Have you chosen sod for your new lawn? Are you ready to start enjoying a new lawn this summer? The good news is that sod can be established any time of year, including the heat of summer. This summertime sod installation guide will help you get the best results.
Common advice for sod installation is to wait for fall to install. However, if you need sod now to control erosion, stage your home for sale, or to accommodate kids and pets, follow a few precautions, and even a New Jersey August can be planting season.
If you need to install sod in the summer, these five tips are crucial for success.
1. Prepare Your Yard
Follow your sod company's recommended soil preparation. Make sure to test your soil at least one month before installation so you have time to amend the soil pH, potassium, and phosphorus level if necessary.
When you’ve amended your topsoil with the proper fertilizers, control perennial weeds with a pre-emergent herbicide like Glyphosate, which will not harm your new grass. Smooth to the proper slope, or grade, your soil and remove any large stones, sticks, or other rubbish.
Refer to this blog post for a more detailed preparation guide.
2. Smooth and Water
A day or two before delivery, do a final grade and a very thorough watering to soak your ground. On the day that your sod is delivered, lightly water again. Time your watering so the ground is damp and not a muddy field or soggy puddle.
3. Watch the Temperature
Sod must never reach above 130 degrees Fahrenheit. This will damage the roots and can kill your grass plants. Keeping your ground moist will help ensure the soil does not heat beyond this temperature.
Your sod arrives on pallets in rolls, like strips of carpet. These piles of sod can also rise above 130 degrees. To prevent overheating, remove sod from delivery pallets within 24 hours.
Check on your sod every few hours between delivery and install. If you notice any signs of your sod heating up, or the edges drying, unroll those sections and soak in water.
4. Lay Your Sod
Your pile of sod carpet is freshly harvested and ready to establish new roots in your yard. Your turf farm irrigated the sod. What should you do next? Use these tips to help prevent sod distress and drying:
- Unroll sod sections and lay them in a staggered brick pattern.
- Start at edges and borders, such as along sidewalks or fences.
- Work up slopes laying sod strips from the bottom to the top.
- Butt ends tightly together, but avoid overlapping sections.
- Mound topsoil next to any bare edges.
- Water finished sections lightly as you work.
With these tips in mind, your new sod should have a successful start.
5. Care for Your New Lawn
Water new sod every morning and evening for the first
10 days
or until new roots begin to form. An automatic, underground irrigation system helps regulate this process. If you do not have one, just make sure you are consistent. Do not neglect even one watering session during dry weather.
After the first week, start checking for root growth. Lift a corner of your sod and inspect the roots. You will want to see white roots as opposed to only brown. White roots indicate new growth. You should start to see these after about 10 days.
Once you notice white roots, you can adjust your watering maintenance schedule, gradually increasing the time between watering. Remember, new sod in the summer will still need water most mornings when the weather is dry.
Follow this guide, and you will have a great sod lawn to enjoy now and for years to come.
Are you ready for a new lawn? Reach out to us at
Novasack Turf Farm
for your sod and turf needs. We're here to help!
