When a NEW home is complete and the lawn areas are prepared to be covered with that roll-out turf, is there a layer of soil that is normally spread first? I am thinking there is, in order to provide a good base beneath the new grass instead of laying it directly over rocks, rubble, and whatever else is unearthed during the digging and such of construction chaos.
The reason I ask is because I got some new turf after the city workers had to almost completely dig up and destroyed my lawn. Technically it was not the city, it was a job contracted out by them, so it was 'the Contractors' that provided the turf-although there may have been city workers involved in the process. Things went terribly wrong with a project that involved digging our our road, and both gas lines and water lines were broken. My lawn got demolished because they had to remove my huge large flowering blossom tree in order to fix the water line. I had a giant digger (cat?) in the middle of my lawn, and when they were done my tree was no more, just a pile of branches stacked up 6-8 feet high in a sloppy mess that used to be my lawn. ANYWAY, the branches were cleared, and new turf was laid. This all happened at the end of 2005, and although the turf didn't look all that great, I had good faith and watered it according to our lawn-sprinkling bylaws set by the city, which has always been sufficient in terms of keeping my grass looking healthy and green. (I did not water at the time the turf was laid, as it was our rainy season and there was no need) The 'seams' of the new turf didn't exactly but-up, but I thought it would fill in, in time.
So, now after a good year, I'm looking at my grass and thinking it is not good. It's actually quite sparse, and for some reason the grass blades appear kind of [COLOR=DarkOrange]ORANGE.[/COLOR] There are also a lot of small rocks that seem to have worked their way to the surface. My lawn had beed dug down to a depth of at least FOUR FEET in one area, and the pile of rubble beside the hole just got spread smooth again before the turf was laid.
My neighbour, who had only a few large patches of his lawn replaced as I did just got a load of dirt and topdressed/reseeded the spots he had. His lawn looks much better now, but I'm thinking I don't really want to go to the time and trouble he did. I called the city and asked for someone to come out and take a look, and that will happen shortly. I also have what looks to be a cap from the outside shut-off for my water, which I understand is buried in the middle of my lawn somewhere.
Do you think my lawn would look better if a layer of GOOD earth had been spread over the dug-up dirt? And what could be the cause of the grass blades that look [COLOR=DarkOrange]ORANGE?[/COLOR]
Here's a closeup of a bit of grass in my lawn that is orange. It looks yellow in the photo, but it's more orange in person.
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Thanks for the information. I had not heard of rust fungus before-wonder if that's what the orange grass blades are about! I should check with a garden center and see if I can get some ideas there.
The neighbour who topdressed and seeded did that a few weeks ago, and his rough spots look better already. I think he said he spent $500, and it's a smaller area that he had to treat, with some guy delivering and raking in the new topsoil well. He did the reseeding. I'm hopeful the rep being sent by the city will take care of that for me. I think they will, as I am aware that their lines were flooded with calls throughout the entire project. It was a big one that effected many residents. I laughed when the guy on the phone brought that up, and used the opportunity to point out that I was not one of them-even though the tree was toast, I did not contact the city and complain at that time. Trees are a touchy issue here, with new bylaws in place to protect them. Technically the tree was borderline in terms of being on or near the city 'way' part, and DH was not eager to get a new tree to mow around, so I just let it go. Later I can always add a new tree a little closer to the house on that corner.
I know another resident filed a complaint last year because a new hedge installed on her property which replaced the 'brush' that got wiped out in the process of the job turned brown and died. So, a year later, she got a row of new cedars. I would really prefer the work to be done for me, as I have my hands full with my gardens and I don't have a lot of extra time to redo the grass myself.
Yes, there is usually a top dressing of good top soil laid before sod (at least an inch). Usually a sprinkling of sod fertilizer is a good idea too. No, gaps should never happen, the sod needs to butt closely together or the edges dry out and never grow together properly.
The stuff the contractors planted on is probably clay from the deeper layers of the dig and it doesn't help grass at all because it doesn't drain properly or allow for root growth.
If you go to the Cityline site (cityline.ca) and do a search for 'fat grass' they have a recipe there that you could use to topdress that area of your yard to bring it back. maybe you could get the city to pay for the supplies and labour to put it on. To me, that seems like a better solution since you can also do the rest of your lawn so it all matches after vs looking patchy.
Meanwhile, you might want to dig up some of that rusty stuff and take it into a garden centre so you know what you are dealing with when speaking with the city rep.
BTW if that bush wasn't in their area for allowance (for instance anything we plant here within 6' of the road or so is fair game when they have repairs to do) they should be asked to replace it. I hope you have some pictures of it to show them and get a price while at the garden centre so you can tell the rep exactly how much $$ in damage there's been. If they are like they are here, they can actually get everything cheaper but if they replace that is what you want anyway. Good luck.
it sounds to me like the lawn has "rust" fungas and usually a
a high nitrogen fertilizer will work. Something like Scott's Turf Builder fertilizer.
Once that is applied I think you can spread compost and soiled mixed together and reseed. It is a good idea to add some white clover seeds as well as they put nitrogen into the soil.
I am sure any garden center can help you. My neighbour every May top dresses his lawn with a compost and soil mix, lets it sit over a few rains and reseeds adding clover. His lawn is thick and healthy. :)