Laying new sod can be a little tricky if you don’t have any experience.
Laying sod seems like it would be a straightforward task, but it can actually be challenging for anyone who hasn’t done it before. Sod is a living lawn that needs to be quickly and efficiently established in order to keep it green and healthy. If you need a new lawn but you’ve never laid sod before, there are some common mistakes you should try to avoid when laying sod.
Underwatering
Sod is a combination of grass and soil that is alive and needs to be able to grow and take root. It’s really important to keep a strict watering schedule to give your new sod what it needs to stay hydrated and grow so that you can achieve a beautiful, dense lawn as quickly as possible. You don’t want to drown it, but not giving it enough water won’t allow it to set up properly which could result in a thin, weak lawn.
Mowing Too Early
One of the more difficult aspects of laying sod is resisting the urge to mow it. New sod hasn’t rooted yet, so it’s basically a throw rug that’s been set over your soil until its root system permeates the soil surface and establishes. New sod should be allowed to establish for a minimum of two weeks, meaning it will get a little long before you have the opportunity to mow it without the risk of causing significant damage.
Unprepped Soil
Dense, compacted soil is not going to provide a good environment for your new sod and it can make it difficult for the sod to take root. The soil should be carefully prepped and maintained to ensure that the sod’s root system has an easy time penetrating the soil’s top layer and establishing. Tilling, removing debris, and ensuring balanced nutrients are all steps that should be taken to prepare the soil to host your new sod.
Not Using a Roller
Laying sod doesn’t end once all of the soil is covered. In order to get your new sod to lie flat and give it the shortest distance to your soil, a lawn roller is necessary. Rolling over the lawn helps the sod sit as flush as possible and shortens the space between the roots and the soil so it can establish smoothly and quickly for the best possible results.
Overlapping
It might seem like a good idea to overlap sod, but this is not the case. Overlapping will create a special challenge for the grass on top to try to get to the soil layer, and it will ultimately create a lumpy lawn that is difficult to enjoy and harder to mow. All of the sod should be laid closely together while remaining as flush as possible so that all of the grass has an equal opportunity to establish its root system and create a beautiful, level lawn.
Avoid Mistakes
One of the best ways to avoid common sod laying mistakes is to have a team of professionals take care of it. They have the knowledge, experience, and tools to lay your down sod efficiently and with perfect precision. They can also offer excellent advice on how to care for your new lawn, going over common struggles such as initial watering and how long to wait before you walk on it. This can be an invaluable resource, and it will save you a lot of time and headache.
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