Sometimes it is not enough to oxygenate, sow and adequately water a lawn for it to be green and luxuriant, as many people like. To obtain a turf of this kind, it is necessary to unroll and spread the clods of cultivated lawn so that, thanks to adequate maintenance, they take root in the soil. The steps below detail how to care for turf sod.
Steps
Step 1. Spread the sod after wetting the soil
Step 2. Fertilize it no later than two weeks after laying
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Avoid using a chemical fertilizer, as it can dry out your lawn. The use of an organic fertilizer, such as Ironite, is recommended.
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Spread the fertilizer on the sod by hand and with a rake, or use a spreading machine and fertilizer to apply the fertilizer.
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Continue using the fertilizer once a month.
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Step 3. Check for signs of diseases, such as fungal diseases, within 3 days of placing the clods
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Stop watering the sod for a day and apply a fungicide at the first signs of the disease.
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Choose a granular or spray fungicide, which you can buy at any nursery. The granular ones can be spread manually or with the spreading machine. In severe cases, it will probably be necessary to use a brand that specializes in the care and maintenance of turf.
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Step 4. Follow a watering schedule based on the time of year you laid sod
- Water them twice a day for the first 3 days, then once a day for the next 7-10 days if the clods have been laid in a hot period (over 26 ° C). Then water every other day for a week, then every three days the next.
- Modify your watering schedule, watering twice a day for the first 2 days and then once a day for 4 days, if you laid sod in a cold period (less than 26 ° C). After the first week, water every other day during the second, once every three days in the third and every 4 days in the fourth.
- Adjusts the amount of water to be administered during the various irrigation cycles. At first apply 1.3 cm of water. As the frequency decreases, wet the sod with 2.5 cm of water each time you water.
- Check that the water saturates the soil under the clods.
Step 5. Cut the grass
Shorten it for the first time 2 weeks after laying and if the grass reaches at least about 10 cm in height.
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Don't cut it more than 1.3 cm at a time.
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Make it about 5cm tall.
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Advice
- After the sod has been laid, water it when temperatures are cooler, such as late afternoon or early morning.
- You will likely need to water the sod two or more times a day a week if the temperatures are very high (over 32 ° C) and if the weather is dry.
- Once the sod has been laid, watered and cared for, the roots could take nearly 2 years to take root.
- Use a lawn mower with a sharp blade. Sharpen it roughly every 4 weeks if needed. The blunt blades do not make clean cuts, stress the grass and make it more prone to dehydration and disease.
- Consider applying a fungicide towards the last months of spring, summer, or fall, as fungal diseases are more likely to occur during these times.
Warnings
- The presence of brown or gray spots on the sod could indicate that the grass needs to be watered more in those spots.
- Do not overwater. Although it is important to keep the sod moist after laying, an excess of water could damage the roots and make them more vulnerable to disease or insect attacks.
- If before laying you left the sods stacked on top of each other, do not water them as this could create a "microwave effect" that could burn the grass.
