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| About a year ago, my brother put down sod. Today, it looks terrible, with as much yellow/brown grass as green. (See photos below.)
A contractor said he thought the problem was thatch, but I disagree as I can't imagine thatch being produced in a single season. I think it may be a combination of things like cutting too short and watering too frequently, but would like some input. The close-up photos below were taken at an edge of the lawn, where the grass meets the concrete around the pool area. I thought it might help to see sort of a cross section. The soil below the sod is hard and rocky, but a few inches of topsoil was laid down before the sod. Does it look like a thatch issue to you? In case it matters, the lawn is on a steep rolling hill. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Photo of sad lawn
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Here's another photo at the edge of the lawn. Thatch problem? |
Here is a link that might be useful: Edge of lawn
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| More like a dead grass problem. I am assuming that sod is Marathon sod since you are in CA, zone 9 (a town or zip code would be more helpful). Marathon sod is composed of mainly tall fescue which doesn't produce thatch to any great extent. If you are watering a lot and temps are high, especially at night, then you might have a fungal infection, most likely brown patch. I get some browning in summer with my tall fescue in CT that isn't due to fungus, just something that happens with TF, but your lawn has a lot more than what would be considered normal. It could also be due to nutrient deficiencies in your soil. When you first lay sod the roots are still in the soil it came with from the sod farm. A year later those roots are in the "new" soil, which is probably very different from its home soil, and may not be very healthy. A comprehensive soil test would be a good idea to rule out soil problems. |
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| Thanks for the reply, tiemco. FYI, the zip code is 95677. The entire lawn looks uniformly bad, and I would think that a fungal infection would probably grow in patches, at least initially. My money is on your second suggestion, a nutrient deficiency. I'll see if I can get a soil test done, if I can find a place to do it. Despite living close to UC Davis, an agricultural icon, their cooperative exchange resists doing soil testing for the plebs. In the meantime, would a mid-summer application of compost and/or fertilizer help, or would it be best to wait until fall? |
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| In general fungal issues do form rings and patches, but not always. Also it looks like your mower blade needs to be sharpened. Do you ever see cottony patches on your lawn in the morning? That can accompany fungal disease. In terms of a soil test, a good place to use is Logan Labs. If you decide to go that route, then get the $20 basic test. Here is a fungal disease ID key from UNC. It's very easy to use: http://www.turffiles.ncsu.edu/diseaseID/ |
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- Posted by nearandwest 7 (My Page) on Fri, Jul 8, 11 at 20:11
| Lol @ tiemco: I'm surprised someone from N.C. State hasn't gotten onto you about confusing UNC with N.C. State. They get their feelings hurt with stuff like that! :) |
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| Good thing my home address isn't listed, they would probably round-up NCSU in my front lawn. |
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