If you have decided to install new sod on your lawn, you probably want it to go smoothly. If you want the roots to establish properly, you should follow a few key steps during the sod installation San Diego. Make sure you do your research before installing your new sod.
In addition to taking important steps, you should also avoid several mistakes. Listed below are the most common mistakes that property owners make when installing new sod:
Improper Preparation
Before laying the first piece of sod, the work of laying new sod begins. It is extremely critical to clear, level, and enrich (if necessary) the entire area in which you intend to install the newly installed sod. You must remove all existing grass, weeds, and plants to obtain a clear, root-free surface.
A soil test kit can be purchased from your local grass care store or online for testing soil chemistry and amendments. While some people simply add nutrients to their existing soil, others incorporate completely different soil. Make sure any components added are thoroughly mixed to ensure they are distributed evenly over the entire area.
The soil should be leveled once amended to achieve a completely flat surface. During flattening, avoid compressing the soil so much that all air is squeezed out. During sod root establishment, the air is required in the soil base layer. Using an aerator will help fluff up the soil if it becomes too compacted. It’s now time to lay your new sod.
Buying Sod Too Early
The process of planning your sod installation may already include looking at sod varieties. The type of grass you choose depends on several factors, including the type of soil, flooding risks, and proximity to salt and sand. When you have chosen the sod variety you want, you may be tempted to order right away so that you know you will get exactly what you need.
However, you need to take it slow. It’s okay to choose your sod variety early in the process, but you shouldn’t purchase any until closer to installation. Exactly why? After the sod is harvested, it begins to dry out just like any living plant.
Choosing sod weeks or even days in advance of your install date will probably result in wilted, dry, crunchy, and perhaps dead sod. As a result, your money would have been better off just thrown in the trash.
Leaving Gaps
After preparing your soil and receiving a fresh delivery of Council Grower’s locally-grown sod, it’s time to start laying. When putting sod together, you need to ensure every piece fits perfectly. Try to avoid leaving gaps or forcing sod into spaces where it doesn’t fit well. It will ensure that your lawn is even and uniform and that there will be no empty patches.
Not Flattening the Sod
When the sod is perfectly pieced together, roll it out. Sod rollers can be found at most lawn care stores and are specifically designed for this purpose. Several people like to skip this step, but flattening the sod installation San Diego ensures that there are no air bubbles underneath and that the roots are in full contact with the soil. Root establishment will boost the lawn’s appearance and promote root growth.
Watering Too Much or Not Enough
Sod must be watered according to specific requirements to ensure proper adhesion. Several factors affect watering, such as precipitation, temperature, shade, etc., so it’s impossible to provide set-in-stone instructions.
Reduce it to every other day for the next four weeks, and then examine the roots. It’s alright if the sod doesn’t pull away easily from the underlying soil.
Mowing Too Soon
After you spend money on new sod, you probably won’t be able to watch your lawn grow uncontrollably for those first two months. Mowing during this period must be avoided. During this initial period, mowing your lawn can affect its roots in two ways.
- As a first step, lawnmowers can damage newly formed roots.
- Second, cutting the grass blades too short will damage their crown.
Fertilizing Before Root Establishment
In some cases, your new sod installation San Diego might not grow as fast as you would like. Adding fertilizer to your lawn to speed up its growth is not advised for new sod. Fertiliser can damage or even destroy newly formed root systems, leaving you with a dead, brown patch. It is only necessary to fertilize once the roots have been fully established.
