Am I over Watering New Sod

eadlman – posted 01 June 2009 20:03

Hi, I jsut laid down new sod in my property. I removed the old grass with a sod cutter, clean it, raked it, threw down starter fertilizer, wet the soil and laid the new sod.

I have been watering it 1hr, twice a day for 8 days. I see some of the seams curling up, slightly yellow but look dried out and what seems to be, dried out spots though which my wife says looks yellowish. I use a inground type, 360 degree sprayer sprinkler.

Am I over watering or under watering? i think its not enough water. though a lot of baords say too much water. I am now watering (9pm) and measuring in a cup the amount in hr

HELP!!!!!

Turfguy_UF – posted 01 June 2009 20:36

Is that hour split? Like are you watering for 30 minutes both times?

I would say you are on the very heavy side of watering your lawn. It is good that you want to establish the new sod but you might be over doing it.

Are there areas were the irrigation is not hitting as much? If so do these areas resemble the same yellowing as the heavily watered areas?

You mentioned the folding of the grass on the corners and they seems dry… Does this happen even during the irrigation or right after? or after the sun as had time to dry out the sod?

I would suggest cutting back the irrigation to once a day. If you have cool season grass water in the morning, but if you have warm season you can water in the evening.

Also if it rains greater than 10-15 minutes I would hold off on irrigation for that day.

If you dont see an improvement in a week or two from cutting back I would consider contacting your sod farm and asking them if any other reports of yellowing sod have been reported.

But I do think you are over watering your lawn if you are watering twice a day at 1 hour a piece.

TurfGuy

eadlman – posted 01 June 2009 21:02

I am watering for 1 hour at two seperate time during the day. 7am and 8pm.

i am 99.9% sure i am getting the entire lawn with my sprinkler and the edging areas look the same as the inner areas.

the dryness around the edging does show as much after iirigation, more so end of day once its almost time to water. this makes me feel I am not watering enough. after a irrigation session i cannot stick my finger thru the sod to the soil, isnt that bad?

will this grass ever come back or should i cut it out and replace the sod peice?

Turfguy_UF – posted 02 June 2009 06:31

Couple of location questions.

Where are you located?What is your soil type? (Clay, Sand)What is the soil type of your sod?

Has the sod been there for 8 days or longer?

Has the sod started to take root to the soil? OR is it easily pulled up when you try?

And any other information you can provide would be nice to help solve this problem. Maybe pictures if you can.

TurfGuy

eadlman – posted 02 June 2009 07:03

I am located on Long Island in New York. I think my soil is more sand, def not clay though I am unsure.

The soil type of the sod is prob the same as my soil as it was cut off a farm in Long Island.

The sod has been laid for over 8 days, I put it down on May 23rd. From 9am to 2pm.

I would say about 95% of the sod has taken, there are very few areas that I can still lift up, but for the most part it has taken.

Starting last night i set the watering schedule to 3 times a day, 75 minutes each time. This morning (after two waterings) it did look a bit better so I am thinking not enough water?? I also tried measuring the amount fo water for each session and it seems to be about 1/2 inch.

I am scared to pull back the watering just yet but obv your opinion matters

The weather has been in the mid 70’s all day, and 5-060 at night.

The color of the spots are more tan than yellow.

Turfguy_UF – posted 02 June 2009 07:28

Alright, well from the sound of it your irrigation is not as heavy as I first thought.

Are you you using a single “move able” irrigation head?

If this is the case then you are not applying as much water as say a fixed irrigation system as those systems are designed to overlap and allow for quicker better coverage of watering.

How are you collecting it? I have used tuna or cat food cans spread at equal distance at 1′ apart in a 4′ to 5′ square. That will give you a very good reading on how much water you are putting out.

If I understand you correctly you are putting out 1.5″ of water a day now with your three irrigation cycles. This still seems like a lot of water going down, but if you are seeing an improvement then I would keep it up.

Must be nice to not have the water restrictions we have here in Florida.

Also what type of sod did you purchase? Also in the next week if you can mow, it helps establish the lawn as it will cause the turf to grow horizontally and not just vertically. But do this with cation. Especially if you are using a riding mower (more weight).

Hope your sod takes, and the yellowing goes away.

Couple of tips you might already know, but good to toss out there if you dont know them.

Avoid mowing in the same pattern every time as it will cause tire marks in the sod, and can cause dye back in those areas.

If you are mowing at 3″ or what ever height you are mowing at do not let the grass reach higher than 1 to 2″ greater than that height. If you allow for your grass to get to 6″ or greater when you mow back to 3″ you could see scalping and will cause additional stress to your turf.

If you have cool season grass you can lower you height of cut in the fall, but raise it in the summer.

Reverse that for warm season grass.

It is good how ever once or twice a year to scalp the grass to remove thatch, and grain (more of an issue on turf mowed a very low heights).

If you have any more questions feel free to ask. Best of luck to you with your turf.

TurfGuy

eadlman – posted 02 June 2009 07:37

first off, thank you so much for all your speedy replies, you have been a huge help.

I was using a single movable but then purchased these www.quicksnap.com heads which are wonderful but there is no overlapping. the center of the water collected 1/2 inch while the outside perimeter collected about 1/4inch (i see the spots on the outside. i used plastic cups, one in the center and 3 around the edges.

i feel i did see some improvment, especially in the backyard so I am gonna stick to this program for a few days.

How do I know when to pull it back to once a day?

I was told not to mow until the sod is 6-10inches long or 3 weeks.

I think i bought bluegrass fescue? that was all they sold in my area.

no water restrictions are def nice, though my bill will be very high

from your opinion, and from what i saw today, its safe to think this color will change back to pretty green?

Thanks for the mowing tips, I am def gonna start high and bring it down over a couple of weeks. I got a brand new mower on the way today

Turfguy_UF – posted 02 June 2009 16:59

Given you have already seen an improvement from the increase I would assume it would continue to get better.

As for cutting it back to once a day, I would suggest to do that once you do your first mowing. After your second or third mowing I would cut it back to 3-4 times a week. As long as your not getting really windy, dry days there is no need to water every day. Golf courses only water every day because they are under extreme pressures to be maintained at that level, and are highly stressed.

So I would do four at the most, two or three depending on rain.

Also Fertilize with slow release fertilizers. Quick release tends to give you a nice flush of green but then quickly drop off. They are more expensive but will give you a much better look over 2-3 months.

TurfGuy

(Are you sure its not Tall Fescue or Fine Fescue? Or Kentucky Bluegrass? I have never herd of Bluegrass Fescue, might be a cultivar or something.)

eadlman – posted 02 June 2009 18:05

how quick should I apply the slow release fert?

its def not kentucky, prob tall fescue. I bought is from http://www.delaliosod.com.

As far as mowing, you have great advice, you think its safe to mow after 14 days which would be this saturday? I was going to do it next saturday which would be a full 3 weeks…too long?

I totally see a difference with the increased watering and will keep it up at least till my first mow.

Turfguy_UF – posted 02 June 2009 19:23

Rates to apply the slow release fertilizer should be determined on what type of grass you have, and the look you are looking for. Going to your local Lowes, HomeDepot and reading over the fertilzer bags will give you a lot of information.

As for when you should apply the fertilizer I would wait till August or October. I am not from where you are but understand that cool season turf grows best in the Fall, and you do not want to push growth right now when it is going to get really hot soon and could damage the turf.

I would wait the three weeks to mow, and still do it cautiously. Go around first and give the sod a firm tug to make sure it has begun to establish itself. If you are satisfied with that then mow away.

Also do not irrigate before you mow. You actually want to mow after the dew has been burned off by the sun. Cool season grass is very susceptible to diseases. So mowing when the due has been removed should help prevent the spread of disease.

Goodluck, TurfGuy

[This message has been edited by Turfguy_UF (edited 02 June 2009).]

eadlman – posted 03 June 2009 18:33

thats great help – i will follow all your steps as well as speak with home depot and learn best fert to use.

on another note, and im so sorry to keep leaing on youwith questions, I noticed this evening i have a few mushrooms growing in one section, probably 6-8 of them…should I leave them or kill them or what?

Turfguy_UF – posted 03 June 2009 20:11

Are the mushrooms in a ring? And you can just remove them.

TurfGuy

eadlman – posted 04 June 2009 05:56

mostly, they arent a perfect circle and maybe one or two outside the “ring”

once i lower watering they should go away

Sweet Melissa – posted 11 June 2009 10:14

I can help you with all types of sod…from Bermuda, Fescue, TifBlair Centipede, Zeon, JaMur, Meyer, & El Toro Zoysia’s.

Straight from the farm to your home / job site.

Thanks!

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