Sod Maintenance
Sod Care and Maintenance
Ask About Same-Day Service | Over 8 Years of Experience | Locally and Family-Owned
Ask About Same-Day Service
Over 8 Years of Experience
Locally and Family-Owned
A Care Guide to Maintain Your Sod Installation
Let the team at Green Sod guide you in maintaining your newly installed sod. Once your new sod is installed, make sure to mow it two-and-a-half inches at first and then up to three inches afterward. Check the mower blade sharpness. Dull blades will rip the grass-blades and damage the grass, making dehydration and diseases more likely.
Test the soil pH annually to keep it as close to 6.5 as possible. You can apply an adequate amount of lime to maintain the soil pH. Fertilizer and lime applications need to be watered with one-half inch of water immediately to be effective.
Supplemental watering of your sod varies depending on various factors like the soil-type, the amount of natural rainfall your lawn receives, temperature, and your shade and direct sunlight conditions.
From insect damage and weeds to dry areas and off-coloration, determine the damage-control your sod needs by inspecting it periodically. Measure the amount of water that has been applied to your lawn by placing a can at several places to collect the water.
If your lawn is mowed properly, watered, fertilized, and the soil pH is maintained at 6.5, your newly sodded lawn will be green, dense, and beautiful before you know it! Contact Green Sod for quality sod installation services.
Sod Care Instructions for the Initial Two Weeks
Please stay off new sod until after the first mowing. Proper watering of sod is essential for root establishment. On the day of installation, enough water should be applied to penetrate the sod and two inches of native soil.
Day two onward, keep your sod and soil moist throughout the day. The roots are short so the sod cannot withstand large amounts of water at a single time. Other than the first day, the ground under the sod should never be soggy. Usually watering four to six times during the day, for approximately five to six minutes each time, is required until the roots have been established.
Root establishment will usually begin within seven to fourteen days depending on the environment and the time of the year in which your sod is installed. Too much water will rob the roots of oxygen and in warmer weather that possibly can lead to many diseases.
The length of each watering cycle will depend on your soil type and the output of your irrigation system. A clay type soil may need watering for five minutes, four times a day compared to a sandy loam soil type, which may need watering for seven minutes, five times a day.
You have to judge the minutes given, but here is a tip - if the water is standing under the sod for more than just a few minutes after irrigation has finished or if the soil is soggy, you are probably giving the sod too much water at one time.
Try to avoid watering the sod in the evening hours (after 5:30 pm or 6:00 pm), as this is one of the fastest ways to create a fungus problem. Start reducing the frequency of watering cycles just before the first mowing. This will firm up the soil for a healthy mowing cycle.
The first mowing should be done roughly 14 days after installation. You may need to wait longer for the roots to establish prior to mowing in winter. Never cut more than 1/3 of the blade while mowing or it will cause stress for the plants.
Sod Care Instructions After Two to Three Weeks
Gradually reduce how often you water. You can help root establishment by pulling up a corner of the sod. If you feel some resistance, you can skip the last round of irrigation for the day but add a couple of minutes to the other irrigation sets.
Now the roots should be deep and can tolerate a few more minutes of water per cycle. In another week or so, you can repeat this process until you are only watering once a day. Deeper, less frequent watering will help the roots stretch down deeper and establish quickly into the soil. Fertilize your new sod approximately four to six weeks after installation to ensure continued root growth.
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