renob – posted 04 July 2004 07:50
I recently laid down some really good looking sand grown sod. I installed this sod about 5 weeks ago. The sod has rooted in pretty good but I have recently noticed that the turf has a lot of brown thatching going on. The turf is green but kind of sparse, not anywhere near as thick and plush as it was when laid down. I was watering it pretty heavy at first but I have backed off. It looks real good until you get right on top of it and look down then you can see it is really thin. Is it normal to have the condition of the sod deteriorate before it gets better? I guess I expected it to stay as plush as it was the day I laid it down. Am I over wtaering or underwatering? Should I be giving it some food to help the roots establish better? PLEASE share some advice. Thanks
Alex_in_FL – posted 04 July 2004 19:57
Can you post pictures? What kind of turf? What is “watering pretty heavy” and “backed off?” Where are you? How often did you water and how much water? Daily, weekly? 1/2 inch, 2 inches? Need some information before we can help. The brown almost suggest fungus… First thing is to hold off water.
renob – posted 05 July 2004 07:40
I live in central Florida. The turf is Floratam. When I received it, it was thick and lush. I watered it daily for about 30 minutes using those gear driven pop up irrigators. The grass is growing and I have mowed it once. It is just that it is thin. there is a lot of brown, not in patches, but just throughout the sod in general. The grass that is growing remains green and appears healthy its just that the sod is not as plush as it was when laid down by about 50%….its sparse looking.
new2sod – posted 05 July 2004 12:32
quote:Originally posted by renob:I live in central Florida. The turf is Floratam. When I received it, it was thick and lush. I watered it daily for about 30 minutes using those gear driven pop up irrigators. The grass is growing and I have mowed it once. It is just that it is thin. there is a lot of brown, not in patches, but just throughout the sod in general. The grass that is growing remains green and appears healthy its just that the sod is not as plush as it was when laid down by about 50%….its sparse looking.
new2sod – posted 05 July 2004 12:38
I am having the same problem. I mow it high and it looks great (3 inches). I mow low like everyone says and it looks like it is dormant. Maybe this is how it is supposed to look. I water 3 days a week for 30 min. I have used a Lesco fertilizer for new sod. Maybe that will help. If I go to 2 inches mowing, will the dormant look finally green up?