Your new, lush, and green lawn has been delicately set up using sod. But the work doesn’t stop there. Your new sod lawn requires the right ongoing care for preservation in the next coming weeks. To guarantee the health of your lawn after the installment of the sod, please follow the watering and care instructions listed below for the coming weeks.
Preservation Rules for days 0 to 10: Water every day for at least a minimum of 15 to 20 minutes in each section of your lawn. It is recommended to water for a second time each day if the temperature is over 18 degrees Celsius and sunny. It is necessary to ensure that as you’re watering the sod to make sure the water permeates through the sod and into the soil underneath the sod. Inspect the sod to make sure you are watering it enough by pulling back the corners of the sod in different places in all areas of your lawn to ensure the soil below the sod is moist after watering. Do not fertilize or mow the lawn yet.
Preservation Rules for days 10 to 21: Water your lawn every other day for about 30 minutes. If you water for more prolonged periods of time, you will stimulate the root growth of your sod further down into the soil. Again, check to make sure you are watering thoroughly enough on your sod by pulling back the corners of the sod in different places across your lawn to ensure that the soil underneath the sod is receiving some of the water. By now, the sod should be challenging to remove from your lawn, so don’t force it up when you check the corners. This is because the root system of the sod is integrating with your lawn’s soil. The sod should not be ripped from the soil, just lightly tug on the sod to make sure there is a good rooting network taking place. If your sod is not rooting, it could be because you may not be watering it enough. By now for this stage, you should cut the grass as necessary before watering your lawn. As a general rule of thumb, do not cut off more than a third of the grass blades at a time while cutting the grass. Also, try to maintain the height of your grass between 3.0 to 3.5 inches during this stage. If your lawn is too wet to cut the grass, do not water for another day to allow it to slightly dry out, mow your lawn and then immediately follow it up with a thorough watering. Do not fertilize your lawn just yet.
Preservation Rules for 22 days and after: You can now begin to mow your lawn as normal, but make sure to keep it at least 3.0 inches in height. The sod should by now be thoroughly rooted into your lawn’s soil and should be able to endure normal usage. Be sure to water your lawn about twice a week by applying 1 inch of water per zone per week. Use a Tuna container to measure how much water you are applying by placing it in the path of your hose or sprinkler. You should aim to fill the container full of water to the top each week. After 6 weeks following the installation of your sod, you may apply a fertilizer although it is not necessary. If you choose to apply the fertilizer yourself, be sure to follow the instructions very precisely. Try not to apply herbicides when the weather is hot and dry. Apply herbicides when it is cooler.
Good luck with your new lawn and if you need any help, you can always call the trusted Winnipeg lawn care experts at Cleanr Mow!
