| TO A GARDEN EXPERT,I HAVE JUST PUT IN NEW SOD IN THE BACKYARD AND PREPARED THE SOIL PULLED ALL THE ROCKS ETC.. IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE I CAN DO TO HELP WITH THE ANCHORING OF THE NEW ROOT SYSTEM, ANYTHING I NEED TO FEED IT OR IS THERE SOME KIND OF JUMP STARTER LIKE A FEED OR FERTILIZER, I WOULD REALLY HATE TO LOOSE MY NEW GRASS, AND UNFORTUNATELY I DO NOT HAVE THE TIME TO START FROM SEED SINCE I HAVE TO GRANDCHILDREN WHO PLAY IN THE BACKYARD AND INFORMATION WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED CINDY |
| Correct watering after installing the sod is critical to its survival. The idea is to keep the soil under the sod moist as well as the soil that comes with each sod piece. This does not mean constantly wet and soggy. Usually 1 inch of water every 2 to 3 days applied in the early part of the day will be sufficient to keep the soil moist. Measure 1 inch of water by placing several straight sided coffee cans in the sprinkler output pattern. Check on the moisture conditions from time to time by lifting the corners of the sod pieces. If the sod/soil seems excessively wet by the second day then delay watering until the third day. Water only as frequently as necessary to keep the soil/sod moist, not soggy and wet. It is most important that you do not over-water and avoid saturating the sod/soil since this will prevent the sod from re-rooting and cause the roots to rot. After the sod has knitted (rooted) to the soil (from 1-3 weeks) it is important to change the watering schedule. Watering should be done thoroughly to soak the root zone (top 4-5 inches of soil) but infrequently. Providing 1 inch of supplemental irrigation every 4-7 days (depending on soil, temperatures and rainfall) should be adequate for most lawns. There is no need for daily watering of a sod lawn. Hope this information helps! |
