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| Hi Everyone,
Have a new sod question for anyone with experience with sod in the midwest (bluegrass/fescue blend). I hired a company to install new sod in my backyard a week ago and I suspect there may be some issues. I've been watering per the contractor's direction 3 times per day, 20 min each zone. The sod is relatively green with about 15-20% of the yard turning yellow/brown. A bunch of it has this ugly, mushy brown blades. None of it has started taking root (no signs of any roots coming through the bottom). Lots of worms, but no roots. The sod was supposedly fresh from a farm (it looked great), but was laid on hot (90 degree day) and dry mid-day soil. And not watered at all until the irrigation contractor turned on the sprinklers 3 hours later. They were short about 5 pieces when they laid the sod, so they came back later that evening installed new pieces that they had "around their shop." Strangely, these are doing the best - perfectly green and rooted in about 3 days. I was there when they installed it and watered immediately. The contractor wants me to hang tight for another week - how long would you keep babying this sod until you call it beyond repair and request replacement? I don't want to be watering this sod all summer with a $1000 water bill and never get good rooting. Any input or advice would be appreciated. Thanks! Jimmy |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Ugly mushy brown blades usually equals fungal disease. I could be wrong, but I believe with sod you water once per day, preferable in the morning right before sun up. Three times a day means the grass never gets a chance to dry out, and that's what fungus likes. Some pictures of the affected areas would help. I wouldn't expect your sod to be rooted in a week, and the higher the soil temps get, the less root growth you will get. |
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| Nothing wrong with watering new sod 3 times a day. I think you are watering to long on each cycle. Maybe only 5-10 mins per cycle. |
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| From sod farms: Once a day unless it's above 90 degrees. You can start tapering off after the first week. Once a day for the first week, soil should be moist at all times. Twice a day for the first week tapering off as conditions allow: I am still of the opinion that three times per day is too much, especially in humid conditions. |
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| If I recall, Michigan has gotten a quite bit of rain in the last month and high temps too. |
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| Ok Lets play. From sod farms: http://www.sod.com/lawn_care/watering_schedule_guidelines.html http://emeraldsodfarms.com/installing.htm http://www.tulsagrass.com/?page_id=51 It is easy to find links that share the same opinion as you |
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| I had sod installed a year ago in the spring. I too had some spots that at first turned yellow,I was watering once a day for twenty minutes, but after a few weeks it turned green. You want to make sure the sod has good contact with the soil, no air pockets. Did the contractor use a roller to roll over the sod once it was put down? |
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