Watering Tips and Guidelines for New Sod
Watering Tips and Guidelines for New Sod
A last minute decision and blow to the pool budget, was the purchase of some new sod for the backyard. Our initial plan was to throw some seed and straw down. But after the pool was finished I wasn’t about to wait for seed to grow and green grass to show up. I wanted the surrounding Georgia clay to be GONE and for some instant gratification. Even though it came at a price.
So after ordering several pallets of Zoysia sod and many long weekends of installation, my instant gratification was fulfilled….and then some.
What a wonderful addition to our backyard. The Zoysia is a beautiful turfgrass that has flourished in the 2 months since we laid it. I won’t say that laying sod doesn’t come with some anxiety. It does. After laying the sod some initial fear sets in. You think about your investment in time and money. You keep your fingers cross that the sod won’t turn brown and die.
The lighter spots on the grass are from the sun shining and shadows from the trees
Watering Tips and Guidelines for New Sod
During the last two months we have been pretty consistent with these watering tips and guidelines . These tips are fairly generic regardless of the type of turfgrass that you install.
- Water in the morning before 10:00am and in the evening after 4:00pm. These are ideal times because of the lower temperatures and less water is lost through evaporation. In the hot Georgia summer this is key.
- Roots will only grow as deep as their most frequent available water supply so infrequent and deep watering is preferred over frequent and shallow watering. I try to water at least 45 mins- to an hour at a time.
- Make sure the entire area is receiving the same amount of water. Corners and edges are particularly vulnerable to drying out and easily missed by sprinklers.
We are actually in the process of installing our sprinkler system in the backyard, which will make watering a whole lot easier . Until then the sod needs to be kept moist until it is firmly rooted which is about 2 weeks during the growing season. If you lift a corner and it’s hard to pull up, chances are the sod is getting enough water and rooting like it should.
So was the blow to the budget worth it?
You betcha . Every last blade of grass.
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grateful
for green grass
I know that cost a fortune because the price of bermuda sod has almost doubled since last year. Your grass is beautiful. We have a non working sprinkler system since the county dug up our sprinkler heads at the road and we have yet to replace them. Thank goodness we had lots of rain this summer.
Looks beautiful!! You say you’re installing the sprinkler system now….are you having to tear up the new sod or is it around the perimeter? In NC even with regular irrigation my established yard is toast. A lot of rain in the spring but since mid June it’s been very sparse. Having to fill up my pond every day due to evaporation. Been doing a rain dance…but think my moves aren’t quite right! 💃💃
Hi Gina, we will install the pipes in the landscape beds and use the outer side of the sod so we don’t have to tear up the new sod.
Your home and back yard are just gorgeous! The sod was totally worth every cent that you spent.
thank you Linda.
Your backyard oasis looks magnificent Laura!!!…I am with you…placing grass down right away was the right thing to do…that red Georgia clay is so horrible to deal with…the NC clay too!
it’s so soft on the toes as well!
Our custom designed house was built on 26 acres of pasture, so we gave in and put in a sprinkler system and new sod around the house, 10,000 sf. It hurt the pocket book at first (what a shock the estimate was), but totally worth it. No more lugging hoses around and even the flower beds have built in watering systems. I have loved looking out to a park-green yard. Enjoy!
Laura, we moved into our new house 7 weeks ago and sodded almost an acre. We had to run the water everyday for two weeks (per the installers instructions). Our water bill was $500!! It was worth every drop though because now we have a gorgeous yard.
oh no. luckily i am on a well or I am sure my water bill would have been that much. we had some really nice summer rains that was such a blessing to keep things moist. best of luck in your new home. I must check things out over on your blog.