Lawn Seeding vs. Sod

Benefits of Sod

• Sod provides a ready-made lawn, allowing you to take your landscape from dry, bare soil to lush, green grass in just days. This time factor makes sod a desirable choice for completing new construction projects within a deadline. The close growth habit of established sod helps ward off weed growth and patchy areas of uneven growth. With proper installation, new sod tends to attach to the underlying soil within a few weeks, quickly establishing new growth. Sod offers a broad window for installation, allowing you to plant the mature grass anytime during the growing season. A new sod lawn is ready for use immediately after planting.

Downsides of Sod

• Sod incurs a higher initial cost than lawn grass seed. The actual installation process can be physically strenuous for average gardeners to perform. Timing plays an important role in the success of sod establishment. Once harvested, the roots tend to dry very quickly, necessitating immediate installation to reduce losses. Both sod and seed require about the same amount of soil preparation and amendments.

Seed Pros

• Homeowners have a larger selection of grass types, including grass blends, when choosing to plant seed rather than sod. Grass seed is less expensive than sod, a major deciding factor for many homeowners. Using a push spreader to plant grass seed is less physically demanding than lifting and moving heavy sections of grass sod.

Seed Cons

• Planting grass from seed can be time consuming during the initial phase of growth. While the actual spreading of the seed may take less than a few hours, the new lawn requires frequent watering sessions to keep the soil evenly moist. Too much water can wash away the seeds, while not enough water can quickly lead to wilting, especially during the first few weeks of growth. Newly seeded lawns are more prone to weed infestations than new sod. Foot traffic and pets can kill new blades of grass before they have time to mature, making it necessary to stay off the lawn for at least three to four weeks after planting.