Question
Here is the info you requested:

The fertilizer was Scott's Southern Turf builder.

I live in Richmond, Viginia.

The sod had been in place(watered twice daily)and taken root for 2 weeks prior to fertilizing.

A layer of topsoil had been spread across the yard prior to the sod being laid.

I was told the sod had been removed from the farm the afternoon before installation.

The grass turned a gray-brown color overnight - 8 days after fertilizing.

Thanks for your help.

Ben Shaw
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The text above is a follow-up to ...

-----Question-----
In late September I had sod(fescue) put down in or font and back yard. Last week I fertilized the sod and I think the setting on the spreader I used may have malfunctioned as  my grass is now starting to show signs of burnout. What can I do to correct this now or do I have to wait for spring.

Thanks
-----Answer-----
Would you kindly clarify what you mean by "signs of burnout" - depending on the sign, we may or may not be able to do something immediately.  I also need to know where you are, ben.  Thank goodness you know you put down fescue.

What preparations did you do before the sod was down?  How long was the sod out of the ground before it went onto your real estate?  And what kind of fertilizer did you use?


rsvp!

Answer
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we have another satisfied Scott's customer.

Sorry, Ben.  This is Turfbuilder Lawn Problem Number 2,534,600 - and I hope it's the last as turf season is now OVER.

Note that Scotts does offer a money back guarantee.  They just won't replace your lawn.

They say on the package: "Heat-friendly formula won't burn your lawn...Guaranteed."

Certainly can't complain about an endorsement like that, can we?  A company that stands behind its products.

Even though every turf manager knows you can't fertilize in the dead of summer without killing grass.  The "Guaranteed" part is just their way of saying, If your grass is still alive, we'll keep your money, and if it dies, we'll send it back.

Ben, all these intelligent grassloving Americans whose grass died in 2006 after sprinkling it with Turfbuilder, well, they  can't ALL be wrong.  This stuff is bad news.  It was not your mistake.  I mean, How careful should a man have to be to put down fertilizer?

Basically I have to say here that if you had listened to the Long Island Gardener, Ben, you would have put down a GOOD soil building organic fertilizer that will NEVER ruin
your lawn.

But... it's Turfbuilder!  Sometimes it has Iron!  Sometimes it has "Summergard"! "Turfbuilder with Iron" - don't you love the name? - is just like vitamins for your lawn.

What "Turfbuilder" does over and over is burn these perfectly beautiful lawns into oblivion. Which I guess explains why the Scotts Company is only too pleased to send you back your money when its Turfbuilder levels lawns from here to there.

This is BALONEY!  Chemical fertilizers are NOT good, and some of those Scotts things are downright destructive.

"Turfbuilder" 26-2-13 is designed so that its molecules are absorbed quickly and efficiently by your grass.  The concept is to transform dull green grass so fast you could not have done a quicker, greener job if you had painted it.

If you had listened to the Long Island Gardener, Ben from Georgia, you would have put down a good soil building organic fertilizer that will NEVER ruin your lawn. N-E-V-E-R Never!

Your Southern Fescue has gone to grass heaven.

Hard to believe, isn't it?

Green Grass one day.  Brown Grass the next.

There it is, your worst case scenario.  And for this problem, Scotts has a standard reply: Water your lawn to death.  If there is any trace of life there, pouring H2O over it will dilute the caustic Turfbuilder and raise the odds ever so slightly that SOME of your grass will survive.

If however the grass is gone, no matter what the reason, you have no other choice except to re-seed.  Which you shouldn't do until spring.

Let's look at a better case scenario.  Let's suppose you put EXACTLY the right amount of "Turfbuilder" down on your sod.  Let's look at this product.

Most people who know about sod figure they apply a starter fertilizer BEFORE the sod goes down, and then they water the topsoil and fertilizer.  The usual starter fertilizer is LOW Nitrogen (N) (which boosts leaf growth and photosynthesis) and HIGH in Potassium (K) and Phosphorous (P) (which strengthen roots).  They mix this into their topsoil and amend it with organic matter - humus or a compost - to slowly, gently release Nitrogen as the sod roots.  You end up with a strong, healthy root system that supports lush green blades of grass.  If you just boost the Nitrogen, you are giving the blades a short-term spike without a root system to support it.

But don't listen to me.  Listen to some real experts.  Let's see what scientists say about sod.

Remember those NPK digits: 26-2-13.

Let's see what the grass pro's at Purdue University Extension (http://www.purdue.edu/dp/envirosoft/lawn/src/grass/seedsod.htm) have to say about fertilizing sod, which they recommend doing one month after it goes down (which it appears you did like clockwork):

"Fertilize sod 1 month after installation with 12-12-12."

12-12-12?  What happened to 26-2-13?

Let's get a second opinion.  Let's see what the experts in Minnesota say about sod(http://www.ci.stillwater.mn.us/vertical/Sites/{5BFEF821-C140-4887-AEB5-99440411E):

"Your new sod was fertilized at the place it was grown; therefore, it will not need fertilizer until the fall or next spring.  If you fertilizer sooner, you risk killing the sod.  When you do fertilize, use a 10-10-10, 12-12-12 or similar mixture."

Wow.  What's going on here?

Let's see what expert number three has to say: "Professional Seed and Sod Starter like 8-32-16 and 10-25-10 are good because new SEED or SOD thrive on high phosphorous fertilizers (middle number) while too much nitrogen (first number) could burn the new roots if not careful."  That quote, by the way, is the Canadian sod company, Greenhorizons (http://www.justsodit.com/html/shtml/fertilize_instructions.shtml).

My favorite observation on this problem comes from Robert F Gabella, an Illinois consultant who covers this material on his website, GardenOpus (http://www.gardenopus.com/Fertilizing%20New%20Sod.htm).

He writes: "If you asked a nursery professional, they would often sell you a 5-bag program for the entire season - that's their job (but not mine!), that's what the factory rep trains them to do, and that's what their boss needs them to do to move the inventory.  Save the money on the extra bags, pay a little more for the amount of organic product you actually need, and your lawn should do fine!  I often fertilize only once or twice a year."

Ben's bottom line: flood the lawn with H2O and pray for rain.  Maybe you'll get lucky.

Then get yourself to a typewriter and dig up the receipt.  Get your money back from Scotts.  They get hundreds of these letters every summer.  They just know they'll be hearing from you.

There is a lesson here, Ben.

Make some lemonade out of these lemons.

Tell all your friends what happened.  Tell them you are going to become an organic gardener.  The most intelligent kind of life that ever was.

Ben, Do you know that if you take a lifesaver-sized vial of 2,4-D - the main ingredient in the nation's best selling weedkillers - and pour it on 4 kindergarten children, you will kill 2 of them?  

And they don't even have to drink the stuff!

Go out and subscribe to Rodale's Organic Gardening.  You don't have to start running around with the sugar bowl, a la Jerry Baker, pouring sugar crystals on your grass - you don't have to start wearing lovebeads, you don't have to eat granola or take LSD.  This is intelligent life on earth, and it is Scotts-free.

Start a compost pile with the kids.

Dig up Earthworms. Learn what makes them tick.

Put down some beneficial nematodes to wipe out every grub in the soil.  Get some Ladybugs to eat all the aphids and miscellaneous bugs.  Don't worry - As long as there's dinner at your house, they'll stay.

Promise your liver you will never put it through another exhausting cleaning of your pesticide-laced blood again.

And water like crazy.  Maybe you can save some blades of grass.

Convert.  You'll live longer.  So will your grass.

I GUARANTEE it!