Tips To Help With Your New Sod Installation For An Attractive Yard
Installing a new yard for your home is a lot of work, but when all the elements come together with vegetation, trees, and a lawn, your expanse of dirt will turn into a great looking yard. However, installing sod requires you to prepare your yard and install the sod with specific recommendations to ensure your new lawn takes root and thrives. Here are some recommendations to get a great looking lawn with a new sod installation.
Get the Area Ready
As a first step to any sod installation, you will need to prepare the area for the sod to have a healthy start and grow well for the upcoming season and into the following years to come. The soil of your site needs to be supplemented with nutrients and treated to make it a fertile area for the sod's roots to grow into, otherwise, your sod will sit on top of the soil and can die. If you are not sure of your soil's needs and condition, you can have it tested for soil pH to determine what is recommended to add to it. For example, your soil may need fertilizer containing nitrogen or phosphorus, or it may need lime added to adjust the pH.
Remove any weeds and large rocks from the soil and add the necessary fertilizer, compost, or mulch to improve the soil's health and drainage. It can also be helpful to add a layer of topsoil to the area when you loosen the soil by tilling. Level out any holes or mounds to make the area as smooth as possible with any existing slope to your yard.
Install New Sod
When your sod delivery arrives, plan to install it as soon as possible and preferably the same day. If you need to delay its installation, keep the sod moist by watering it and placing it in the shade to protect it against heat stress and damage.
Install the sod by starting along a straight edge of your yard, such as the fence line, by the edge of your driveway, or next to a walkway. This will help you align the sod pieces straight and keep the installation uniform. Set the sod pieces next to one another, varying where the seams sit so you get a more uniform pattern. Make sure you keep foot traffic off your sod as much as possible while it is new so it does not get any sunken spots. Your sod professional can also install the sod for you and ensure the sod is cut neatly around any curves or irregular edges of your yard.
Contact a landscaping company near you to learn more about sod installation.
