Sit down because I'm jumping right into some science. This is for your husband to help understand why the bridge idea is not going to help you. Normal soil has an open pore structure that allows air and water to pass through it. Inside this structure lives 10s of thousands of species of beneficial microbes which thrive on the open pore structure. These microbes are Mother Nature's invention. As it turns out the species of microbes living in swampy land are different from those living in dryish land (lawns). When you allow standing water to stand for several days, that cuts off the air flow to the beneficial microbes and their populations begin to decrease. If this happens enough, normal grass will thin out and stop growing. They will be replaced by swamp grasses like nutgrass and some others. So it is important to keep the water from pooling on your lawn. Back to the issue... If your community has an ordinance that says homeowners must drain all water from their own property and not allow it to cross over onto a neighbor's land, then all you should have to do is call your city code compliance officers and make them deal with it. If you live in the savage west, then you might have to do it yourself. Talk to your neighbors and ask them to berm up their land at the fence to keep the water on their side. Since they already dug the ditch, they are unlikely to bend to your wishes. So when that doesn't work, berm up your side of the fence and push their water back onto their property (see how they like having standing pools of water!!). Six inches of berm would normally be plenty. Planting a lawn in the spring is not the best idea, but if you really have to you have to. If you can afford sod, then that should be better, but if you were planning to seed, I would not spend a lot on seed for a spring installation. What will happen is all that new grass will find itself competing with crabgrass which also sprouts in the spring. Your grass seed will be less hardy than the crabgrass and will thin out in the summer heat. It is not uncommon to have a full crabgrass lawn by July. It is much better to seed new grass in the fall because crabgrass seed is not sprouting then. It also gives the new grass all winter and spring to develop heat tolerant roots. Now a word on forum etiquette. This is not your thread. The original poster had a problem with soil structure. Your problem is neighborhood drainage. You should have opened a new topic so people who want to help you don't have to read through someone else's problem from last year - which is really not your problem. I also suspect you will need some advice on planting your lawn (spring? or fall - either one). Now is the time to ask, so post a new topic! When you ask about planting a new lawn, please mention specifically where you live. The zone system is not good for helping with lawns, so give a town or zip code. And if you want more help on the neighborhood drainage issue, I would still post a new topic with your new questions. This forum seems to have a lot of opinions about neighbors '-)

Thanks to all of you for the input. I'm loving getting all these opinions and helpful info. Okay, I wouldn't say "greasy" but more matted together. It has now had 2 relapses which coincide with the weather (hot/humid)....and now the cotton stuff seems rampant in the a.m. Also the activity seems to be in the denser areas of grass (it was seeded VERY tightly). I did a huge 2 hour research of this site and learned a lot! THANKS!!!! I think cornmeal will be great in general, but I'm worried about the 2-3 week startup time before the beneficial T. fungi develop. Does anyone know if baking soda (the 3 oz/gallon) works immediately? I'd be willing to that route--I even bought a sprayer today. Perhaps then I could use the cornmeal---say 2-3 weeks post-baking soda? Also should I apply the baking soda in the early hours or in the evening? How long before application should it be mixed? So guys...HELP ME...what should I do? Go the chemical fungicidal route (which my heart is telling me NO because of my KIDS and also that it is not even 100% effective) OR I could wait it out with the cornmeal (all the while watching these cotton balls on my yard) OR I could try the bs route...which hopefully isn't bs!! What would you do if it were your lawn that you had slaved-over and nurtured from seedling to grass plant for the last 6 weeks??? And would baking soda hurt such a young grass? And would 3 oz be approx 3/4 cup per 1 gallon water?? THANKS in advance! You all are great. I wouldn't be as obsessed about this if I hadn't invested so much emotional energy in growing this grass---not to mention the monetary investment too....Sigh.... Kelly

I have used the Scott's Starter Fertilizer that comes as a hose attachment bottle and it works very well. I covered the new seed with burlap and was amazed at how quickly it came up. The instructions say to use it after the seed sprouts, but I found using it right after seeding works well. Getting back to the problem, I have a fungus problem every year!!! I treat in late May and when the grass gets stressed by July sun and heat, I get small and large areas that are affected. I then have to wait until September and hope loosening the soil and seeding takes before the colder weather hits. I have been putting up with this for a good 40 years and REALLY need some help.

Hi, Thank you everyone very much! To answer your questions: - Location: Melbourne, Australia - Sun: this area gets a good half a day of direct sunlight - Water/Drainage: This photo as I mentioned, was taken immediately after it rained, so it looks very wet. It is generally well protected from the rain by the leaves. Yes the rocks and sand and coal (i think perlite is another name) is ⅔ of the pot from the bottom. There are 4 big holes in the bottom of the pot and it drains really well. The plants were growing like crazy in this pot for over a year. And I replanted them 3-4 month ago, adding those rocks and sand. So the drainage issue is unlikely. The roots looked healthy. I could put some more rocks on top to protect it from the rain even more. -Plant type: don't know the name, it certainly looks just like K. luciae pictured above in Crenda's comment. There is a different succulent on the side. The very tall fast growing one. The leaves start to develop these black spots or dried edges and then bubble almost in an acid burn looking manner and die off. Should I trim those effected leaves?