# New Sod & Under watering? (AB Canada)



## Barty1884 (Aug 24, 2020)

Hi all!

Stumbled across this forum while Googling some tips etc for my new sod.

New development, took possession of the place in mid-June &, sod was finally thrown down on Friday (thrown is probably a fair description given what I saw!).
Unfortunately no clue what the sod is specifically, assuming that matters?

Anyway, I've been watering for around 30-45 minutes total, twice a day (around 8am then ~9pm).

I noticed yesterday while working in the garage that the side of the yard seemed a little crispy(?) underfoot, so I watered that area for an extra 10 mins during the day... although I gather in ~30'C weather that's a bad idea.

Fast forward to this morning & I get a knock at the door from the builder. Out back still seemed damp,so I didn't water. He pointed out the small area out front looked like it wasn't getting enough water, and as a layperson, I'm not sure if I agree. Although there were patches in the soil that were dry, most of each piece I checked was at least damn underneath.

I hosed it down for ~15 mins after he stopped by, but nothing really changed underneath.

I'm at a loss and would appreciate any tips etc.

I'm thinking I should buy a sprinkler to connect to my hose & set it up for 3 zones (front, main infront of garage, then down the side of the garage)

**I just went outside & picked a 'crispy' 3x2' section. It took a solid 2 minutes with a straight jet on the hose* before there was visible water on the soil (not puddles, but not far off).**

Appreciate any assistance.

Pics:


Spoiler



Only pic I have after it went down:









Same view today:









Out front:









Spot Check (front)









Side:









Spot Check (side)









Back

















Spot Check(back)


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

That's way too dry. You can't let it dry or it will die. Try to measure how many inches of water you are doing and try to only water in the am. To measure, use a straight walls container (eg. Empty tuna can). You want to get around 0.2in of water per day for the next few weeks. Since it is very dry right now, go for a full inch at once.


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## BadDogPSD (Jul 9, 2020)

I've sodded 4 different lawns over the years and always watered 4-5 times a day to keep the grass & soil moist for the first couple of weeks. This is especially important with the high temps you are getting.


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## Barty1884 (Aug 24, 2020)

Is it not counter productive to water through the day in 30'C weather? I was always of that belief, interesting to hear otherwise.

I'e just been out there for two & a half hours absolutely soaking it - got more in common with a swimming pool at this stage that it does a lawn! If that's not sufficient, I've no clue what might be.

I bought a couple of oscillating sprinkler & hoses, and an adapter for the faucet. Unfortunately, the water pressure really doesn't let them do their 'thing' in tandem, really hoped that might've been a solution. Even with one set up, I couldn't get reasonable coverage. It skipped everything near it and only got a couple of feet either side reasonably 'wet'. In the time it would take the sprinkler to truly soak, I could do the area manually and have no skipped patches.

Ultimately, 2 1/2 hours (potentially twice) a day can't be viable for a fairly typical to typical-small yard, can it?

I have more free time in the evening vs morning, when accounting for allowed watering schedules with my permit (6-9am, 7-10pm). Is there any major benefit to morning over evening? Other than the logical good soak before the direct sun hits it, of course.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Morning avoid fungus. But if your permit limits you, do an and pm.


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## BadDogPSD (Jul 9, 2020)

Once the grass is established you don't need to water throughout the day. Until the roots have grown into your soil, the sod will dry out quickly. There is only an inch or two of dirt on your sod, the roots are also only 1-2 inches... it just cant hold the water for very long.


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## Barty1884 (Aug 24, 2020)

Couldn't put the same kind of time in this morning due to work commitments, so it got probably 30 mins total. 
Still felt a bit soggy underfoot, I just hope there's enough down to protect it from the sun throughout the day


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## Barty1884 (Aug 24, 2020)

So I didn't water Friday (as per water permit), and it rained a bit yesterday so I skipped. Ground is still soft down to at least a couple of inches (tested pushing my finger down), and some roots are starting to come through in some spot checks through, including the bits that look pretty dead to me.

Still doesn't look great, but I'm hoping patches are just dormant given the heat opposed to anything worse.

Is it possible I've been OVER watering?


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

No.


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## BBLOCK (Jun 8, 2020)

neighbor and I just had our driveways repaved and re-sodded between them. not much 120sq'

got it to root in less that two weeks pretty well and it's doing great.

when it first went down watered it really well so that the soil beneath was really wet.

watered it in the morning daily with a soaker hose for 40 minutes or so. until the sod was wet and the soil a couple inches beneath it. then when it got hot, between noon and 1pm would hit it again for another 30-40 mins and that would pretty much keep it good, now it's rooted everywhere and it's 2 weeks tomorrow, mowed it twice last couple of days. but we have also been getting some copious amounts of rain the last 2 weeks and cooler weather.

i think it comes down to if it's drying out, water it and soak it. avoid watering at night.


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## Barty1884 (Aug 24, 2020)

So, at this stage I'm about two 1/2 weeks since the sod went down.

Looks like things have improved quite a bit, but still far from great.
Everything, minus a couple of corners & the two leftmost/lowest strips out front strip out front has taken root & there's resistance if I try to lift.

Out front has gone from this (posted above), Aug 25th









To today (Sept 8)









We've had a couple of days rain, nothing crazy. The roots still look soaked & the ground is still very soft underfoot, so I skipped this morning (and Sun/Mon due to rain) just to see. Worst-case, redoing out front myself isn't the end of the world.

Out back, I'm really on the fence about. It's looking greener & longer in a lot of spots, but still.... I'd appreciate opinions.

Aug 25










Sept 8

































Is there anything I can do to improve results? Mowing it?
Topsoil? Fertilizer?


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

You will need to mow it soon. You can add a bit of fertilizer at 4 weeks, but that means more water since it will force more growth. The back looks like it is improving more than the front.

Don't let it get dry again. Better weather will be here soon.


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## Barty1884 (Aug 24, 2020)

Yeah, the front still looks bad.... The side is doing much the same as the back, patchy in a couple spots, but all in all, fairly green.

Wasn't sure if mowing was a good or bad idea. I gather that once it's rooted is a good time to start mowing,.... I might mow it at the highest height of my mower tonight before watering.

Highest temp we have all week is ~24'C and typically <20, so without the extreme heat, hopefully I'll keep seeing improvements (although out front I'm pretty sure I'm just going to replace in the spring unless some kind of miracle happens)


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