Lawn Care: How to maintain your new lawn.
Watering
New sod needs to be watered every day for the first two weeks. Watering in the early morning is usually best because this is when the grass begins its daily growing cycle and it is usually cooler with less wind. Dusk is also a good time to water when temperatures begin to drop and there is less chance of evaporation. Regardless of when the water is applied it must be done on a regular basis in adequate amounts for proper soil moisture. After the new sod has started to root the watering schedule can be reduced to every other day for the next couple of weeks. After about a month when the roots are fully established the new lawn should only require an inch of water every week from either rain or applied water.
Watering amounts: 1” of water coverage over 450 sq. ft. equates to approximately 280 gallons per pallet of installed sod.
1” per day for 14 days plus 1” every other day for 14 days will require 280gal x 21 = 5880gal/pallet for the first month. At a cost of $3/1000 gallons this would equate to an additional $18 per pallet on your water bill for the first month only after installation. An easy way to confirm that enough water is being applied to the lawn is to check your water meter at regular intervals.
Mowing
Foot traffic should be kept to a minimum for the first few weeks to allow the sod to properly root before mowing. Set the mower height to at least 2-1/2 or 3 inches to avoid scalping your new grass. For best results cut only the top 1/3 of the grass blade. It is best to use a walk behind push mower for the first few cuttings to avoid tearing up the sod with a heavy riding mower.
Fertilizing
Once mowing begins the sod may also be fertilized. Start with a pure nitrogen fertilizer at a rate of a half a pound per pallet of grass. For the second or third application us a 13/13/13 or an 8/24/24 fertilizer. These may not be available at the local building supply store but should be available at a garden or farm supply type store. Do not use a Weed & Feed type fertilizer on new sod.
As always if you have any additional questions about preparation, installation, or care for you new sod, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Our goal is to help our customers have a favorable and satisfying experience. We believe that the best way to do this is to provide the customer with high quality sod that is a fresh as possible and give them as much information about the proper preparation, installation, and care as possible.
New sod needs to be watered every day for the first two weeks. Watering in the early morning is usually best because this is when the grass begins its daily growing cycle and it is usually cooler with less wind. Dusk is also a good time to water when temperatures begin to drop and there is less chance of evaporation. Regardless of when the water is applied it must be done on a regular basis in adequate amounts for proper soil moisture. After the new sod has started to root the watering schedule can be reduced to every other day for the next couple of weeks. After about a month when the roots are fully established the new lawn should only require an inch of water every week from either rain or applied water.
Watering amounts: 1” of water coverage over 450 sq. ft. equates to approximately 280 gallons per pallet of installed sod.
1” per day for 14 days plus 1” every other day for 14 days will require 280gal x 21 = 5880gal/pallet for the first month. At a cost of $3/1000 gallons this would equate to an additional $18 per pallet on your water bill for the first month only after installation. An easy way to confirm that enough water is being applied to the lawn is to check your water meter at regular intervals.
Mowing
Foot traffic should be kept to a minimum for the first few weeks to allow the sod to properly root before mowing. Set the mower height to at least 2-1/2 or 3 inches to avoid scalping your new grass. For best results cut only the top 1/3 of the grass blade. It is best to use a walk behind push mower for the first few cuttings to avoid tearing up the sod with a heavy riding mower.
Fertilizing
Once mowing begins the sod may also be fertilized. Start with a pure nitrogen fertilizer at a rate of a half a pound per pallet of grass. For the second or third application us a 13/13/13 or an 8/24/24 fertilizer. These may not be available at the local building supply store but should be available at a garden or farm supply type store. Do not use a Weed & Feed type fertilizer on new sod.
As always if you have any additional questions about preparation, installation, or care for you new sod, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Our goal is to help our customers have a favorable and satisfying experience. We believe that the best way to do this is to provide the customer with high quality sod that is a fresh as possible and give them as much information about the proper preparation, installation, and care as possible.