New Sod: The First Three Weeks Decide Everything

Fresh sod arrives as a living thing with its roots cut off. Everything about the first three weeks is about getting those roots back into the soil underneath before the top dries out.

Reason one it fails: the ground was not prepared. Sod laid straight onto compacted, unraked clay has nothing to root into, so it sits there like a rug, greens up for a fortnight on stored moisture, and then goes brown in patches. Grading, loosening and raking the soil first is not a nicety — it is the difference between sod and expensive turf-coloured carpet.

Reason two: watering that is frequent but shallow, or generous but late. New sod wants to be kept genuinely damp — soil damp, not just blade damp — for the first couple of weeks, then watered less often and more deeply so the roots chase the moisture down. An irrigation system earns its cost here, because it does the same thing at the same time every day whether or not anyone is home.

By about week three you should not be able to lift a corner. That is the test, and it is the only one that matters.

Putting in new sod, an irrigation system, or both? Call Lobos Landscape & Hardscaper at (423) 284-5919 for a free estimate.