Care for New Lawn(Sod) - First time home owner

A forum to learn and discuss the importance of lawn care basics
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raven201
Posts: 1
Joined: March 11th, 2021, 10:58 am
Location: Frederick, Western MD
Grass Type: Mix
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Care for New Lawn(Sod) - First time home owner

Post by raven201 » March 11th, 2021, 11:58 am

Hello Everyone,

We recently bought a new construction TH. One of the builder managers during orientation directly told us that the lawn they put in was not laid out as they do in custom homes and they don't give warranty on it. Our lawn details

1. They are calling it a 'Starter Lawn' and it was laid out in Nov/Dec 2021. We moved in mid January.
2. It is a Sod Lawn and they said it is a mix of various types of grass
3. The soil beneath is not that great. They just levelled the ground and put the sod.
4. Home is in Western Maryland in Frederick County

Can you please suggest a fertilizer and lawn care instructions for first few years based on above details. We asked the builder and they suggested aerating and reseeding in October and asked us to get recommendations for the fertilizer from stores. I read on blogs that we need high Phosphorous for new Sod for roots to develop .I was looking to buy below fertilizer but was not sure if it was the correct one.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Scotts-15-l ... /203187342

edslawn
Posts: 475
Joined: July 2nd, 2019, 9:22 pm
Location: South Central PA
Grass Type: Northern Mix
Lawn Size: 20000-1 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: Care for New Lawn(Sod) - First time home owner

Post by edslawn » March 11th, 2021, 6:37 pm

raven201 wrote:
March 11th, 2021, 11:58 am
Hello Everyone,

We recently bought a new construction TH. One of the builder managers during orientation directly told us that the lawn they put in was not laid out as they do in custom homes and they don't give warranty on it. Our lawn details

1. They are calling it a 'Starter Lawn' and it was laid out in Nov/Dec 2021. We moved in mid January.
2. It is a Sod Lawn and they said it is a mix of various types of grass
3. The soil beneath is not that great. They just levelled the ground and put the sod.
4. Home is in Western Maryland in Frederick County

Can you please suggest a fertilizer and lawn care instructions for first few years based on above details. We asked the builder and they suggested aerating and reseeding in October and asked us to get recommendations for the fertilizer from stores. I read on blogs that we need high Phosphorous for new Sod for roots to develop .I was looking to buy below fertilizer but was not sure if it was the correct one.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Scotts-15-l ... /203187342
That sounds scary!

It seems that a soil test from Logan Labs is your best place to start. Get a soil plan from the experts here before you start doing anything...

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MorpheusPA
Posts: 18129
Joined: March 5th, 2009, 7:32 pm
Location: Zone 6 (Eastern PA)
Grass Type: Elite KBG
Lawn Size: 10000-20000
Level: Advanced

Re: Care for New Lawn(Sod) - First time home owner

Post by MorpheusPA » March 11th, 2021, 8:46 pm

I think I caught you over on...the other site. While my advice over there stands, this is the site where I and other people read Logan Labs tests. And yes, I'd get one of those before throwing resources blindly at a soil.

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