Question
Hi,

I just layed sod in my yard last May, so 1 year ago. I live in region 6, Norhtern Utah. the sod farm was local and has some proprietary blend of seed for the intermountain west. so they claim.

What I am seeing this spring is that some areas of the yard are recovering, or greening up, faster than others.. and to be more specific I have noted that the areas that are greening up faster, are the areas that I had trouble keeping enough water on last year.. Such as areas around certain corners or along a fence line..

So, Am I watering it too much. would this cause it to take longer to come out of dormancy?  I would have expected to see the opposite this spring.. the better watered areas would green up faster.

I have installed a in-line fertilizzation unit with my sprinkling system, so the lawn gets fertilized as it is watered.. not every time, but usually 2 weeks out of every month.  this is the rate recomended by the manufacturer... I state this becasue maybe my issue is related to too much  of a good thing as well..

Any insight would be appreciated.

Jason

Answer
When you water, try to water infrequently but deeply. E.g. it is better to water once per week for 1 hour rather than 10 minutes daily. The frequent/shallow watering is only done while the sod is rooting or seeds are on the ground. For an established lawn, water infrequently but deeply (once per week; max two times per week in summer months). This will force the grass to grow deep roots in search of water and try to secure more water deeply. This will make the grass more draught tolorant and better able to cope with heat (which affects upper soil layers).

Fertilizing every 2 weeks is fine, if the solution is diluted (mild). I always prefer to fertilize more frequently and at lower dose than the other way around.  In your area, however, it is not good to fertilize in summer months. Fertilize in april, may, june, september, and october. Skip fertilizing in july and august.

You may have two different grass types growing. The one near fence line and corners may have been overtaken by a cool season grass, such as rough bluegrass, which likes cooler weather (greens up earlier) but which has difficulty handling hot summers. Changing watering and fertilizing patterns may help this slighly, but you may want to consider if the grass borders should be replaced ?

The rest of the lawn is probably a grass type which is closer to a warm season grass which will take longer to wake up in spring, but which handles hot summer months better. I would check with the landscaper about this ?

-- Kenneth