Thank you for the answer!

The soil is rather sandy. Also, a couple of years ago, the yard has been evened out with peat moss, which doesn't retain water well at all. I think this is exactly my problem, the soil doesn't retain water.

For the last couple of years, I've been overseeding with KBG, sometimes with up to 5% perennial ryegrass, which is my grass of choice and I don't think the problem has anything to do with the variety.

I water deeply and infrequently, which brings beautiful results in spring and autumn, but doesn't work at all during summer. Last summer, I tried watering a couple of times daily out of anger, just to see what happens, and it was the only way I managed to keep the lawn green-ish.

I do have access to a testing laboratory, but I'd need to send in the samples and probably wait at least 2-3 weeks for the results.

I wish I could replicate that small patch over the entire lawn, but then again, that patch was covered with ~10 inches of new topsoil/compost :/ That would require me to get rid of the current topsoil :/

Looks to me like your mower blades are set too low. For cool season grasses, mower blades should be set high. Longer grass blades = longer grass roots.

Concur with MG. I have some experience with sandy soil and it does not work well for a lawn. I am in Michigan but I let it go dormant, no attempt to water. Given the soil, perhaps you could consider re-seeding with varieties which are as deep rooted as possible, and also consider burying dead wood as an experiment (hugelkultur). It works wonders for fertility and water retention, and the grass short roots will benefit from touching the top of lumps of organic matter.

You have a cool season lawn - it wants to go dormant in summer!! What may look burnt is not...that is just its dormant appearance.

Have you ever aerated the lawn? The soil under a lawn rapidly becomes compacted - from rainfall, from irrigation, from foot traffic and from pushing lawn equipment over it. And a compacted soil will resist water penetration. When you water, it just runs off rather than soaking in deeply. That's why the sloped areas appear browner/drier than the flat areas. A compacted soil also resists or impedes the penetration of the lawn's roots deeply into the soil profile - deeper roots = increased drought tolerance and less of a need for frequent summer watering. I'd suggest a core aeration at least every other year.

The next question is how do you water? How often? And for how long at each watering?

Short answer is you do NOT need to replace any soil....you just need to rethink how you are caring for the current lawn and its soil bed.Get back to us with more details.

I moved into a new house (older house in new location for us) about 15 years ago where the yard had been recently landscaped including a new sod lawn. The lawn, a tall fescue, stayed very lush for the first 6-8 years and then gradually became less lush. I started to use a core aerator, spread a thin layer of compost, and overseed every fall. That helped a little but the lawn never went back to the way it was the first 5 years. I also noticed that the elevation of the lawn has fallen by about 3-6" over the years.

What I think happened is that the sod was planted over a thick layer of commercial topsoil and the organic matter in that soil has been gradually depleted over the years, which is why the lawn has sunk. The soil with less organic matter is not as good for the grass to root into - it even feels less cushy and more compacted when I walk on it. It's the same for garden soil - if you don't replenish the organic matter in a raised bed, it gradually becomes less and less fertile. When you mow a lawn every week, you're removing organic matter from the "bed".

I'm planning to dig out the top 3-4" of sod next fall (compost it separately), add 6-8" of fresh commercial top soil, and plant new sod. Next fall.

If you have trees,removing 8" of soil will harm them. I would have soil tested then work with the existing soil. If test indicate's lack of organic matter,till in compost this fall before planting. If you were in Texas,I'd advise against cool season grass. Does cool season grasses do well in other yards in your neighborhood?

Thank you for all the answers.

mad_gallica, I am setting my mower at its highest setting (around 3 inches). Also, I am sharpening the blade before each mowing. I mulch mow up to twice a week, trying not to shorten the blades by more than 1/3rd of their length.

glib, you may be right. Would you recommend overseeding with tall fescue? It’s supposed to have a deep root system as far as I know. Hugelkultur sounds like tons of work, but I will try it if nothing else works.

gardengal48, I haven’t aerated the lawn for a long time. Now that I think about it, you may be right. There are some spots where the soil is very compacted and these are the exact spots where the lawn is thin and goes dormant during summer:

But there are also other spots, where the grass definitely dies off. Those are the spots where the yard had been levelled with peat moss, and it’s very soft, delicate and crumbly. If I tried to core aerate those spots, they would look like I ran a rototiller through them:

I water once a week during summer (at 5 am, for about 30 minutes, which delivers 1 inch of water). I water less in spring and fall.

rickd59, I’m worried that this is what happened to my lawn too, despite topdressing with compost and using organic fertilizers. I will try to keep this thread updated so you can see my progress (or the lack of it).

klem1, I do have a large pine tree and two shrubs. Removing a lot of soil would definitely harm them. And you’re right, I need to have my soil tested. My neighbors aren’t obsessed about their lawns so they look very average, but they don’t look as burnt out as mine. Warm season grass seeds aren’t even sold here. We have a similar climate to Wisconsin.

the fact is that all lawns are unstable ecosystems. it is just a monoculture with shallow roots and over time the biology declines. Concur that trees make it worse. many years ago the city had to come to my front yard to dig up some pipes (this is when i had the sandy soil). They dug down to 9 ft, and it was bone dry throughout, thanks to the trees. Not much of a lawn in the front.

Nowadays I have planted white clover and rye in fall, which are not deep rooted but at least get to medium depth. The rye becomes too tall before mowing but these two together have effectively improved my lawn. The clover is perennial but the rye disappears completely with mowing.

Someone who does not have a black walnut may consider many other species that die when mowing or during the winter, including daikon and buckwheat, which add fertility and disappear into nothing when they die. They inject organic matter in the soil without going to the extent of digging trenches and burying wood. In retrospect I should perhaps have chosen triticale instead of rye because it grows a lot more before winter, and also deeper rooted varieties of clover. If you want a good looking lawn you have to accept periods of imperfectly looking lawn.

My suggestion is to look at parts of the lawn that are particularly problematic - from the photos it looks like edges near the paving and steps - and consider putting other plants in those places. I know that's not a suggestion for 'how to fix my lawn', but perhaps worth considering. You can amend the soil in those areas while you're at it and perhaps down the road it will be better for lawn in future.

Not that I'm great at lawns, but I've found many yard areas have areas where grass just doesn't grow as well (for various reasons - soil, other plants nearby, different light, whatever). You can spend years fighting it (sometimes with continued lack of success) or experiment with other plants that may do better in those spots.

None of this is really in disagreement with other suggestions above for the 'main lawn', you can do those too. Other successful plants in the most noticeable spots will make the seasonal variation less noticeable.

Some soil tests may be of some help. What is the soils pH? How much organic matter is in that soil? How well dos that soil drain? How well does that soil retain moisture? What does the soil smell like? What kind of life lives in that soil? In addition to the soil test Toxcrusader suggested, one that may be difficult to have done in Poland I I did a Google search and got little information of value), perhaps these simple soil tests may be of some help.

1.Testing for organic
matter. Put about 1 cup soil (enough to fill the jar to 4 inches) in a
clear 1-quart jar, with a tight fitting lid. Fill that jar with water and
replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it stand for 24
hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight.
For example, a good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the
bottom. about 1 1) Soil test for organic material. From that soil sample put
enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level
inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above that, and about
1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top.

2) Drainage. Dig a hole 1-foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that
with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and
time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your
soil drains’ too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage
down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of
organic matter to speed it up.

3) Tilth. Take a handful
of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is
released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a
finger that clump should fall apart.

4) Smell. What does your
soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant
odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria
will be and the nicer your soil will smell, to a point. Too much organic matter
can be bad as well.

5) Life. How many
earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5,
according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that
is not healthy.

I agree with armoured. In my opinion the golf course lawn is boring. There are so many ways to fix an area where grass will not grow such as ground covers, mulched beds, bushes, etc.

Because of the type of lawn I have, I find that mulching the bad area with pine straw or leaves and planting something like azaleas, Spirea, etc, removes the bad area and turns it in to a strong addition to the yard.

The other day I saw a very beautiful area of several hundred feet on a slope planted with Lantana. The whole slope was robed with pink blanket when we saw it.

Right now we have a beautiful cherry tree in full bloom surrounded by many azaleas, Earlier we had daffodils, later we will have roses, and crepe myrtle in bloom.

Hey, bro, I’m in Vancouver.

I wonder if there’s a problem with the subsoil. What you might need to do is dig down and inspect the soil in various places in the lawn. I’ve seen construction crews bury concrete waste in the soil rather than haul it off.

Short answer; yes, think about replacing the topsoil and the subsoil.