Adding Peat Moss after lawn installation

Tos – posted 30 April 2013 21:08

I planted my Empire Zoysia lawn in September 2011. The sod came from Bethel Farms in Arcadia and was absolutely beautiful. I had sod cut the existing St. Augustine and removed it. Unfortunately, I didn’t do anything to upgrade the sugar sand “soil” before laying the sod. This area used to be orange groves and holds 0% moisture after watering. I was wondering if its too late to slowly add thin layers of peat moss over a period of time to build some moisture holding capabilities to my lawn. The sod came with a good 2 inches of black dirt, but for some reason, even after regular watering, the grass dries out in the middle of the day.

I fertilize with Lesco 15-0-15 four times a year. I did cut my lawn down to less than 1″ in early January and am still waiting for it to green up. I’ve seen in other posts that I should worry too much that my lawn is still looking like straw in many places….but that’s info for another thread. I’m really hoping someone can give me some ideas on how to add some quality to my very sandy soil.

mrmumbels – posted 01 May 2013 19:13

You sound so much like I did a few years back. My empire was the talk of the neighborhood for a few years. Then I scalped it in the spring and it’s been crap for 4 years. Constantly needs water even after watering for over an hour in the AM. I never amended my sugar either.

If I could come across a good cheap core aerator I’d pick one up and core aerate like crazy and backfill the holes with good organic filled soil.