Sod was placed in yard but has only 2-3 inches of black dirt under the sod-can it grow?

Question

It is a small yard which had lava rock and when they removed the lava rock they left a membrane which was under the lava rock and spread about 2 inches of top soil over the membrane-then put the sod on top of that--it looks great now but can it last??

Answer 1

It depends on the type of sod. Kentucky bluegrass has a deeper root system then zoysia grass, for example. Generally the taller the grasses mowing height, the deeper the root system.

Bluegrass will do o.k with a shallow root system, but is subject to using more water to keep a perfect lawn.

Any lawn is what YOU make of it! If you follow a good fertilizer schedule and utilize proper watering, and mowing techniques your lawn will do just fine.

Fertilize once every 6 weeks
Water deeply "1" per week
Mow often (remove no more than 1/3 of grass blade at a time)
Over seed in the fall (deeper root development in the fall)

Good luck!

Answer 2

Yes and very well! If you have the opportunity, check a good looking lawn, at the edge, by turning up an edge in an out of the way area and look to see how deep the roots go. You will find they are within 2-3 inches of the surface! The substrate and watering habits will determine how deep the roots go. Starve them from water the roots will grow deeper looking for moisture. Consequently, water the lawn frequently and the roots remain shallow where the food and moisture is close to the surface.

If the membrane is solid sod may take hold with the existing top soil. The black material can also get hot and kill anything above it. In that case you may have to pull up the black stuff and back-fill with at least tw inches of top soil. If the black stuff is actually an open weave plastic fabric that is good. Because this will keep the weeds and unwanted "volunteers" from growing in your new sod and you can water normally.

Answer 3

The membrane was probably put there to keep grass and weeds from growing in the lava rocks. If they put down a couple inches of top soil and your sod strips had couple inches of top soil, you should have enough to grow the grass. Most grass roots do not grow more than 4 inches deep. Keep it watered and you shouldn't have a problem.

Answer 4

i don't think so,if the membrane is not made of a material that wll let the soil drain the sod will rot since the water won't be able to drain, if it was done by professionals then hopefully the material will let te sod drain and be alright. i don't understand why they didn't put more soil for the base

Answer 5

It should last, but wont have the healthiest root system. If there is more soil of any type under the membrane, the roots will just grow through.

Answer 6

It should be fine, the key to new sod is to water it a lot for the first couple of weeks

Answer 7

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