How Does One Lay Sod?

Soil Preparation

• 1

  Collect soil samples from several locations around the new sod area. Remove the soil from below the existing grass or vegetation line with the shovel. Mix the soil together. Allow it to dry in a warm location. Deliver the soil sample to your local agricultural extension service.

• 2

  Cultivate the area with a rototiller. The gasoline-powered machine makes fast work of tearing out the existing vegetation. It may take several passes with the rototiller to break apart the vegetation.

• 3

  Rake all loose vegetation with the garden rake. Collect the material and start a compost pile. Remove rocks and roots from the cultivated area.

• 4

  Add the recommended fertilizers and amendments to the soil, based upon the soil test results. If no test is conducted, add 50 pounds of dolomitic limestone per 1,000 square feet of area. Mix into the soil one pound of a nitrogen-based fertilizer, 10-20-10, per 1,000 square feet along with six cubic feet of sphagnum moss an area of the same square footage.

• 5

  Work all of the material into the top six inches of soil. It will take several passes with the rototiller to incorporate all of the material.

Sod Laying

• 6

  Grade the soil with the garden rake to form as smooth a surface as possible. Keep the soil freshly raked when laying the sod on top.

• 7

  Begin laying the sod as soon as possible after delivery. The rolls begin to dry out within several days. Start laying the sod parallel to any hard surface such as a sidewalk or driveway. Do not walk on the bare soil; instead, when laying the sod, walk on the already placed grass. This will help in pressing the sod rolls into the loose soil.

• 8

  Roll out one row of sod along the hard surface. Begin the next row so the center of the sod roll falls on a joint between the first rows of sod. The overall goal is to stagger the sod joints like a vertical brick wall between each successive row of sod.

• 9

  Cut out circular patterns in the lawn landscape with an old knife. Keep the pieces to fill into areas of bare soil. Attempt to lay the sod lawn in the early morning to keep the new grass from drying out.

Watering

• 10

  Set the garden hose with the sprinkler attachment in one area of the new sod lawn immediately after laying. Spread out three to four old coffee cans within the water spray pattern of the sprinkler. Turn on the water. Irrigate the lawn until one inch of water collects inside the cans. This will give you a good idea of how long to keep the sprinkler on in one location.

• 11

  Irrigate the new sod every two to three days with one inch of water until the sod has begun to take root into the new soil.

• 12

  Test for rooting by gently lifting one corner of a sod roll. If resistance is felt, the roots are growing into the soil. Rooting generally takes place in one to three weeks depending on soil conditions, climate and grass species.

• 13

  Change the watering schedule after rooting to a one-inch application every four to seven days. The top root zone, four to five inches of soil, must be kept moist, but not soaking wet.