sod - Knowledgebase Question

rio rancho, Ne
Avatar for ifly2fish2
Question by ifly2fish2
June 6, 2009
My husband and I layed sod down just over a week ago and have had problems with it ever since. Some places are green and some are dry dead looking grass. At the store they told us to just water it for the next 2 weeks. I live in New Mexico and sorry to say I don't know what type of sod I have. Is there anything else we can do?


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Answer from NGA
June 6, 2009
Before you laid the sod, did you dig or till the soil and add some compost or other organic matter then rake it smooth? After you laid the sod, did you roll it with a weighted roller? If not it's possible that the roots are not making good contact with the soil. That would account for the dried out areas. In the dried out areas, see if you can lift the sod and roll it up. If so, it won't root into the soil and it won't live unless you do some repairs. Here's what I would do in the dried areas: Roll the sod up, rake the soil, spread some compost over the soil and rake it in, then tamp the soil down and reinstall that strip of sod. Roll it (or stomp it down) so the roots of the sod make good contact with the soil. Then move on to the next dry area. Once you've reset all the dried areas of the sod, water it well. New sod needs to be kept really moist so the water can percolate down to the roots and beyond to encourage deep root growth.

Best wishes with your sod!

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