bad start with new sod (went completely brown)

[Dan Brenner]

We live in Ontario, Canada (Toronto area). We moved into a new house (new construction) and recently in June the sod was laid out in front of the house, between the house and the sidewalk. This has happened on a Saturday morning. Unfortunately, due to some family problems I wasn't able to get to water it until Tuesday evening. However, during the night of Monday-Tuesday there has been a thunderstorm with heavy pouring rain. Within one day after the storm, the sod has completely changed its colour into light brown... It's been 2 days now after the storm and although I water it an hour in the morning and and hour in the evening, there has not been a change in colour. At this point I wonder if I should water it even more or maybe I'm wasting my time and it will not recover being dead already. I lifted a small patch to look underneath and it is moist but there may be pockets of air. I would appreciate any advice you may have.

Regards, Danny

[David J Bockman]

Dan,

Stupid question, but bear with me. is the sod brown as in the grass stems are browing out, or are they brown from the underlying soil percolating up after the deluge?

Just fyi, for future ref, newly laid sod must be watered thoroughly, to the point of being almost sodden, for the first few weeks...

Dave

[Square Foot Gardening]

Hey, Dan, did they put it right side up? lol

I would suspect that maybe it was not prepared enough prior to laying the sod, and the sod they used may not have been freshly cut. As David mentioned, they need water. I would contact the contractor that did the work and ask them what happened, and how they prepared the ground for it. If he has had trouble with that particular sod before, it may be good for him to know about it. He may get the sod grower to replace it.

It would not seem like the thunderstorm would have an effect on it, so it is more likely because it had not been watered enough prior to that. It may be too soon to fertilize it to try to green it up, so just keep watering it until you get a good soaking down to the roots. If you are watering an hour at low pressure, it is not soaking into it. I would recommend doing it with a hose instead of a sprinkler. The pockets of air should not be a problem at this point, if you keep it wet.

btw, quit picking it up, ur supposed to play *on top* of it, not *under* it lol

GC Certified Square Foot Gardening Instructor

to be a freelance web designer

[Pen]

First of all is it really all brown? If you pulled up a stalk and peeled back the brown would you find some green blades hidden inside? If there is a little green then it might still survive but look ratty for a couple of years.

If it really is all dead, you have a few options. How do your neighbours' look? If everyone's in the same boat because of the heat wave, you guys can get together and let the builders know you all need to be re-sodded.

If you're the only one, you might have to rip up the dead sod and redo it yourself. Rolls of sod's not very expensive, just a lot of work. It's a perfect opportunity to plan your walkway and garden, then you only need to sod a small portion of your yard. You can also use this opportunity to plant an eco-lawn:

visited these folks last week, they're moving to Orillia next year so you might want to check them out while you can. I hope it works out. :)