I am so glad one of assosiates gave me this web address! I have recently had a new home built by Grand Homes. The sod that was laid in our front yard is turning gray in patchy areas.I was shocked when I saw that they had placed the sod over the ground that still looked like the crew hadn't cleaned up yet as best they could. The builder stated to us they had used a hearty winter grass that sould take well.....well....it hasn't.I seem to have the ugliest lawn on this new block and I am ashamed.Can it be saved?Watering does not seem to help niether did fertilizer. I need expert organic remedies for the sake of the grass, wildlife and the soil itself.
PLEASE ADVISE! I don't want to do battle with the home owner's assosiation anymore! (that's another story in itself) Please guide me and my family to a healthy beautiful lawn,Thank you!

A hearty winter grass? Go back to the landscaper and tell him it's summer (and has been since about April, and it will be until October) and you want your dead lawn replaced with a hearty summer grass.

I suspect a serious rat in shed. First of all, where would he get any winter grass this time of year? Secondly, if he finds some and cuts it out of the soil, it's going to die simply because the established roots have been cut off. Hearty summer grasses would survive transplanting because they are what? -summer grasses!

Winter grasses need to be seeded in October (in Texas). If they are seeded any other time of year, they will die in the summer heat due to heat stress being more than the roots can take.

Summer grasses are quite a bit different. Bermuda can be seeded starting on Memorial Day and continuing until about Labor Day. St Augustine must be sodded and can be sodded just about any day of the year keeping in mind that it will be dormant from about October through March.

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David Hall
Moderator
Dirt Doctor Lawns Forum

A word to the wise from someone who's been there...
Tell your builder to either use the sod vendor of your choice or just leave it off altogether and reduce the price of the home by a reasonable amount.

Unless it's a luxury neighborhood where no expense is spared, the builder usually puts in the cheapest grass from the cheapest vendor.

I wish my grass was dead when I moved in. I got here at the end of february and the grass was 18" tall and had canadian thistle all over, I kid you not. That means the builder nor the realtor cared enough to invest $30 in having someone mow when they new I would be coming in. I literally had to delay my getting settled so I could go get a lawn mower and mow before code enforcement whipped out the ticket book. It was definitely a sign of things to come. What buyer's remorse I have!

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September 24, 2004 : Preparing for the second deadly hurricane to hit this area this month! I can't take much more of this.

All I have to say is, if the grass is officailly dead it will need the dead stems and debris removed or nothing will take due to thick layer of thatch that will occur.

Depending on how long the sod has been sitting there, a dead square of new sod can be picked up without any trouble and removed. I would then after removing all the dead grass, remove the construction debris, and then top dress the soil with a fined screened compost. Then re-sod with a nice tolerable warm-season grass, this is Texas right.

The builder should under warranty incurr all the costs except compost, but that's in a perfect world.

Good Luck!

P.S. Who the hell wants to mow in the winter anyway?

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Everything in Moderation