Residential lawn issue

Hello

First post here, as someone told me it's best place to get advice on lawns.
I have got new turf laid around two months ago after old turf was completely destroyed, which you can see in first picture marked as 1 and then marked as 2.

Now I see those tiny mud bump rising again as in picture 1, and grass is turning muddy some places as shown in picture 2.

I have not got a clue what is happening. The guy who laid the turf wouldn't explain anything.

I will really appreciate if someone can give me some directions/treatment etc?
Many thanks

 

I'm not a lawn expert by any means - you should see my meadow / grass!

But those look like worm casts to me. Close up, do they look like very soft, brown spaghetti? Almost as if someone is squeezing mud out from underneath, through a tiny hole? If so, be grateful that your soil is healthy enough to have worms, and when the little soil piles are dry, take a yard brush and brush the surface of the grass, dispersing the piles...

Anyway, I'm sure the experts will be along soon!

 

Thanks for your response. Appreciated.

These are kind of worm casts but very sticky and will very hard to brush off even dry. Also where these casts appear grass won't grow there, it becomes very hard. I have also seen couple of white larvas lurking around occasionally.

 

Agree with Sian, they do look like worm casts and do not know of any other creature that makes such a mess like that.

Apart from said brushing you could water hose them off, but that may depend on below.

Afraid to be honest, I do not like the look of the new grass as in 3, it already looks a bit yellow and patchy, I would have expected a much better looking turf.

Worm casts this time of year are unusual, normally an autumn thing, which makes me wonder if the lawns waterlogged ?

To help more can you fill in some details ..

What grade turf was it, fine or more heavy duty rye etc, it looks fine from your pics ?

Also have to ask what 'completely destroyed' your old lawn ?

How often have you been watering the new lawn; have you been feeding /treating it with anything or dog /cats weeing on it ?

Does it suffer from waterlogging or takes a long time for rain water to drain off?

Whats happened in Pic 2 , the mud patch at the top ?

Can you give your general location/county, so we have a better understanding of your likely climate.

 

I think leatherjackets as well ......slightly early for them; they usually "show" in September.
So I think worm casts and leatherjackets ahsanj
Worm casts need to be brushed off dry grass

 

I sometimes think I have a leatherjacket infestation on my front lawn . The lawn photos I have googled are pretty inconclusive to ID this . Would you notice Daddy long legs emerging in the lawn area in late summer ? I have never noticed DLL's for a few years.

 

I find damage is seen before I notice too many DLL's Harry.
Every autumn....late summer/September ....I apply nematodes. Already I am seeing slight signs this year. Lawn still looks good but slight yellowing in patches that I think are LJ's.

 

Do you see lots of Starlings decending on the grass and pressing their beaks into the ground, thats a sure sign you have leatherjackets etc.

Very difficult to say whats going wrong, but my suspicions is drainage and that the turf is getting waterlogged and dying off; it can happen at the bottom of my lawn where the water collects in a wet winter.

To prove if thats the problem, in a couple of places, like that muddy patch and/or the lowest point of the lawn, get a spade and make a hole, say a spades width and depth and just leave it empty.

Next day see if its filled up with water or when its been raining heavy, how long it takes for the hole to empty itself; that might show what the problem is .... ?

 

Could be drainage. Starlings though are not a symptom yet, I think, of leatherjackets. Autumn for that but Ricky makes sense ....worth checking. Or, less drastic, use a fork and make some holes. Wobble it about. Does the lawn feel spongy/squealchy? Do the tines look wet or dry? Does it SOUND squealchy?

 

Hi Ricky

I will try this method today.

Also sometime after watering/rain, I notice water puddles under the decking, there is no grass but just membrane and clay. But it fairly quickly drains into the soil.

I have never seen starlings or any bird in my lawn. And hardly see any DDL in winter.

I did some googling yesterday and laid black polyethene sheet around 2 large bin bags size on the small lawn patch last night, where there seem few bumps. This morning I lift the sheet and found one small larvae on the grass, smaller than an inch and white in colour.

Today my plan is to spike the lawn3-4 inch deep, sprinkle the compost and see if that help. Found this on youtube under waterlogging solution.

And few days down the line perhaps some leatherjacket treatment? As quite a few people have pointed out this.

Good idea?

 

Hi Verdun

Not all lawn feel spongy only one side, which you can see in photo 2 next to the slabs. That's old now there is turf, but this area does feel spongy even now. Tines don't look wet.

 

Then I think it is a combination of worm casts and leatherjackets ahsanj