Lawn Sodding Q&A with the Experts
Owner Ben Schneider, The Sod Installation Guy, and his team answer common questions about fixing a lawn in the People Ask: Lawn Sodding Q&A.
Q&A to Fix My Lawn
If you have questions on whether you can salvage your current lawn, let us know. We’ll do our best to send you a response quickly and also post it below, make a video or place it on our blog for future reference.
Questions & Answers from Peak Sodding
What’s the most common lawn problem you see?
The most common lawn problem I see is a lawn installed without thought given to the type of grass chosen or the method of installation. Let’s take an in-depth look at new construction lawns.
In the Raleigh area, new construction lawns tend to be Bermuda installed directly on heavily compacted, post-construction clay with little or no topsoil. The grade tends to be lumpy, and the soil contains inadequate nutrition for the new sod. The result is an uneven and anemic lawn. Bermuda should be mowed frequently (every 4-5 days) and kept very short (0.5-1.5″ tall). Keeping it this short can be a real challenge if the grade is not correct and the lawn is lumpy. If this describes your lawn, there is hope!
You can start from scratch and install a lawn properly, but that may not be in your budget. We often work with clients whose front yard was sodded by the builder’s landscaper, but the back yard was not sodded at all; so we sod the back yard, and the difference between the back and front is significant. You can help the front yard (or any improperly installed lawn) by aerating and then applying a thin layer of Level Mix (70% sand and 20% compost), followed by raking the lawn with a leveling rake, once a year until the grade improves. With warm-season grasses, this is best done in May or June. This process raises the low spots and adds nutrition to the soil. It is a heavy, laborious task, but it is more cost-effective than re-sodding.
When the lawn is installed, it is important to take sun conditions into consideration as well as proper installation methods. Fescue lawns installed in full sun are going to struggle with our hot summers. Bermuda lawns installed on the shady side of the house will thin out and die over time. The old adage of “The right plant in the right place” comes into play here. For more information on the light requirements of specific sod varieties, click here.
How do I know if I can repair my lawn versus installing new sod?
The key here is the extent of the damage. A small bare area in a lawn can often be patched or seeded. In a warm season lawn, you can simply add compost to the small spot to encourage the lawn to repair itself. But a larger area of damage, or a lawn that keeps struggling year after year, may require replacement – perhaps with a different, more durable, sod variety. If you are unsure, seek the advice of a sod expert. And make sure your lawn is receiving the direct sunlight needed to grow a lawn. Don’t keep doing the same thing expecting a different result.
How can I clear out weeds on my lawn?
Removing weeds can be broken into 2 categories: mechanical and chemical. Mechanical methods include hand-pulling and frequent mowing. Weeds can be hand-pulled if they are not spread all over a large area. In a warm-season lawn, frequent, short mowing can control weeds quite well – especially when maintained with a robotic mower. The weeds are kept short and rendered unable to produce seeds.
Chemical removal can be broken into 2 categories as well: Pre-emergence and post-emergence. Pre-emergence weed control is a chemical application timed to stop newly germinating seeds from surviving. Post-emergence weed control is the application of chemicals specific to the types of weeds and grass variety. ALWAYS read the chemical labels thoroughly before applying them to make sure you do not kill your lawn. This is critical advice.
Is there anything you can do to repair a bumpy lawn?
Repairing a bumpy lawn takes time and patience… and work! The best practice is to apply a thin layer of Level Mix (a sand and compost mix) once or twice during the growing season, then rake it out with a leveling rake. It will take time to see significant change, but the level mix will settle into the low spots and the grass will grow up through it and set new roots. It is important to do this slowly because if you dump too much level mix all at once you will smother the grass. It can take 2-3 years to see significant change, so be patient.
Is thatch good or bad?
Thatch is simply mown grass that is left behind. In and of itself it is good if you are mowing regularly because it decomposes and adds nutrition to the soil. But if you mow infrequently, thatch can get left behind in heavy clumps that can smother areas of the lawn. Over time, thatch can build up and smother new growth, so de-thatching (raking out the lawn with an iron rake) every 2-3 years can be helpful.
Can weeds be killed permanently?
If only life were that simple! A single weed plant can be killed permanently, BUT if it has gone to seed, or if the same variety of weed in the general area is allowed to go to seed, the weeds will try to return. Take the dandelion. If you dig up the plant before it has gone to seed, removing the whole tap root, that specific plant is dead. But if it had dispersed seed before being dug up, or if it had relatives in the area dispersing seed, you can expect to see dandelions again. The best cure is prevention.
1. Select a lawn like Zoysia that can choke out weeds.
2. Keep that lawn healthy!
3. Apply pre-emergent herbicides at the proper times of year.
4. Mow your lawn on its correct schedule and at its correct height to keep weeds from getting mature enough to produce seed.
5. Hand-pull weeds if possible.
6. Don’t expect perfection. Nature is imperfect, and weeds are survivors.
Are there ways to troubleshoot lawn damage or lawn disease?
Prevention is always the best way to avoid disease in ourselves and in our lawn. The healthier we are, the more resistant we are to disease and the same applies to our lawns. With fescue, a fungicide applied every 14-30 days (depending on the product) when temperatures are above 60 degrees can help prevent fungal disease. It can also treat disease, and early diagnosis is always beneficial. With warm-season grasses, a spring application of fungicide is helpful, but the more critical timing is early October, and again in early November to help prevent the disease from occurring during our wet winters. Heavy rains can dilute these applications, so try to avoid applying fungicide when heavy rain is predicted.
You can also apply preventative insecticides to your lawn, but timing is critical and pesticides should be applied very carefully, and only according to directions.
The best preventative is a healthy lawn. If your lawn receives proper care, water, light , and nutrition, it is more equipped to fight disease and pests naturally. I always take the Integrated Pest Management approach. Click here to learn more.
What do you recommend for bald spots in your lawn where no grass is growing?
First, you need to determine why the grass is not growing in that spot. Is it too shady? Is it dog urine? Chemical spill? A wear pattern from traffic? Disease? Is something just below the surface like a large root or piece of debris that is preventing the sod from rooting there? Make sure you know why the sod is not growing in that spot before proceeding.
Patching the area can be relatively easy.
1. Loosen the soil 2-3″ deep.
2. Remove any obstacles in the area.
3. Amend the soil with compost.
4. Cut a piece of sod and lay the patch into the prepared area.
5. Water diligently 2-3 times a day for 2 -3 weeks until the patch has rooted well.
Make sure you are laying the grass in the proper season for the grass you have. Fescue should be patched in cool weather. Warm-season grasses should be patched when it is actively growing (May through September).
Is there anything you’d recommend to fix a thin lawn?
If your lawn is thinning, you must first determine why it is thinning. Here are some possible scenarios:
1. If the lawn is thinning out in the shadier areas, it may not be getting enough sun to survive. All grasses need sunlight to do the photosynthesis they need to live. If shade is the issue, you must either do what you can to get more sun into the area or increase the mulched areas and stop trying to grow grass in too much shade.
2. If your Bermuda grass is getting enough sun but it is thinning out, you are probably cutting it too infrequently. Bermuda grows very quickly and needs to be mowed every 4-5 days at no taller than 1.5″ (shorter is better). If you are mowing less frequently, the grass gets tall, shades out its own root system, and gets thin and scraggly with brown lower stalks. All warm-season grasses must be mowed quite a bit shorter than Fescue. This is crucial to their success!
3. Grass can thin out if they are not receiving adequate water or nutrition too. Make sure you supplement water in drought periods and follow the specific care instructions for the sod variety you have.
Why is my lawn turning yellow?
Yellowing grass can be due to several factors including dog urine, chemical damage, drought conditions, disease, insects, or scalping. As always, it is important to determine the cause before trying to remedy the situation. Dog urine damage is usually oval or circular. Chemical damage has a spray or drip pattern. Drought damage will be across the whole lawn in the sunnier areas. Diseases have patterns as well, including “fairy rings”, amoeba-like shapes, or patchy blobs. Insect damage patterns can include a line of dead lawn moving forward (fall armyworms), or small round dead areas (grubs). Scalping will have a circular pattern the size of the mower blade or will occur on higher lumps or ridges in the lawn. It is easy to jump to conclusions about lawn damage, so if you are unsure you can send a photo of the damaged area to a lawn expert for confirmation.
I recently fertilized my lawn and now I have zebra-looking stripes on my lawn. What should I do?
Stripes after fertilization usually indicates imprecise application with a drop spreader. You will achieve much better coverage with a broadcast or rotary spreader.
What should I do if the grass in my yard is not growing?
If your grass is not growing, it is time to troubleshoot. Grass is a living thing and has basic but critical needs. Grass needs adequate sunlight, adequate water, nutritious soil that is not heavily compacted, and warm temperatures to grow. If your grass is not growing, one or more of these critical needs is not being met. Determine what is missing and take the necessary steps to rectify the situation.
Is there a best time of day to water?
Yes! Watering early in the morning is best. The temperatures are cooler than mid-day, and the water is more likely to be absorbed into the soil and roots before the hot temperatures can cause evaporation. The leaves have time to be dried by the sun and wind before nighttime. Watering at night can lead to fungal problems.