# New Zoysia sod THATCH question??????



## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

I just had new Geo Zoysia sod laid the first of May and I have a question about the amount of thatch in it from the sod farm.

This picture of an edge piece is how the sod looks throughout. Is this too much thatch for Zoysia to thrive that's fresh from the farm?


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

Yard is having trouble greening up as well. It was watered everyday for the first couple of weeks. I have backed off to every other day. Do we think it needs more or less watering? It's getting about a 1/4" four times per week.


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## Tmank87 (Feb 13, 2019)

How low are you cutting?


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

@Tmank87 Cutting at 1" currently.


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## Tmank87 (Feb 13, 2019)

Hard to tell if you're scalping or if that is yellowing from dead material


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

@Tmank87 No doubt a few of those spots are scalps. Majority however are brown and dead/dying.


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

Here is a close up of one of the spots.....


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## greg_n_sd (Jul 17, 2019)

couple thoughts:
- the pic looks a lot longer than 1", not that it matters as that shouldn't make a difference with what is happening. Once it's established, a good scalping to dirt (or just above) will certainly help get rid of any build up you have.
-the spot you are showing (zoomed in) appears to be at the edge of one of the pieces (as do many of the other brown spots), and likely (possibly) not retaining enough water.

How much are you watering? new sod needs a lot! I had a similiar issue and ended up have probably 6sqft of sod that didn't survive, some patches larger than others. It eventually fills in.


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

@greg_n_sd Good eye sir. I went and measure my mower and it's 1-3/8". Currently watering 4 times per week at about 1/4" per session. Sounds like I may need to try and get a little more water on it. I'll give that a try for a week and see if the brown goes away. As far as scalping would you recommend doing that this year or wait until next year to ensure it's fully established?


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## Owens_Geo (Jun 24, 2018)

As a fellow GEO owner. 
1. Take a deep breath, it's gonna be ok. Geo is tough. 
2. I hate to tell you this, but you're gonna need to figure out a way to get that closer to .5
3. DO NOT turn to fertilizer as a method, GEO will eat it up, and then go out of control and you will seriously have a thatch issue. 
4. Those yellow areas look like minor scalping.

Can you pull up a piece of sod with your hands ? If the answer is yes, then you are not rooted, so wait for that before you do anything.

Once you are rooted, start bringing down your height of cut. It's gonna look ugly for a while, a good 4-8 weeks depending on how much sun you get.

Geo is a great once you get the HOC under control. Trust me I've been exactly where you are at, and unfortunately learned a lot the hard way because I tried to follow what the Bermuda folks do. Don't be me..lol

Also, make sure you check the oil in the mower. 🙂

Feel free to PM me if you want to talk in more detail . !


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## jayhawk (Apr 18, 2017)

I'd add, it is immature...and temps haven't been high enough to really grow here. Lows are still in the sixties....

Shaded?

4 x week at this time.....should be able to do every 3 days at least, but at same total water maybe?


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## greg_n_sd (Jul 17, 2019)

Twodollarblue said:


> @greg_n_sd Good eye sir. I went and measure my mower and it's 1-3/8". Currently watering 4 times per week at about 1/4" per session. Sounds like I may need to try and get a little more water on it. I'll give that a try for a week and see if the brown goes away. As far as scalping would you recommend doing that this year or wait until next year to ensure it's fully established?


your roots are shallow, so that water drains fairly quickly, particularly at the edges of sod. I'd personally water the hell out of it for 2 weeks (1.5") and see how that does. I'd think every other day would be suitable, but you may need to water daily for a while if those edges are drying out as it appears.

You may be able to scalp later this summer, I'd wait for the sod to establish first. Worst case you can do it next spring.


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## lambert (Sep 12, 2018)

Geo is a low thatch producer compared to some other zoysias. After it is established just scalp it as low as you can, to the dirt if possible.


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## Tmank87 (Feb 13, 2019)

Out of curiosity, how long should one wait to dethatch new sod. Obviously it should be well rooted, but anything else to consider... Timing wise?


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## Saints (May 5, 2019)

I just put down 18 pallets of Geo a couple weeks ago and I'm loving it. It makes my Empire look like crap. Water the hell out of it until it roots and then keep watering at least every other day for the first month. That's what I did when I put down 8 pallets of Empire last year. After that you will notice when it needs water. It will turn almost a grayish color.


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## lambert (Sep 12, 2018)

Tmank87 said:


> Out of curiosity, how long should one wait to dethatch new sod. Obviously it should be well rooted, but anything else to consider... Timing wise?


Wait until it is really established and just scalp it. You don't need to bring it down in stages that will just make it look bad longer. Do it all at once and get it over with. It will come back and look a lot better.


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## Tmank87 (Feb 13, 2019)

lambert said:


> Tmank87 said:
> 
> 
> > Out of curiosity, how long should one wait to dethatch new sod. Obviously it should be well rooted, but anything else to consider... Timing wise?
> ...


Thanks. I put it down 4 weeks ago Saturday. Wondering if that'll be more of a July type activity once I get some good, long, sustained heat.


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## lambert (Sep 12, 2018)

I have Geo and Empire and the Geo definitely greens up slower. It seems to hold its color longer in the fall/winter, though.


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## Saints (May 5, 2019)

lambert said:


> I have Geo and Empire and the Geo definitely greens up slower. It seems to hold its color longer in the fall/winter, though.


Thanks for the info Lambert!


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

The general consensus seems to be that you can scalp new sod once it is established. Can anyone elaborate on what you would consider established? Mine is almost 6 weeks old and fully rooted. Looking to do so leveling and would like to scalp but don't want to do more harm than good with a new lawn.


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## hpritch (May 18, 2020)

Following. I'm in the exact same boat with Zeon Zoysia. Most not greening up and an absolute ton of thatch... Also the quality I bought from two different farms is unreal. You can clearly see how the majority of my yard looks like crap, but the right edge looks oh so perfect. If you're in the Atlanta area. Super sod hands down is the best turf.


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

So I was just trying to lower my HOC a wee bit. I have a McLane mower and set it at 1". After mowing I measure the grass and it's closer to 1.75"-2.0". Seems my mower just floats on top of it due to thatch I believe. Would a heavier greens mower do better or is something I can correct by scalping in the future? Sod was laid at the end of April and came with a pretty good layer of thick dead material under the green. 

And yes my dog wants all my grass to die. Slowly training him to pee somewhere else.


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## UFG8RMIKE (Apr 21, 2019)

Empire Here, cut with a trucut 27. Yard looked great prior to the scalp but it was getting super thick and developing some thatch. The mower would float on top.

Took me forever but I just finished a scalp down to 0.5". I would have gone lower but the rains started and hasn't stopped for the last 4 days. This is 4 days after a heavy scalp/reset. 
The rain totally ruined the plans to level. I'll have to hold that for next year now.

It's only 2k sq ft and I filled 12 huge black garbage bags full of cuttings.

Considering the lawn is so new. I would give it at least 4 months prior to an aggressive down to dirt scalp. You need to make sure the root system is fully established with lots of stored energy. Mine had nowhere near that amount of thatch.


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