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Getting new sod put down this weekend (finally sick of the dead grass and weed sh*t pile that the previous owner left for us).

For those of you who have successfully gotten your new sod to take, what was your solution? How much and how often should I water it immediately after it's been put down?

It's being laid mid-afternoon (if that's any help). Should I begin watering immediately, even in the sunshine and heat, or still wait until the early evening? Also, how long, intervals? How many days would suffice?

Secondary question, for those of you who have a sidewalk, is it bad etiquette to have the sprinkler watering over the sidewalk to get the boulevard portion? Normally I hate when people do this, but with new grass I would give them a break...I just don't want one portion to die, while the other takes/survives.

Any help would be appreciated!

At this stage of the game and in this heat, it would be hard to over water your new sod right now.

Back in the day when I moved into my house I got a little door hanger from Mattamy about caring for the new lawn. IIRC, it called for waterings 3 times a day for the first couple weeks while it takes root. You basically want to keep it damp as long and as often as you can.

Don't worry too much about the sidewalk getting wet. I'd never look down on someone for caring for their property, even if it meant I had to sidestep their sprinkler.

Not a lot of people in Milton possess green thumbs. It's not just lawns. It's over grown, under maintained gardens as well. So when someone shows an attempt at care, I'd never shun them for it.

Water away, young man. Water away.

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I put in a whole stretch of sod down the side of our house(4' x 60') and watered it twice a day for 15 minutes. I must admit that I'm spoiled as I put a sprinkler system in before the grading was done years ago and just set my timer to trigger that zone twice a day.

Make sure you lay the sod down on a good bed of soil. If your just going to put it on top of the builder soil you have now, you not going to be very successful. At a minimum add an inch of triple mix on top of what you have now. This gives the root something to grow into, holds water much better than the clay and nutrients for the grass to grow. Roll it down and water it well before you put the sod down.

Assuming you don't have a sprinkler system, then water the area for about half an hour in the morning and again in the evening. keep doing that for about two weeks, and the grass should take root well. You can check if it's rooting by pulling up on the sod. If it's hard to pull up, then the roots are going down. If it's still easy to pull up then keep watering.

Good luck.

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Geer

As always just dont water it during the hottest points of the day.

2 hours twice a week for 3 weeks. early am or after sunset

Good enough for established grass, but not new sod. The sod would be dead within a couple of days.

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Geer

10-15 minutes 2-3 times a day for 2 weeks is good enough. Try to do it in early morning and then early evening. Water sod/grass around noon will just help to kill the grass. I would hope that people would not get upset about the wet sidewalk, and I would think that the kids would love that idea.

someone should tell Mattamy that because thats the flyer they place on your doorknob the day they install your new sod.

Thanks for all the info guys. My plan was 30 mins in the morning, 45 mins to an hour in the evening everyday for 3 weeks. There will be a good 2 inches of topsoil going down first, which I am going to water the night before (to soak it and allow for some water for the roots as it's being laid). Also an immediate watering as it's being laid, but nothing afterwards during the day time (unless it's overcast and not extremely hot).

Im not sure id water the soil before laying the sod. If its still wet when theyre laying, it'll stick to their boots and end up everywhere and may leave divots where their footprints are. I laid about 100 sq feet a couple weeks ago and i thought that was a good idea too....ended up making a huge mess. What ive heard about sod is that any water right away is better than a lot of water later. After its laid, water it right away and then once a day(early morning is best) and youll be good.

Sounds like you've a good plan in place. I wouldn't soak the soil too much, because it will create a mess. If you wet it down the night before you should be good. Once you've got the sod down, then soak it. Make sure you have a decent sprinkler that covers the area evenly. I've got a gardena oscillating sprinkler that allows be to adjust width and throw. A little pricey, but it does the job well.

Good luck

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Geer

I was curious too about the mess watering the ground the night before might make. From what I've read, if you leave 12-18 hours from doing it, assuming the next day is hot, it should be totally dry. Maybe it is a better idea to just wait until it's laid and then just do a deep soaking.

Thanks mowerman!