How Do I Take Care of My New Lawn?

The first water of newly installed sod is the most important. Begin water immediately after installation. Be sure to water your new sod a good soaking inch every single day for at least a week.

The first water establishes how well the grass will perform for years to come.

To check if you are watering enough you can pull back a corner for the new sod and push a screwdriver or other sharp tool into the soil.

It should push in easily and have moisture along the first 3 to 4 inches.

Corners and edges are easily missed by many sprinklers and part vulnerable to drying out faster than the center portion of your lawn.

Areas near buildings also tend to dry out faster because of heat that is reflected off of them.

Runoff may occur on some areas before the soil gets enough moisture.

To conserve water and insure adequate soak-in, turn-off the water when runoff beings, wait 30 minutes to an hour and restart the watering on the same area.

Water as early in the morning as possible to take advantage of the daily start of the grass’s normal growing cycle.

Infrequent and deep watering is preferred to frequent and shallow watering because the roots will only grow as deeply as their most frequently available water supply.

What you will need:

4-6 flat-bottomed, straight-sided cans (tuna fish, cat food, etc); a ruler; and a watch.

Step #1
Arrange the cans at random distances away from the sprinkler, but within the area you assume is being covered.

Step #2
Run the sprinkler, for a specific amount of time (30 minutes) or run the water until a specific amount of water is in at least one can (0.5 in.)

Step #3
Measure the amount of water in each can, checking for uniformity. Some variation is expected but a difference of 25-30% or more between any two cans must be addressed by replacing or adjusting the sprinkler or relocating the system.