Tips for Caring for Your New Sod

Sod is a way to quickly produce a lawn.

Laying sod is more expensive than planting grass seeds. It is a quick way of establishing a lawn. Use the freshest sod and try to find sod that was grown on a similar type of soil. Installing sod is basically transplanting mature grass.

Watering

Water the sod deeply each day for seven to 10 days so the roots do not dry out. Keep the entire root zone moist. Once the sod is knitted to the soil with new root growth, gradually reduce the watering schedule. In two to three months, water the sod like a normal, mature lawn.

Rooting

Check to see if the sod has rooted in seven to 10 days after installing. Grasp the grass blades with two hands and pull upward. If the sod piece does not easily lift away from the soil, then it is rooted.

Mowing

Do not let the sod grass grow taller than 3 inches before starting to mow. Mowing grass when it is extremely tall damages the grass plants. Ideally, only remove a third of the grass blades each time you cut the lawn.

References

• Washington State University Whatcom County Extension: Starting a Lawn
• University of Minnesota Extension: Seeding and Sodding Home Lawns
• Purdue University: Establishing a Lawn From Sod