Watering
New sod requires more water than an established lawn because its roots need consistent moisture and root growth stimulation needs to occur. Please follow our Watering Guide Recommendations located here: Watering Guide Recommendations
If your sod is installed in Spring or Summer, you will need to heavily water until we get to the cooler temperatures of fall. It is imperative that the sod is watered per the above instruction guide web link through the first summer due to the roots needing to establish enough to obtain its own water source. Most issues with sod are due to inadequate watering.
Fertilizer & Weed Control
Whether we install your sod or you do it, our sod farmer can let you know where to start at in the Recommended Schedule for Sod Treatments chart below. You will want to follow what is recommended from the sod farmer and from there forward.
Depending on the time of year the sod was purchased from us will indicate what you need to do and when as far as fertilizing and weed preventers. We don’t want the sod over fertilized as this causes yellow patches in your lawn because the shallow root system of the sod can’t absorb the nutrients, causing nitrogen to leach into the soil. When you do fertilize, you may apply a granular fertilizer with a nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium equal parts mixture following the manufacture’s instruction. You will want to apply the fertilizer when the ground is dry, and spread it evenly over the lawn and water the sod thoroughly after application. Weed preventers should be applied per the manufacture’s instruction as well.
Mowing
New sod should not be mowed immediately. You will want to wait at least two weeks before you mow. If your sod was installed in spring or summer, when you do mow, please make sure the mower deck is on a high setting all the way through fall. If your sod is installed in the fall, depending on the growth, you will wait two weeks and mow if necessary. Typically, the sod is dormant in the winter, so winter time installations would not be mowed until Spring.
You will want to avoid cutting the sod too short. You will also want to make sure your mower blade is sharp, and never cut more than one-third of the blade length.
Use
Avoid walking on your new sod for at least 10 days and keep foot traffic to a minimum for three to four weeks after installation, particularly if conditions are overly dry or wet.
New sod needs to establish its roots, and disturbance can affect the success of this process. Typically, full root establishment, can take anywhere from a month or longer before we recommend high traffic on the sod. If you must walk on the sod, try to use a different route each time so that you are not treading on the same area. To prevent others from walking on your new lawn, mark a perimeter with stakes and string or tape. Depending on the time of year your sod was installed, it can take several months before we recommend high traffic on the sod.
Recommended Schedule for Sod Treatments
Example of products from a program to use or something similar to achieve the above goals.
The sod purchased from Clegg & Sons’ Farms, LLC is a fescue and bluegrass blend and is considered a cold season grass when choosing a lawn program or products.
Clegg & Sons’ Farms, LLC does not endorse any particular products for personal use and can only provide recommendations. However, there are a lot of great programs available for purchase online or locally. These products are easy to use by following the manufactures’ instructions and are designed to be purchased and applied based upon the time of season for the area of country in which the lawn resides. It is important to follow the manufactures’ instructions when applying products as over-applying can harm your lawn.
Grass or sod require adequate sunlight and watering each day. Grass must be treated periodically to prevent fungus, pests, diseases, weeds and any other factors that could cause harm. This includes ensuring aeration, adequate soil nutrients, soil PH levels and overall soil chemistry optimization are present at all times.
