The first sprinkling a newly installed sod gets is the most important one it'll ever receive. Start watering soon after you install the sod. This first watering determines how the grass plants carry out for the next number of years and this is one particular product you don't wish to dry out.
Here are several useful information on appropriate watering:
• Avoid hand sprinkling. You will not be as even and objective in your watering as will an automatic sprinkler. You also do not possess the patience to wet down each and every blade of grass. Your automatic sprinkler has ample tolerance for both of you.
• After you've watered for an hour, withdraw the corner of a section of sod and push a screwdriver (or some other sharp tool) down into the soil. The blade is going in without difficulty. Whenever you pull it out, the blade should be drenched and show moisture along its first 3 to 4 inches. Or else, retain watering.
• You have to be absolutely sure that water is getting to all regions of the newly sod lawn. If there is a problem, it is almost certainly to be at the corners and edges where sprinkler patterns don't reach or don't reach well. These areas usually do not acquire as much water as the middle of the sod, so this is where problems occur first. Additionally, areas closest to the house can generate problems because they dry out faster due to the reflected heat from the home. Watch these areas for drying and give them extra water.
• Sometimes if the sod is laid on a slope, you'll see water run-off prior to the underlying soil is adequately watered, as measured by your “high-tech” screwdriver water measuring device. If run-off occurs, stop the sprinkler or move it to another area for 30 to 45 minutes. After the water has had a chance to soak in, test it with your screwdriver and start watering again if needed. You may have to repeat this repeatedly to get a good soaking, specifically on a steep slope.
• Keep the soil under the sod wet for at least two weeks to give the new roots an opportunity to permeate and begin growing properly.
• After a couple of days, it is not a good idea to slowly move the corner of the sod back to look into the soil moisture levels. If you slowly move the sod, you will be pulling up newly established roots. Merely stick your screwdriver into the ground and look at the fullness of the sod when assessing the soil moisture levels.
• Water as early in the morning as you possibly can to consider benefit of the growing cycle. Grass begins to grow very early (right after sun up), and if it has sufficient water, it will grow faster. You'll also save water if you apply it in the early morning.
Having an instant lawn is the main benefit of sod. The major disadvantage is its higher cost. You are paying someone else to grow the turf for you, and I'm sure usefulness never comes cheap. Visit LA sod for additional information.
