hi. looking for some advice. i bought a new build house in mid-november and the lawn had been freshly laid for our arrival front and back. since then we have had a very bad winter (as you are all probably aware) and the lawn is very patchy with straw coloured patches all over. i'm a bit concerned as i don't want to lose the lawn and was wondering if there is any experienced gardeners out there who can give me good solid advice to make my grass nice and green..........thanks.

iainahannah wrote:

the lawn is very patchy with straw coloured patches all over.
who can give me good solid advice to make my grass nice and
green

Is this the first time you've owned a lawn?

You want advice? How about this: Wait until spring.

And also - why are posting via gardenbanter? The banter servers are so
lame, and many are blocked/filtered on sight because they are used far
more often for spam.

On Feb 11, 10:01*pm, Lawn Guy wrote:
iainahannah wrote:
the lawn is very patchy with straw coloured patches all over.
who can give me good solid advice to make my grass nice and
green

Is this the first time you've owned a lawn?

You want advice? *How about this: *Wait until spring.

At this point that is about all he can do. It would also be helpful
if when asking for advice people would state where they are located,
what kind of grass, was it laid as sod, etc. I hope it was properly
watered before going dormant. In any case, if it's cool season grass
and it gets cold, it's perfectly normal for it to look straw colored.
Depending on the grass, some will lose color slower than others, but
if it gets cold enough, well into the winter they will lose color. A
reference point is always what do the established lawns of neighbors
look like? Even then, you really have to compare similar grasses.
Here in the NYC area some dummies plant Zoysia and it looks like straw
from early Nov until May. My tall fescue usually looks partly green
into Feb.








And also - why are posting via gardenbanter? *The banter servers are so
lame, and many are blocked/filtered on sight because they are used far
more often for spam.

As mentioned it would help to know a little more particularly where the lawn is. Anyway I'll take a guess and suggest it could be snow mould.

Is it?

On Feb 11, 2:03*pm, iainahannah iainahannah.
wrote:
hi. looking for some advice. i bought a new build house in mid-november
and the lawn had been freshly laid for our arrival front and back. since
then we have had a very bad winter (as you are all probably aware) and
the lawn is very patchy with straw coloured patches all over. i'm a bit
concerned as i don't want to lose the lawn and was wondering if there is
any experienced gardeners out there who can give me good solid advice to
make my grass nice and green..........thanks.

--
iainahannah

What a great article. I too have patchy spots that need attention and
wonde if anyone has more advice.

Hi, I am looking for some direction on placing sod over an area
covered lightly with dirt but with a lot of tree roots underneath.
Is there a problem with putting sod over the roots?



On Feb 11, 2:03*pm, iainahannah iainahannah.
wrote:
hi. looking for some advice. i bought a new build house in mid-november
and the lawn had been freshly laid for our arrival front and back. since
then we have had a very bad winter (as you are all probably aware) and
the lawn is very patchy with straw coloured patches all over. i'm a bit
concerned as i don't want to lose the lawn and was wondering if there is
any experienced gardeners out there who can give me good solid advice to
make my grass nice and green..........thanks.

--
iainahannah

I am looking for some advice on placing sod over limited dirt with
lots of roots underneath.
Is there any special advice on this?




On Feb 11, 2:03*pm, iainahannah iainahannah.
wrote:
hi. looking for some advice. i bought a new build house in mid-november
and the lawn had been freshly laid for our arrival front and back. since
then we have had a very bad winter (as you are all probably aware) and
the lawn is very patchy with straw coloured patches all over. i'm a bit
concerned as i don't want to lose the lawn and was wondering if there is
any experienced gardeners out there who can give me good solid advice to
make my grass nice and green..........thanks.

--
iainahannah

Top-Poaster butcher wrote:

I am looking for some advice on placing sod over limited dirt with
lots of roots underneath.
Is there any special advice on this?

Yes, here's the advice:

1) don't post your question 3 times.

2) read the replies that have already been posted. If you did, you'd
see that:

a) waiting until spring is the obvious answer
b) identifying your geographic location helps those that want
to answer your questions. You're somewhere in the US (I
could do an IP-geolocate if I cared).

3) many trees can handle at least 6" of soil over their roots, right up
to the trunk. You don't state what these roots are from (what type of
trees or bushes, etc) but it probably doesn't matter anyways.

On Feb 11, 2:03*pm, iainahannah iainahannah.
wrote:
hi. looking for some advice. i bought a new build house in mid-november
and the lawn had been freshly laid for our arrival front and back. since
then we have had a very bad winter (as you are all probably aware) and
the lawn is very patchy with straw coloured patches all over. i'm a bit
concerned as i don't want to lose the lawn and was wondering if there is
any experienced gardeners out there who can give me good solid advice to
make my grass nice and green..........thanks.

--
iainahannah

You only need to fertilize your grass twice a year and keep it watered
and cut.

On Feb 13, 2:14*pm, sarah wrote:
On Feb 11, 2:03*pm, iainahannah iainahannah.

wrote:
hi. looking for some advice. i bought a new build house in mid-november
and the lawn had been freshly laid for our arrival front and back. since
then we have had a very bad winter (as you are all probably aware) and
the lawn is very patchy with straw coloured patches all over. i'm a bit
concerned as i don't want to lose the lawn and was wondering if there is
any experienced gardeners out there who can give me good solid advice to
make my grass nice and green..........thanks.

--
iainahannah

You only need to fertilize your grass twice a year and keep it watered
and cut.

On Feb 11, 2:03*pm, iainahannah iainahannah.
wrote:
hi. looking for some advice. i bought a new build house in mid-november
and the lawn had been freshly laid for our arrival front and back. since
then we have had a very bad winter (as you are all probably aware) and
the lawn is very patchy with straw coloured patches all over. i'm a bit
concerned as i don't want to lose the lawn and was wondering if there is
any experienced gardeners out there who can give me good solid advice to
make my grass nice and green..........thanks.

--
iainahannah

I was wondering if you were in an area that had snow? Do you have a
dog or are their neighborhood dogs?

On Feb 11, 2:03*pm, iainahannah iainahannah.
wrote:
hi. looking for some advice. i bought a new build house in mid-november
and the lawn had been freshly laid for our arrival front and back. since
then we have had a very bad winter (as you are all probably aware) and
the lawn is very patchy with straw coloured patches all over. i'm a bit
concerned as i don't want to lose the lawn and was wondering if there is
any experienced gardeners out there who can give me good solid advice to
make my grass nice and green..........thanks.

--
iainahannah

Having grown up in Michigan, I know that, in the winter, straw-colored
lawn is normal. Any green grass during a Michigan (or Minnesota, where
I also have lived) winter is pretty unusual. Don't fret over it. When
warm, rainy weather returns, then you can expect green grass. In the
meantime, enjoy the snow!

On Feb 11, 2:03*pm, iainahannah iainahannah.
wrote:
hi. looking for some advice. i bought a new build house in mid-november
and the lawn had been freshly laid for our arrival front and back. since
then we have had a very bad winter (as you are all probably aware) and
the lawn is very patchy with straw coloured patches all over. i'm a bit
concerned as i don't want to lose the lawn and was wondering if there is
any experienced gardeners out there who can give me good solid advice to
make my grass nice and green..........thanks.

--
iainahannah

Yeah it's really not the time of year to be studying and getting the
best results from that study. Just wait till April and make your
assessment then

On Feb 13, 12:40*pm, Lawn Guy wrote:
Top-Poaster butcher wrote:
I am looking for some advice on placing sod over limited dirt with
lots of roots underneath.
Is there any special advice on this?

Yes, here's the advice:

1) don't post your question 3 times.

2) read the replies that have already been posted. *If you did, you'd
see that:

* a) waiting until spring is the obvious answer
* b) identifying your geographic location helps those that want
* * *to answer your questions. *You're somewhere in the US (I
* * *could do an IP-geolocate if I cared).

3) many trees can handle at least 6" of soil over their roots, right up
to the trunk. *You don't state what these roots are from (what type of
trees or bushes, etc) but it probably doesn't matter anyways.



Some trees tend to have roots that run close to the surface and they
are a big problem when trying to grow grass. The roots limit the
area for grass to root and suck up water and nutrients. Combine that
with shade under the tree and it can be impossible to grow turf
there. You need at least a few inches of good topsoil. If you
grading allows, you could bring in some good topsoil. However, you
may find that in a few years the tree roots just move into that new
area as well.

wrote:

Some trees tend to have roots that run close to the surface and
they are a big problem when trying to grow grass.

Large roots are not mobile. If you cover them with dirt, they're not
likely to move up on their own and come back to the surface. This is
especially true in clay soil.