Why is our sod dying suddenly?

mhart – posted 05 August 2005 19:01

My husband and I just built a new house and about six weeks ago had the yard sodded. We have watered the grass plenty, about 2 hours per day with the sprinkler and only recently cut back due to the large amounts of rain we have been getting. Our sod seemed to be doing really well until recently. It was growing like crazy, was a deep dark green, and it had even been cut twice. We went away for three days and came home to some large brown spots in our lawn. Within two days of us being home our lawn has worsened extremely. We are watering and watering but our whole lawn is turning light brown with dryed, brittle grass. What is going on? Do you have any suggestions?Michele HartLafayette, Indiana

einstein301 – posted 12 August 2005 04:37

I hope somebody seconds this, but you have probably over watered and created a superb environment 4 fungus. You did not say what kind of sod it was, but I assume some type of cool season grass. Cool seaon grasses go dormant during the hot summer months due to photosynthesis shut down above 80 degrees I believe. So it may be doing mother natures work. If it is cool season I believe you should be watering 1 inch every 5 days(in the early morning).If I thought it was a fungus I would spread some cracked corn on it. The bacteria in corn eat other bacteria.I hope a turf master will confirm or deny my multiple hypothis’.Kevin

QWERTY – posted 18 August 2005 12:42

whoa…. 2 hours a day of watering for that long time? That is way too much. You’ve grown harmful fungus growth as a result. Try spreading 20 lbs of corn meal per 1000 sqft and spray potassium bicarbonate solution on affected area. After that, spread compost about 1/3 of an inch over the affected area. Stay away from from chemical stuff. They will make it worse. Practice organic yard care. It will work out better in the long run.