what to do after sod death?

lollygoa – posted 11 September 2005 13:33

We live in Queens, NY with a 15’x20′ “little patch-of-city-dirt-landfill” backyard. Prepared the soil by removing rocks, glass, etc. Laid sod in april, watered it faithfully every night for the 1st month, gave it a 1/3 haircut in may, and it was green and lush until the beginning of july when the mulberry tree leafed out. In fact, it grew so much we had to give it weekly trims. During july’s heat wave we hung a net below the mulberry tree to catch all its fruit. We figured that thru a combo of fungus/soil compaction, the shade thrown by a mulberry tree net, and a bonaza of caterpillars that just about anything that could go wrong did go wrong. The big Q: what to do now?Let it be until next year? Re-sod or re-seed this year? Do we pull up the dead sod and start from scratch? Do we seed/sod over the dead sod? Rototill the dead sod into the the dirt for the organic benefit and seed/sod on top of that?

cohiba – posted 12 September 2005 11:51

Sorry to hear your tale of woe. The best time to start a new lawn in the northeast in now. I would skim up the dead sod rake the top few inches and test the soil. After testing, see if your soil is capable of growing grass. You have two of the best soil labs around, Cornell and Rutgers,that can help with soil samples. After the results come back, treat what is wrong with the soil, seed and keep moist, not wet. If your lawn is fully shaded try fine fescue. If the mulberry is a problem then cut it back or down. Use a good starter fertilizer and watch it grow.

Tilling brings weed seeds to the surface and will cause problems next year. If you soil is OK don’t till.

Good Luck………………