Help! laying sod for 1st time
 

Would greatly appreciate any suggestions regarding laying sod-- and
maintenance after it's put down.
we are sodding a tiny urban(NYC) back yard area -- only about 12 x 15
feet. area gets sun for apprx 1/2 day.
we just bought the sod-- nursery said it was a kind of "sun/shade"
variety.

Help make our thumbs green :)

jeffrey lohn wrote:
Would greatly appreciate any suggestions regarding laying sod-- and
maintenance after it's put down.
we are sodding a tiny urban(NYC) back yard area -- only about 12 x 15
feet. area gets sun for apprx 1/2 day.
we just bought the sod-- nursery said it was a kind of "sun/shade"
variety.

The nursery where you bought the sod should be able to tell you all
about how to prepare the soil before laying the sod. If not, there
are plenty of places online that'll tell you too. See for example
http://www.sod.com/html/installation.html .
I hope that when you said "bought" you meant "ordered" and that it will
be delivered later, because if you already have the sod and still need
to go and prepare the soil and whatnot, you're a little late.

Prep is everything, as is aftercare (I know, I just delineated 200% of
something). The ground should be raked free of all debris and as smooth as
possible... every rock and pebble you pick up now will be one that doesn't
heave through the sod later. Smoooooooth.

After the sod is layed, it must be thoroughly watered, both to keep the
rootsystem hydrated as well as to help meld the sod layer to the ground
layer. It should be totally saturated, and kept quite moist for several
weeks afterwards. Of course, do not step on it for at least 3 weeks, longer
if you can avoid doing so. Don't cut it for that length of time as well, and
when you do finally cut it, leave it as long as possible (highest setting on
mower) for the rest of the season.

Dave

"jeffrey lohn" wrote in message
...
Would greatly appreciate any suggestions regarding laying sod-- and
maintenance after it's put down.
we are sodding a tiny urban(NYC) back yard area -- only about 12 x 15
feet. area gets sun for apprx 1/2 day.
we just bought the sod-- nursery said it was a kind of "sun/shade"
variety.

Help make our thumbs green :)

David J Bockman wrote:
Prep is everything, as is aftercare (I know, I just delineated 200% of
something).

But you're giving 110%, so it's okay.

The ground should be raked free of all debris and as smooth as
possible... every rock and pebble you pick up now will be one that doesn't
heave through the sod later. Smoooooooth.

After the sod is layed, it must be thoroughly watered, both to keep the
rootsystem hydrated as well as to help meld the sod layer to the ground
layer. It should be totally saturated, and kept quite moist for several
weeks afterwards. Of course, do not step on it for at least 3 weeks,
longer
if you can avoid doing so. Don't cut it for that length of time as well,
and
when you do finally cut it, leave it as long as possible (highest setting
on
mower) for the rest of the season.


Also, when you lay the sod, butt the long edges as tightly as you can
against each other. Make it so tight that you'd think it wouldn't fit. If
you don't, the edges will curl-up, and dry out. Stagger the short seams,
just like a brick wall, and butt them closely, too.

--
Warren H.

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to go outside now.
Care for your landscape with Black and Decker cordless tools
http://www.holzemville.com/mall/blac...ker/index.html

Make sure that the soil you are putting the sod on is good topsoil.
Unless you have excellent soil you may want to consider raking all of
the soil off the top to about two inches down, then put topsoil in its
place.
Once it is raked out and leveled this will give you a very nice desired
look.
Chuckie

Hi Jeffrey,

You don't need soil as you already have that. Purchasing topsoil can bring in weed seeds and you don't need that. Adding compost will improve the texture of your soil and add nutrients. A 2" to 3" layer tilled in before you sod will help. Here's how to lay sod and maintain organically.

http://www.garden.org/articles/scrip...;subch=default
http://turfgrass.com/planting/rake.html
http://www.city.toronto.on.ca/compost/organic.htm
http://www.organicgardening.com/feat...18-142,00.html
http://216.109.89.116/backyardwildli...rganiclawn.cfm
http://www.members.tripod.com/~Garde.../index-11.html

And don't forget to lift with your knees. :)
Newt

Chuckie wrote:
Make sure that the soil you are putting the sod on is good topsoil.
Unless you have excellent soil you may want to consider raking all
of the soil off the top to about two inches down, then put topsoil
in its place.
Once it is raked out and leveled this will give you a very nice
desired look.
Chuckie

Two inches is not nearly enough.

--

Travis in Shoreline (just North of Seattle) Washington
USDA Zone 8b
Sunset Zone 5

"Chuckie" wrote in message
oups.com...
Make sure that the soil you are putting the sod on is good topsoil.
Unless you have excellent soil you may want to consider raking all of
the soil off the top to about two inches down, then put topsoil in its
place.
Once it is raked out and leveled this will give you a very nice desired
look.

It's also important to roll it to make sure that the soil is evenly
compacted, otherwise you run the risk of a wavy lawn. And after that, the
rule is keep moist for several weeks.

Thank you all so much for your great advice-- it helps us tremondously.
(we got no help from the nursery... the sales person told us that the
person who would be loading the sod into our "truck"(a 1984 VW rabbit
convertible) would tell us what to do... that person turned out to speak
no english and even with my spanish-- which is not bad-- his advice
amounted to, "water it"