[heatpony]

Hi All,
Rolled out a new lawn about eight weeks ago and it was triving after I spread fertilizer on it.Not sure what kind.The grass rooted well but now turning yellow in spots and lush green in other areas.Should I fertilize again??.Reckon it's soil related?.I never cut to low,always top setting on mower.Buying a new dedicated mulching mower ,would this help conditions?.
Thanks Guys,
John.

[Liparis]

A turf lawn? if so, it could be suffering from drought. Lift a piece of the yellowing turf to make sure it's rooted into the soil. Ensure the soil under the turf is evenly moist. If you water a lawn you need to use a sprinkler running most of the day to ensure the water gets through the turf to the soil below. You will never do enough standing there with a hose in your hand. The yellowing could also be due to fertiliser scorch. You would have been better not to fertilise until the lawn was well established, this would take longer than 8 weeks. Perhaps the fertiliser didn't get washed in properly by sprinkling and the surface grass is now suffering.
Never put fertiliser on anything when you don't know what it is.
If it's a seeded lawn, then the fertiliser is likely the main problem.
Bill.

[James Kilkelly, was GPI.]

All fair possibilities from Liparis there.
See that's always been my little niggle with roll out lawn.
Some house owners and gardeners see it as a silver bullet that ensure a lush lawn despite what lies beneath the surface soil-wise.
Now I am not saying that is your situation heatpony, it's just an observation from many years of seeing turf laid without thought for preparation.

Laying on poorly prepared soil or laying onto subsoil which could never hope to sustain grass growth is a common problem
Subsoil (usually light in colour) on the surface of ground has ruined many the new lawns by causing hungry looking brown or yellow patches.
Subsoil is low in organic matter and topsoil is high.
Organic matter in the soil determines how much water and nutrients stay around the roots for your lawn to access.
If you lay your turf onto a mixture of subsoil and topsoil (usually darker in colour), it follows that your eventual lawn will be patchy and many shades of brown, yellow and green after its initial honeymoon period.

One remedial measure you can carry out in such a situation is called top-dressing
It's a way to gradually build up the organic matter in your lawn soil without starting from scratch.
With topdressing in your case a really thin layer of finely graded compost mix is spread over the lawn surface.
I'm guessing that the mix in your case should be approx 2 parts quality topsoil and 1 part peat or homemade compost.
A quarter-inch depth of this dry mix is all that is required any time it is applied.
Spread this all over the lawn and brush in to prevent swamping the grass.
This is best done in autumn and can be carried out each year to slowing build up the quality of turf.

If you post up a few reasonably close up pics of the turfed area then we may be able to pinpoint your problem and help you more.
How to post pics on the forum.

[heatpony]

[heatpony]