Question
LIG;Two summers ago had sod installed (bluegrass)with topsoil.First summer looked great,first winter,green faded.Second summer grass turn a little green,then turn brown?Have springer system & use.Lawn looks bad.Live on Staten Island.What can I do during the fall to help this ugly lawn.On Staten Island a lot of people that cut grass are only grass cutters,an not gardners.I would hate to rip up old sod & start new.Is there a fall seed that you like that I could put down?Could this be a fungus?If so,how would I attack it?From one islander to another HELP. Thanking You In Advance BOB  

Answer
A common problem, my Staten Island friend.  I expect the worst when I see the word TOPSOIL.  Like I've said before, there's no regulation on what you can call topsoil; it can be anything the cat dragged in and more.  Although it sounds like you cut no corners when it came to your Lawn, unfortunately the Topsoil was a sign of things to come.  First rate Grass requires First rate Soil.  That's Soil with things living in it -- Bacteria, Nematodes, Protozoa, Fungi, Earthworms and all their wriggly friends.  Because that's Soil that's alive.  Landscapers aren't Botanists.  When they see something living down there in the Grass, they figure odds are it should be dead, so they kill it.  To them, and to most of America thanks to the Scotts Companies, Grass should be growing in pure Dirt.  That's Dirt that's DEAD.  Moon dust.  Dirt is a mere growing medium for the Fertilizers they are selling.  It works.  But my way works better.

Since time is of the essence now on Staten Island, let's fast forward to your Grass and figure out what you can do TOMORROW so you ahve a nice Lawn next Spring.  Then, in the Spring, you can begin a new system that will get your Grass looking better every year.  Your landscaper won't know what hit him.

Right now, you have to OVERSEED.  You have FULL SUN ALL DAY, Bob?  Get onto the internet and order a pretty state of the art Bluegrass from SEEDLAND.COM.  Part of the day?  Order the SUPERNOVA Bluegrass (if there's any left).  There are other Seed Sellers out there, and they are good too, but I order my Seed from Seedland and they so far have been very satisfactory.  If you like someone else, go for it.  Get it delivered asap and next weekend get it onto your Soil.

How to Overseed:  While you're waiting for delivery, SCALP your Lawn.  Mow it down to 1 inch.  You may need a Rotary mower to do this.  Collect the clippings and rake free of debris and falling leaves.

Run down to Home Depot or Lowes and pick up some Aged Manure and/or Humus.  NOT Topsoil.  NOT Peatmoss.  NOT Sand.  IF you can find Compost, GREAT!  Use that too!  Sprinkle this stuff all over your plot, on top of the mowed Brown Lawn, enough that the plot looks mottled.  When your Seed arrives from UPS, toss it in the Freezer for 24 hours, then water your bare soil and put down the Seed, cover with a state of the art moisture mulch for Grass (they sell these at Home Depot and other places, little green pellets that absorb H2O and keep the Grass Seed from drying out).  Then water a little more.

The Grass will Germinate slowly, especially in these temperatures.  If you're lucky, it will get off the ground in 30 days before the first hard freeze.  Come Spring, it will overtake your diseased, weakened, Brown Grass in a few weeks.  It is vital NOT to use any chemicals that will throw off friendly new beneficial microbes in your soilwhile you do this.  That includes Scotts Turfbuilder and anything else they make that comes in a bag that you don't want to breathe.  Overfertilizing Grass sets it up for disease by producing long, weak blades vulnerable to infection and attack.

It's like sending a kid with a cold outside in the winter without a warm jacket.  You know they're going to catch Pneumonia if you do that.  That's what happens to Grass fed too much high Nitrogen fertilizer.

Include bags of White and Red Clover in your order to put down with your new Bluegrass.  Clover will build up your soil again.  You want to get the brown Grass out of the picture.  It has to decompose; you need microbes for that.

Let me say something here about that super duper Sprinkler System you've got.  These are very handy and convenient, but you have to be VERY careful with them.  Don't try to put your Grass on a schedule.  Grass isn't like that.  Grass needs a drink when it's thirsty.  Not because your Sprinkle is set to go off at 2:30 a.m. 5 days a week.  Watering like that is the perfect system if you are a scientific laboratory and you need to cultivate strains of Fungus for your experiments.  Let the Grass DRY OUT between Waterings.  Then water it thoroughly, and wait until it's time to water again.  New Seed of course needs to be babied; water enough that it can take, but don't over-do it.  At this time of year, odds are it will not need to be watered more than once a week.  Remember, too, Bluegrass takes FOREVER to Germinate, especially now.  Be patient.

I suspect your Topsoil was an attempt to quick-fix the Undersoil you had already, yes?  Please tell me more about what was down there.  New construction?  Old Lawn?  Inquiring minds want to know.

rsvp and thanks for your question.