"Frankenberry" wrote in message
...
I have a small lawn that is shaded on one end. Since I have owned the
house
the shaded part was mostly dirt.

I dug up and turned the soil over and layed sod in this area. I also
turned
over the soil and planted shady grass seed in the area between the
existing
grass and the new sod. I also patched up areas one the grassy side to fill
it in. Within a week or so the grass and sod looked beautiful almost golf
course like.

But now 3 weeks-4 weeks later all the new areas have thinned quite a bit
(sod, patches, seeded areas). The original grassy area looks the same.

I tried fertilizing the lawn 4-5 days ago and so far no difference,
everyday
the lawn looks worse. More dirt less grass.

I have watered it quite a bit and it has rained quite a bit too.

Does anyone have any sugestions why this might be happening and how to fix
it?

Also no one has been on the grass as its a fairly unused lawn.


It sounds like you tried to put a lawn in in mid-July. Not the best time of
year to try this.

It's not unusual for new seed to come in very lush and thick initially and
then thin out a bit, but when it's very young and then goes into the heat of
July and August as well the results are predictable.

Try overseeding the seeded area again later this month. You don't mention
where you are located, but in the northern US and Canada you can use
creeping red fescue seed for a shade seed. I've had great results w/ this
seed even on poor soils and very shady areas. You must be patient though. It
may take a couple of years to really fill in.

btw. you don't want to fertilize your lawn in the summer. Spring and fall
are the times when you stimulate it.

Peter H