WAIT A MINUTE. Okay y'all, if you think you have an addition question that will help you improve your lawn PLEASE start a new topic if you have ANY question related to new sod. dreabird I would love to interact with you on your issue, but I'm holding back. Here's why... jberger went the wrong direction and while he did get good advice, it did not go far enough or get the normal attention his question deserved simply because this was not his topic. I am not the forum police or even the moderator. I happen to be a moderator on other lawn forums, and have had to deal with this issue. I am just trying to get the best information out to the people who need it. Tacking questions on to other people's topics is not the best way to do that. J GIL, good advice, but you're only encouraging them. This topic should have died 5 years ago.

I have a very similar situation to the person who posted the pics. I bought a house that had laid sod six months prior and it was on its way out by the time I had moved in. For a quick fix I resodded the same area with Marathon sod myself. Prior to sodding I did all the necessary preparations: -remove old sod and applied roundup -rototilled existing soil -applied soil amendment and top soil to level and prepare soil for new sod -upon application the new sod rolled properly and got a good soaking -new sod was watered twice a day for the first two weeks (am waterings only) - the grass was not mowed until the end of the second week It's been about three weeks now and the grass just doesn't look healthy. The sod has brownish patches in which the grass appears to be drying out however the sod feels moist. Other areas of the grass are constantly flat and appear blueish-gray. I have a small back yard (30' by 12') and it has heavy shade from large trees. Could this be a fungus? I have pets so I'd lean towards an organic solution for this. Any recommendations?

If you could get your camera about 3 inches away from the grass instead of 30,000 feet, I could likely confirm a fungal disease. The best pictures of grass are taken in the shade or on a cloudy day to minimize contrast caused by the sun. If you get close you'll see tan spots surrounded by dark brown spots. That's the disease. I'm guessing you live in Texas and have received more than your average share of rain in the past few weeks. If it is a fungal disease it will get better about 3 weeks after an application of ordinary corn meal at the rate of 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet. You can get corn meal in 50-pound bags at your local feed store. If you cannot get it there look for a grocery store catering to the Hispanic community. Ask for (or find it yourself) corn flour. Don't get the premix used for making tortillas. It should come in 25 pound bags. I scatter it by hand. Flour tends to blow away, so you might want to use a drop spreader to apply it. And it tends to clog a drop spreader which is why I apply by hand. If it is a fungal disease and you live where the temps are in the mid to high 80s already, don't use anything but corn meal. If you live where it's cooler, you could use a chemical fungicide. I've never needed one, so I can't give you any hints. Corn meal has worked for my St Aug for the past 13 years. If you want to reapply after 3 weeks it won't hurt a thing. In fact if you want to reapply the next day it won't hurt anything either. This weekend is an excellent one, timingwise, to apply fertilizer anyway. Corn meal is a weak organic fertilizer. If you only use it on the affected spots, you'll have dark green grass there in a month. Corn meal works by attracting a predatory fungus as part of the decomposition. That fungus consumes the disease fungus and your grass will recover. If your lawn is in full sun, you might want to throw a couple pieces of Floratam St Aug sod down. It's a very fast growing variety that can actually outrun this particular disease. I see the disease in my Floratam, but it never seems to die out like yours is. I still hit it with corn meal because the spots are ugly.

Yeah, it got scalped for sure but if it's rooting it'll be OK. Only cut the top 1/3 of the blade each mow in the future. I tell everybody to use fish fertilizer for a quick boost, it's like caffeine for the grass. Rooting hormone from the local nursery is also great. Spray the brown areas especially & hopefully a bluegrass expert will post up about ongoing maintenance and fertilizer needs. Young sod is all about the roots for the first year, so stay organic whenever possible & build the soil, your grass will be thank you for years to come.