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Most grass types are available as sod, although some warm-season grasses are also planted as sprigs or plugs. You can find sod composed of a mix of different varieties or different grass types just like seed mixes, but you have fewer choices.
You can plant sod anytime, but the ideal time is just prior to the period of optimum growth for that type of grass. At that time, the sod farmer has his sod growing fast. He harvests it and ships it to you, you plant right away, and the grass keeps growing fast. You have a great new lawn.
The optimal time to plant cool-season grasses is early fall or early spring. Warm-season grasses perform best when planted in mid- to late spring, just prior to warm summer weather.
 | Good weather makes a big difference in how easily you can successfully plant a lawn from sod. If the weather's too hot, you run around like a nut trying to keep the sod from drying out and dying. And don't forget: As easy as sod is to install, the work still involves some pretty hefty lifting. The cooler the weather, the better. Also, try to time your planting right before you expect some rain; Mother Nature can help you out with some of the watering chores. |
Buy the correct quantity
To order the right amount of sod, you need to know pretty accurately how many square feet of planting area you want to cover and then add a little extra. Most importantly, you don't want to be short of sod on planting day.
For example, if your lawn is a simple rectangle, measuring accurately is easy. If your lawn area is 20 x 30 feet, you need 600 square feet of sod. Just to be safe, order about 10 percent more than you actually need, or about 660 square feet.
On the other hand, if your lawn includes many irregular shapes, getting an accurate measure is more difficult. If you've done some estimating along with the arithmetic, order 15 or 20 percent more than your measurements.
You can also order sod by the number of sections. In that situation, you need to know the size of the section the sod farmer cuts, as well as the size of your area. Sod can vary in size, but say that you're looking at pieces 2 feet wide by 6 feet long, or 12 square feet of sod (length x width). To cover the same 600 square feet — plus 10 percent extra — you need 55 pieces of sod (660 ÷ 12 = 55).
Be a discriminating sod buyer
 | Sod is very vulnerable stuff after it gets cut. With only a thin layer of roots, the grass dries out quickly. If you leave the pieces rolled up for too long, two things happen: The grass suffers from a lack of light, and it also begins to heat up. Although the sod can't burst into flames, the temperature can get hot enough to kill the grass. (Sod begins to decompose slowly after it's cut, and that decomposition process produces heat.) So if sod handlers aren't careful from the minute they cut the sod until the time you plant it, you don't get the quality, instant lawn you're after. |
Other than asking how old the sod is, how can you tell if sod is fresh and healthy? Just look for these qualities, and you'll know whether you've found satisfactory sod:
- The sod, especially the roots and soil, should be moist, but not dripping wet. The edges shouldn't be dry, cracked, or starting to curl. Those are signs that the sod is too dry. Avoid it. If the sod is too wet, it may be too heavy and messy to handle.
- The grass should be evenly bright green and a consistent length. If the grass is starting to turn yellow or brown, don't buy it. Yellowing is a sign that the sod has been rolled up too long and will be slow to make a nice lawn when you get it home. If the blades are uneven in length, that's another sign the sod may have been stored too long.
- The sod should be thick enough so that it doesn't tear easily when handled. You'll be moving this stuff around quite a bit when you get home. It needs to hold together. The total thickness of a piece of sod — grass blades, roots, and soil — can vary from 1 to 3 inches. But the roots have to be at least 1/2-inch long to hold everything together. Some sod is grown over plastic netting to help hold it together. However, this netting can become a problem in home lawns. In areas where people walk a lot, the sod may wear and the netting come to the surface. So you may want to avoid netted sod.
- The sod should feel cool to the touch, not hot. If the sod has sat around too long, it begins to warm up through decomposition. That warmth can actually kill the grass.
- Be suspicious of sod that's been rolled out on the ground. Sod can last a long time rolled out on plastic or even on asphalt or concrete, but it must be watered a lot, several times a day. If rolled-out sod looks the least bit parched, pass it by.
Ask a reliable salesperson what type of grasses they grow and which type is best for your location. You don't want to plant a sun-loving grass in a shady garden.
If planting's delayed
All too often, freshly cut sod sits for too long before it's planted. The sod waits in the sun, getting too hot or dried out. Then, when the sod finally gets planted, it grows poorly, and everyone blames the sod farmer. Fresh sod should never sit around for more than a day in hot weather and three days in cool weather.
Getting fresh sod and planting it as soon as possible is very important. But freshness is a double-edged sword. If the sod arrives in perfect shape, but you're not ready to plant it, you've got a problem. Don't get yourself into such a situation. Be ready to plant when the sod arrives.
| If you can't plant the day the sod arrives, store the sod in the shade and keep it moist with a light spray from a hose until planting. If you really get stuck and can't plant for more than 24 hours in hot weather or three days in cool weather, unroll the sod, lay it out on a flat surface, and keep it moist. If you lay out the sod in the planting area, you mess up the prepared soil. You have to reroll the sod, move it, and relevel the ground before planting. Forget that. Bare ground is ideal for the rerolling, but don't do it in your planting area. A driveway or walkway can work, but gets pretty hot and dries out the sod quickly. Be careful if you use those areas. Don't cover the sod with anything like plastic. It's better to let it breathe. |
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