Now that your new sod lawn has been installed, it is now up to you to ensure that it thrives. The most important factor (arguably over 95%) in your lawn’s success is proper watering.
Ensuring proper watering from day 1 will ensure that your sod survives until it establishes roots. Use this guide as a baseline and adjust based on weather conditions. If your lawn receives rainfall, then water less. In cases of extreme heat or wind, increase the watering frequency or duration.
Watering your new lawn is the same whether you have inground irrigation or not. The goal is to keep the sod moist without soaking it. Every lawn is unique so adjust your watering process as you get to know your lawn.
We recommend to begin by watering your lawn twice per day for roughly 10 minutes for each session. Your first watering should be early in the morning, followed by another in the afternoon.
For those irrigation systems, this means 10 minutes per zone twice a day. If you are using movable sprinklers, ensure every section of the lawn is watered for 10 minutes.
Early morning watering is crucial as it allows sufficient time for the water to soak into the grass and soil before the sun rises and evaporates a significant amount of water.
The final step is checking your sod around 5pm daily. Gently pull up the edge of a piece of sod in each area of your lawn. If the soil is bone dry, perform another watering. If the ground is soaked and water is pooling, reduce your watering time or switch to once a day.
Different sections of your lawn will have varying needs. Areas with direct sunlight will require more water, while shades areas will need less. Sloped areas will need more, and low points will need less. The goal remains to keep the grass moist. Spot spray dry areas or run your irrigation in zones that require more water.
Use this as a guide as reference, recognizing that every sprinkler is unique and some irrigation systems may have gaps. Keep the sod consistently moist, and let the sun l take care of the rest!
Are you ready for the lawn that you have always wanted? Give Lawnjunkie a shout for a free estimate today!