# New sod questions



## Thor865 (Mar 26, 2018)

I'm new here but I have few questions regarding my project that is nearing completion.

I am in new construction, been here little over a year. Builder planted fescue seed and well I think you know how that went. I have completely re done my whole yard. Landscape company has tilled, Harley raked and re graded entire yard. Approx 6k sqft. They are putting down Tifway 419 coming from southwestern Tennessee this week.

I'm sure it is still dormant or barely showing signs of life due to the cold and snow and everything else that has been happening in this part of the world this spring.

I have done a lot of research into maintaining this new Bermuda sod but I have a few questions.

When should I start fertilizing this new sod if it's still dormant?

I'm assuming I will have to maintain a higher hoc due to inability to scalp this spring as is recommended?

When is too early to add a pre m like pro d or when should I?

I will be maintaining with a new cal trimmer reel mower so any help or insight would be appreciated. I will post pictures after new sod is laid this week


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Welcome to TLF! Glad you're here!

I would probably wait until the sod is greening up to fertilize - if it is dormant there will be little/no nutrient uptake.

I wouldn't scalp or stress the turf in any way until it has established/rooted.

The Prodiamine label says "To avoid turfgrass injury, do not apply to newly set sod until the sod has rooted and exposed edges have filled in."


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

tntifway said:


> ...I will post pictures after new sod is laid this week.


Oh, and we love pictures. :thumbup:


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## SGrabs33 (Feb 13, 2017)

Ware said:


> tntifway said:
> 
> 
> > ...I will post pictures after new sod is laid this week.
> ...


+1 on the loving pics. Welcome!


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## wfleming (Mar 13, 2018)

Here are some photos of my front yard after installing dormant Tif Tuf Bermuda. Installed on 3/1/18. There are still some shady spots that are taking a little longer to green up but for the most part is coming in great. Only thing i did was add some Revive soil treatment before laying the sod since we had a week or so after dirt work and tilling was done. Wanted to make sure everything was loose so roots would be able to take off.


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## Thor865 (Mar 26, 2018)

Thanks for your pictures "wfleming". It looks great and I know tiftuf and Tifway are similar in a lot of ways so that takes some stress and worry out of my head.


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## Thor865 (Mar 26, 2018)

So my sod farm is saying they can't cut Tifway because it's rained recently. So there trying to delay another week. I told them forget it and I'm going with Supersod in Hendersonville, Nc and there gonna be supplying TifGrand Bermuda. Anyone have any input on tifgrand vs Tifway?


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

tntifway said:


> So my sod farm is saying they can't cut Tifway because it's rained recently. So there trying to delay another week. I told them forget it and I'm going with Supersod in Hendersonville, Nc and there gonna be supplying TifGrand Bermuda. Anyone have any input on tifgrand vs Tifway?


I would probably choose the Tifgrand over the Tifway if that is an option. PM me if I need to change your username.


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

tntifway said:


> So my sod farm is saying they can't cut Tifway because it's rained recently. So there trying to delay another week. I told them forget it and I'm going with Supersod in Hendersonville, Nc and there gonna be supplying TifGrand Bermuda. Anyone have any input on tifgrand vs Tifway?


I would go with TifGrand over Tifway ANY day of the week as long as the costs aren't that big of difference. I would love to re-sod my lawn with TifGrand.


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## raldridge2315 (Jul 1, 2017)

[/quote]

I would go with TifGrand over Tifway ANY day of the week as long as the costs aren't that big of difference. I would love to re-sod my lawn with TifGrand.
[/quote]

+1


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## Thor865 (Mar 26, 2018)

Tifgrand will be going down this Tuesday! Will update pictures then


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

Thor865 said:


> So my sod farm is saying they can't cut Tifway because it's rained recently. So there trying to delay another week. I told them forget it and I'm going with Supersod in Hendersonville, Nc and there gonna be supplying TifGrand Bermuda. Anyone have any input on tifgrand vs Tifway?


Tifgrand handles cold, shade, lower Nitrogen levels, and diseases a lot better than Tifway does. One more thing, should you have those above issues handled, Tifway is something that needs mowing every other day unless it is on growth regulators. Tifgrand can get by on 1/2-3/4 lb of N per month and it has reduced mowing needs vs Tifway. If it is available, go for it.


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## Thor865 (Mar 26, 2018)

[/quote]
Tifgrand can get by on 1/2-3/4 lb of N per month and it has reduced mowing needs vs Tifway. If it is available, go for it.
[/quote]

It's already on schedule. Tifgrand will be delivered Tuesday so hope it does as well as advertised!


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

It will. To give you an idea, that is one of the only grasses I have seen besides St Augustine that did not have a problem with it being clouded over most of the time, less than 80* most of the year, and raining 12 months out of the year. Tifway would look like garbage if kept under those conditions.


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## Colonel K0rn (Jul 4, 2017)

Asking because I'm curious, and not because it's what I would suggest @Thor865 do unless it's wise: can you spray glyphosate on everything that's green tomorrow before they lay the sod down? That way everything that's green will die, and have fewer weed issues?


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

Colonel K0rn said:


> Asking because I'm curious, and not because it's what I would suggest @Thor865 do unless it's wise: can you spray glyphosate on everything that's green tomorrow before they lay the sod down? That way everything that's green will die, and have fewer weed issues?


I think you have a great idea there CK :thumbup: I believe our Northern members do it before seeding as the Round Up shouldn't have any residual effect especially if you water the day of sod installation just to be safe.


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## Thor865 (Mar 26, 2018)

Colonel K0rn said:


> Asking because I'm curious, and not because it's what I would suggest @Thor865 do unless it's wise: can you spray glyphosate on everything that's green tomorrow before they lay the sod down? That way everything that's green will die, and have fewer weed issues?


I have spoken to them and there are going to manually remove them with a Harley rake / rockhound? And re grade again tomorrow. It was done initially 2 weeks ago but weather and sod issues with previous farm has delayed me to this week. Do you believe this will be sufficient?


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

Should be good enough. Of course, be prepared for weeds emerging during the spring and summer. No preemergents until fall of this year. Although I can tell you that I have applied just about all of the postemergents to recently laid sod for weed control once its roots have grabbed the ground


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## Thor865 (Mar 26, 2018)

Greendoc said:


> Should be good enough. Of course, be prepared for weeds emerging during the spring and summer. No preemergents until fall of this year. Although I can tell you that I have applied just about all of the postemergents to recently laid sod for weed control once its roots have grabbed the ground


Sounds good. I am prepared for those pesky weeds to show up and will pre em asap


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

I hope you mean postemergents. Pre will keep the roots of the sod from tacking down.


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## Thor865 (Mar 26, 2018)

Yes I meant I'll pre em when everything is good and rooted


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## Colonel K0rn (Jul 4, 2017)

If you're in needthere's a small yard prodiamine split thread.You'll want to make sure that you've got the equipment to put it down though.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Mightyquinn said:


> I think you have a great idea there CK :thumbup: I believe our Northern members do it before seeding as the Round Up shouldn't have any residual effect especially if you water the day of sod installation just to be safe.


We do this on seed down day since it will be gone before the seed comes out. I don't recall reading about it before sod by any member.

I'm not sure what to think about it with sod. I think it will be ok since round up is absorbed by the leafs and not the root. Doing it ahead of time gives it some chance of it being absorbed before the sod is placed. I will error in the side of not doing it unless you find more info about it.


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## Thor865 (Mar 26, 2018)

Sod is down! Now what? lol


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

Water and fertilize.


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## Thor865 (Mar 26, 2018)

Greendoc said:


> Water and fertilize.


Balanced fertilizer? I have 3 bags milorganite and 2 bags of 24-24-2 starter


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

24-24-2.


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## J_nick (Jan 28, 2017)

If you could rent a roller it wouldn't be a bad idea to roll the lawn a couple times.


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

J_nick said:


> If you could rent a roller it wouldn't be a bad idea to roll the lawn a couple times.


Unless his landscape company just did a drop and kick, it is likely they rolled it.. I like to see new sod flooded with water then rolled. Rolling it dry is wasted work.


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

Greendoc said:


> J_nick said:
> 
> 
> > If you could rent a roller it wouldn't be a bad idea to roll the lawn a couple times.
> ...


Good point Greendoc :thumbup: I like the flooding and rolling idea.


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## Thor865 (Mar 26, 2018)

Yes it was watered and rolled! It looks pretty seemless some visible seems but not Sure if that could of been prevented.


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

Mightyquinn said:


> Greendoc said:
> 
> 
> > J_nick said:
> ...


My standard for a sod install is that it must be able to be mowed with my GM after it has been laid. I also do not want the ground under the sod to settle so much that turf becomes un mowable. I have been at lawns where the ground and the sod did not see any water at any time during the prep and install. Once one of our famous tropical rainstorms hit, deep holes formed in the lawn. One such lawn, I had to topdress with 5 tons of sand over 2000 sq ft. It was that bad.


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## jayhawk (Apr 18, 2017)

We'll be interested in your perspective after it settles in and managed w/a caltrimmer.

Neighbor and I split a beauty strip ....me TG, he's tiffTuff cut a cuple times a month  so it's not apples to apples. I go as low as my truCut can.


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

jayhawk said:


> We'll be interested in your perspective after it settles in and managed w/a caltrimmer.
> 
> Neighbor and I split a beauty strip ....me TG, he's tiffTuff cut a cuple times a month  so it's not apples to apples. I go as low as my truCut can.


To me, Cal Trimmers are similar to McLanes except with heavier construction and a locking clutch. They need a countertop flat surface to work best. So does a Tru-Cut. The flatter the surface, the nicer the cut comes out.


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## Thor865 (Mar 26, 2018)

jayhawk said:


> We'll be interested in your perspective after it settles in and managed w/a caltrimmer.
> 
> Neighbor and I split a beauty strip ....me TG, he's tiffTuff cut a cuple times a month  so it's not apples to apples. I go as low as my truCut can.


I actually have a John Deere 220E. So hoc will be whatever I feel comfortable with. Not sure where to start with the hoc. I haven't measured the sod to see where's it at now. But my goal is .75 or .5.


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

I can tell you that Tifgrand loves 1/2". Minimal thatching at that height, but still nice for kids to run around on. 0.75 is tall and thatch prone.


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## jayhawk (Apr 18, 2017)

Greendoc said:


> To me, Cal Trimmers are similar to McLanes except with heavier construction and a locking clutch. They need a countertop flat surface to work best. So does a Tru-Cut. The flatter the surface, the nicer the cut comes out.


agree, especially w/ a truCut that still has 2 rear wheels vs a greens mower drive roller. TifGrand- frequent nips and it'll wrap the ground nicely w/o the thatch.


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## Colonel K0rn (Jul 4, 2017)

Thor865 said:


> Sod is down! Now what? lol


Get a few more sprinklers on the lawn!


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

:nod:


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## Colonel K0rn (Jul 4, 2017)

Oh, one more thing, it might not be a bad idea to pull up a couple of spots and grab some soil so you can send off samples and see what you're working with soil-wise. That'll help you in the longer run to get a baseline for pH, Micros, soil structure, etc.


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## Thor865 (Mar 26, 2018)

Is it common for the lawn to be somewhat bumpy? And is it fine to re roll it again?


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

Rolling is not going to do much more for it unless done with a 1000+lb construction roller. However, that will compact the soil. After sod is laid, it may be necessary to topdress with sand to level and fill low spots.


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## Thor865 (Mar 26, 2018)

Greendoc said:


> Rolling is not going to do much more for it unless done with a 1000+lb construction roller. However, that will compact the soil. After sod is laid, it may be necessary to topdress with sand to level and fill low spots.


Should be able to topdress this summer right? It's gonna need it


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

Sure can. In my state, sod can be topdressed as soon as it has been laid and rolled. In your case, it is best to wait until it resumes active growth.


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## Thor865 (Mar 26, 2018)

Ok so update sod is still looking pretty dormant. Hasn't taken root yet to underlying soil. Probably due to the near freezing temps we've had end of this past week. It's gonna be 80's end of this week and consistently 70's so hoping it will take off. Current height of sod as when it was laid is approx 1inch. So what's too low to cut when I do mow? And I do need to wait until it's rooted to mow?


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

Let it take root before mowing. Your first mowing should be at 0.8-0.75. Tifgrand loves to be low. It does well at 0.5 or lower.


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## Thor865 (Mar 26, 2018)




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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

That grass is not going to do anything and neither should it be touched until it starts to actively grow. In turf management, knowing when to step back is valuable. I have seen my share of catastrophe caused by doing, and then overdoing. Less is more.


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## Tellycoleman (May 10, 2017)

Thor865 said:


>


Thats going to look awsome when it greens up.
And hey you have your own source of leveling sand in your back yard.

Tell your wife : "Baby I dont know where all the play sand is going. Cough cough"


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