't. The sod has rooted very well.

One final thing that may or may not be useful. I have added a large flower bed around the house that was previously sodded. This gave me a really good chance to see how well the roots of the sod had been growing. They looked fantastic and appeared well over 6 inches long.

Any information any of you would be willing to share will be much appreciated.

You have 17K/ft2 right? Not sure how you came up with not to promote blade growth because technically you applied too much nitrogen for a single application. Not drastically too much but beyond the recommended 1lb/1000/ft2. The most you should have used is 340 pounds over 17K/ft2. However it is not wise to apply that much potassium and phosphorus at one time unless specifically specified from a soil test. Heavy clay soils are normally rich in P & K and quite likely the root cause of your mold and fungus problems.

OK you mentioned some parts look great and some parts do not. The stressed areas are the areas the areas with seed head and color problems right? Without seeing it it is very hard to guess what is going on. You need to look closely and determine what is going on in the bad areas. Look for things like high or low spots where water accumilates or does not get enough water. Is the poor areas shady. Something is different and you need to figure it out.

Can you post pix?

For the rest of the year only use straight nitrogen fertilizer. In addition try to determine the cause of th poor areas. If they are low spots I suspect that is where all the excessive fertilizer and herbicide went from run-off. That is also where you should find the mold and fungus problems.

The area where IMAGE was applied is actually recovering quite nicely now just in the past two weeks. No seedheads at all are growing in that area and all that area is really starting to turn a dark green. However, I should say growth has not really started in earnest with the blades either in this area. Being cautious I only applied the IMAGE on a small side portion of the yard and in the back. After waiting about a month I only spot sprayed the Bluegrass directly.

The area producing the most seedheads it probably about 8 - 9 thousand sq ft in the front of the house. This area receives direct sunlight now from sun up to sun down unfiltered. About half of this area is on a slope and the other half flat. In the flat areas is mainly where I notice the mold/fungus problems and other low lying areas. I am suspecting this may be to too frequent watering via irrigation. I am going to change my irrigation methods now that I have correctly measured the water output. I figure I can water 3 zones 1 day and my other 3 the next day once a week.

Should using only Nitrogen fertilizer and changing the water habits be enough to allow nature to control the fungus/mold issue or should I go the route of an available product to get it under control more quickly?

Also went and pulled my receipt I did a bit better than I thought when just thinking from memory earlier, I put out 350lbs of 5-10-15. I am going to get a soil test performed in September. I have gotten many soil tests in the past for deer food plots and the like which were fairly simple considering we had already plowed the area. With sod what is the best method for getting the underlying soil so as to damage the turf?