new sod has brown spots and mushrooms. How can I fix?

Question

The sod has been layed for almost one month.

Answer 1

Mushrooms just mean there is some dead organic material under the sod. They will not hurt the sod so you can just knock them over with the back of a rake if they are unsightly.

The brown spots are the bigger problem and they could be caused by different things. Too much water or too little water could be the cause. Grass needs about one inch of water a week to be at its best. If nature is providing that don't overwater. Take a soup can and put it out where you are sprinkling next time and watch it. Measure how much time it takes for your sprinlker to fill it one inch full. Say it's 25 minutes--that means you need to water your lawn 25 minutes a week to give it adequate moisture. Every 25 minutes move the sprinkler until the lawn is completely watered.

Did you put down a starter fertilizer when you had the sod put down? With a good spreader it's hard to mess up using a starter fert. but some people use something like 12-12-12 fert. Triple 12 is a good garden fertilizer but it has so much quick release nitrogen it's easy to burn the lawn. So that could be the cause.

This is also the time of year for Japanese beetle grubs. Pull on one of the brown spots and see of the roots are still attached. If it pulls up see if ther are any white grubs laying there. If ther are use an application of an insecticide with DYLOX in it. Put it on, water it well, and the grubs will be dead in 24 hours.

Finally stressed grass is susceptible to fungal diseases like summer spot or brown patch. If nothing else above applies then maybe it's one of those diseases. For that use a lawn fungicide with BAYLETON in it. Directions will be in the bag.

Finally, it is possible that the sod was stressed when you got it and nothing went wrong except the sod didn't survive the root shock of being stripped and replanted on your lawn. If you can get it through this winter you should have a better chance to know what it is next year.
Good luck.

Answer 2

Apply a thin layer of cornmeal to all the brown spots. Give it a week
then spread compost on the bad areas. Make sure you have good drainage.
Save your soil & groundwater; Go Organic

Answer 3

the brown spots if not due to under watering, may be a fungis. you'll need to contact a qualified applicator to spay a fungicide to kill the dollar spot, brown patch,or leaf spot. this is a very common problem in high humidity areas. the are also just a fungis.