Sodding is the quickest fix for getting a beautiful green lawn, fast.  In a sense, you can take a barren yard, and with in a few hours, you can have a lush green carpet of lawn.  Even the best lawn care company in the world couldn't get your existing lawn green and lush so quickly!  When considering sodding, keep in mind that it has both advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages

• Instant lawn
• Faster establishment means quicker traffic tolerance
• If done properly, only one installation necessary
• Not effected by pre emergent herbicides

Disadvantages

• More expensive
• More labor intensive
• Water requirements
• Harder to work with

Sodding Tips & Tricks

If you are thinking about using sod to establish a lawn or fix bare patches here are a few tips:

Water, Water, Water!!!- Sod requires sufficient water in order to root into it’s new home

Match your existing turf- when fixing bare patches you want to match your current lawn with your sod or else you may have patchy patterns appear over time

Lay like a mason- Lay sod like a mason lays bricks.  You want your seems to be tight, but they should be staggered similar to a brick pattern on the side of a home.

Soil Prep-  Just like when seeding, you want to loosen the soil beneath the sod so that there is plenty of air space for your sod to thrive.

Monitor- Sod can dry up very quickly, especially around the edges.  Sodding can be a large investment and you will want to make sure that you are monitoring your lawn.  If we experience a warm, breezy day, be prepared to water you lawn!

The Lawn Care Experts at Weed Pro

If you have more questions about using sod, the experts at Weed Pro can provide you the best advice in town.  Weed Pro staffs only licensed and trained technicians, and have been providing lawn care in Cleveland & Columbus for the past 12 years. 

Author: Andrew Muntz received his Master’s of Science in Turfgrass science and his Bachelors of Science in Landscape Horticulture at The Ohio State University, Columbus OH.