Question
Hi I have just laid 600 rolls of new Kentucky Although I live in Belle River Ontario Canada I had to get it from Niagara Region in mid summer) I know not to lay sod in the extreme heat of summer but only chance I had to get it done while off for 5 weeks. First I tilled the hard clay and removed all loose stones/big chunks of clay and put down 50 yards of compost and leveled properly for drainage as best as possible. Rolled the ground then layed the sod and watered faithfully and properly. I noticed 1 skid (85 rolls had a fungus starting) But I pretty much had to replace those since the whole strips died. Now that everything was growing great I have been getting Dead areas and thatchy areas. I tried to de-thatch by hand these areas but still died off. So I assume I will have to cut these sections out and replace with new sod in the spring. As well as where our female dog pee's. I water these areas right away but no one in the house does so there are dead spots that I had no clue of...hmmm...lol. So the question is should I topsoil the dead areas before winter and seed or should I just try and keep de thatching the area by hand (since there are a lot of little spots as well as some decent sized areas and use a winter care fertilizer for now until I cut these areas out in the spring for new sod pieces? Also now I am getting White Mushrooms with a 3 year old playing outside as well as all the neighborhood kids since I just built this house and moved in in Jan 08 and have built also a huge PLAY Land area for all the kids to enjoy and make friends with my little guy quickly since so many young ones in this area I built in...that was a huge decision besides the Bigger property. I just want the grass to be lush and great looking as well as safe for the many kids we acquired to play here on a constant basis...Sorry about the long question. Many Thanks, Sean in Belle River (Windsor) Canada

Answer
Hi Sean,

I actually used to live in Windsor when I was in first grade.  Then we moved across the river to the Detroit suburbs. Small world huh?  I like to imagine that Shania Twain must have babysat me when she was a young teen.  Who knows?

If I understand correctly, you laid compost on top of clay soil and sodded on top of that compost layer.  Is that correct?  If so, your problems have really just begun.

Compost is 100% organic matter.  Good topsoil should be around 10 - 15% organic matter.  Couple that with the fact that you've now created a significant layering issue.  Whenever you have a sharp contrast in layers of soil, drainage becomes a big problem.  Compost on top of clay is about as severe a layer contrast as I can think of.

The mushrooms are a by product of the decaying compost.  There's no way to prevent it, and I imagine it'll be a significant problem for the foreseeable future.  I suspect all your other issues are also side effects of trying to grow in pure organic matter.

How to fix it?  1 option is to pull up the existing sod and start over.  This time make sure to incorporate the compost into the soil with a rototillier.  Then lay the sod back on top.  If you don't want to try this, then I'd say that you need to try to amend the soil as quickly as is humanly possible by thoroughly core aerating and spreading a good inch of soil back on top of the sod.  Then take a push broom and brush the soil down into the cores and in between the grass blades.  You will have to do this at LEAST 3 times over the next few years to gradually change that compost layer to a topsoil/compost mix.  It'll work, but your issues will continue until you have enough topsoil mixed down into the root zone.

Good luck Sean.  Let me know if I misunderstood your question, but your problems make sense given the compost layer.

Sincerely,
C.J. Brown
www.TheLawnCoach.com