Ok. I'll shorten the time and increase the intervals. Maybe that will help out.

Actually that doesn't look horrible. It might be on the way to horrible, but time will tell. Did the grass sit on the pallet longer than a day? In other words, was it delivered and installed all at one time?

The idea for watering new sod is to keep the roots moist and just moisten the soil underneath so the roots want to go there. It should not be squishy-soggy nor should it be dry-hard.

I'm not sure it's going to do well in the shade. Please keep us informed about that. Also where are you in West Texas? That area's bigger than most of the states.

How did you prepare the soil for the sod?

You might want to consider a Logan Labs soil test.

I'm in El Paso and I purchased it from Gardner Turfgrass in Santa Teresa, NM. I installed it the same day it was delivered but I did have an issue with one of the sprinkler heads and I think that area might have dried out a little.

I felt my soil prep was good. Spent a couple weeks getting it ready. I tilled it up and mixed in about in inch of compost I purchased from Lowe's. Before laying it down I sprinkled a thin layer of peat moss.

I sent an e-mail to the company and the VP got back to me soon after. He told me to check under the sod and see if roots are still forming and I did see that which is a good sign. I was also told to check the base of the grass blades and they are also showing a little green so there is still some hope.

I'm getting conflicting information is seems from their website and the instruction sheet I was given.

HERE Here it says "keep grass squishy wet" for the first 10-14 days.

But the instruction sheet I was given and it says to only water TWICE a day.

And to add. It seems to be doing really well in the shaded areas. Hopefully I can see some improvement in a couple weeks and will update with some pictures.

Well that certainly is West Texas. I lived in Plainview north of Lubbock for awhile and they referred to their location as West Texas. Okay...

Despite what the promotional material says, I believe your grass is better adapted to the cooler temps and rich soil of the Panhandle than it is to the heat and rubble soil of El Paso. It will be interesting to see how much water it takes to keep it alive. As for getting it established, squishy seems like an awful lot of moisture.

This seems to be the year of the rototiller. Where did you get that advice? Generally rototilling is not a good idea for grass. As the fluffed up soil forms a new structure, it will settle unevenly leaving you with a bumpy surface. Wait a full three years before you level it. It takes that long to form a structure. The tilled in compost adds a complexity factor to the way it ultimately will settle. That compost will "evaporate" completely leaving zero residual volume. Same for the peat moss. What I would have done to prep it would have been to ensure the drainage was good by scraping off surface soil, filling low spots, and then putting down the sod.

I'm truly anxious to see how this goes. I can't remember anyone from Texas with Reveille turf writing in, so that must mean they don't have any problems with it.

Well a year later and it looks unsavable.

I can't tell if some of what is growing now is just crabgrass now.

Here is a photo of some of the "good" grass.

Through the winter I watered sparingly about every 4 weeks or so. I know the shade from the tree inhibited a lot of the growth on the far side but I'm at a loss of what to do now. I thought about calling a professional service. TruGreen operates around here but they want to charge over $600 for just 9 visits and I'm not even sure what they can do can save it. Would overseeding be a good idea? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Yeah, this lawn has succumbed to too much shade. Reveille is a cross between KBG and Texas BG. Both require full sun all day long. Remember back when you replied that it seemed to be doing better in the shade? ...now? ...not so much.

A friend of mine in Phoenix had too much shade for his bermuda and, after 2 years of me nagging him, changed to St Augustine. He's starting his second year and it looks very good. He has a yard much like yours only the grass goes all the way to the block walls.

I'm a very patient person. What I would do with your yard is to buy a few pieces of St Augustine and put them down in your shadiest locations to get it established. That gives the St Aug a soft environment until it takes root. It will take over from there and give you a nice lawn. St Aug will spread about 10-15 feet per year. It spreads fastest when temps are in the 70s, so for you that is most of the fall, winter, and spring. With spreading action like that you only need a few pieces rather than covering the entire yard at once.

St Aug is no more a water hog than any other grass. It needs deep and infrequent watering like all grass does.

Do you have a dog? It looks like you have dog spots. If you put a heaping single handful of table sugar on those spots they should clear up.

I was hoping you would reply because of your interest last year. My naivety got the best of me about the shady areas. I'm definitely not a green thumb and am an amateur when it comes to grass but I'm learning...slowly.

I found an arborist who does tree trimming around here. He is going to help me clean up as much of the tree as possible allowing more sunlight through without killing the tree.

Yes I do have a dog. I've tried my best to keep an eye on him when he has to go but it has been a difficult task. You say sugar? I will give that a shot. Will it interfere with the fertilizer i put down? I'm using Milorganite.

Do you think i would have any issues mixing a warm season grass with a cool season grass? I mean as far as fertilizing and maintenance times go? I'm thinking of renting a core aerator. Should i wait until the fall to aerate and overseed?