My front yard was newly sodded seven months ago. The lawn looked like a carpet, but recently (a month or two ago) I noticed that in certain areas, the grass wouldn't grow as thick/green as the rest of the lawn. More recently, the lawn started turning yellow in that area (it's still very mild, but I can see it.)

The area is irregular in shape and my initial suspicion was that it wasn't getting it's share of water (I turn on the sprinklers for 15 minutes every other day, as it's been pretty hot around here.)

I've walked across the lawn and poked a philips driver into the soil. For most of the lawn, it's very easy to insert the screwdriver into the soil, but that particular area seems *much* harder than the rest. I wonder, could this be affecting the grass? If so, how do I fix it?

My grass is what they locally call "Mello Jade" (Dwarf Fescue + Perennial Rye Fescue (80/20)).

Another question: Is my watering schedule realistic? I think I'm watering too much, but I fear reducing the amount of water and making the entire lawn unhappy in these hot days of summer.

Thanks in advance.
-- MQ

The general watering advice is to water no more than once a week in the heat of summer and once a month in the cooler months. This is the advice for Phoenix so it should work where you live. Of course you may have to water longer than you are currently watering to get enough water into the soil. Watering longer will develop deeper roots which can draw moisture from the deep regions of the soil all week long. The general advice again says to water for an hour. That is a starting point that covers a huge range of situations. As KubotaMaster says, how much irrigation your grass needs depends on shade, wind, humidity, cloud cover, grass height, grass type, soil depth, soil hardness, rainfall, and probably other factors. In my case in San Antonio with plenty of shade shade I apply about 3/8 inch over a 3 hour period for every zone. If we get into a really dry and sustained drought, then I might have to bump it all the way up to 7/8 inch of irrigation over a 7 hour period.

It is important to know how your sprinkler system works and how much water it applies. Mine applies 1/8 inch per hour. A friend has one that applies 1 full inch in 20 minutes. Every one is different.

If you want to move from your current watering toward once a week watering, you almost always need to do that gradually. You can increase the time and decrease the frequency at the same time. Get a handle on how much you are applying. Watch the grass carefully for signs of dryness between watering. If it appears dry, water immediately but for a longer time than the last time. That will get the roots deeper into the soil and all the benefits that come with that.

I'm pretty sure my front yard puts out a lot of water. I measured it once, but I can't remember exactly (will do it again to be sure.)

What puzzles me is that the rest of the grass is pretty happy and healthy. These patches are slowly "falling behind" in growth and turning yellow. Like I said, soil is considerably harder in those areas of the lawn.

The funny thing is that I have a sprinkler right next to the area and it seems to be working well. Maybe it's throwing *over* the area? I turn it on for a few minutes and check the grass with my hands and it feels pretty wet. Also, if it is throwing over, how do I fix it? I already changed the head to one of those "two in one" heads (far and near) but the problem persists. Any ideas?

I'll measure the amount of water this weekend and report.

Thanks!
-- MQ