# Cutting Celebration sod into pieces to spread



## LushTurf (May 28, 2020)

So as I had discussed in an earlier topic, I have two areas in my yard that I had to take out trees, do some dirt work, repair irrigation, and get some sort of new turf growing. The smaller area is about 6,000 sq ft. It already had irrigation there, so with some simple head replacements I am able to keep it all watered. I didn't want to spend the money to have both sections sodded, so I am trying to take the cheap route. I was going to try to use scraps from a local sod farm, but they didn't have any. So I bought 3 pallets of Celebration Bermuda. I know that it won't match the 419 I have in my back yard, or the other larger section that I have redone, but they are separated by a large distance so it shouldn't be too noticeable. And I have been interested in trying Celebration. So my question is can I cut the sod into smaller pieces, and space them around the section in a grid pattern and let it fill in (sort of like plugging it I guess)? I have 3 pallets, that I need to get to eventually cover the 6k sq ft area. I have already laid the sod out on the ground to get it off the pallet and allow it to be getting watered. When I get home from work this evening I was planning on cutting it up and spreading it to cover evenly. I know this isn't ideal, but with over 3 acres of yard I can't afford to sod it all the way I want. Does anybody know of any reason cutting into smaller pieces and spreading them out won't work? I guess I should have come here for advice before I bought the sod, but it was a spur of the moment deal. I'm hoping to just get some reassurance that I can make it work.

I was also planning to use some of the sod to completely cover some sections that I can then pull plugs from after I get it established. Also, once the sod is laying on the ground and possibly started to root a little bit, can I still move the pieces without harming it? Please advise or let me know if there is a better plan to use 3 pallets of sod to cover 6k sq ft. Thanks.


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## Spammage (Apr 30, 2017)

@LushTurf your plan will work, but will probably need leveling at a later date.


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## Benwag (May 28, 2020)

I did basically this recently with an extra area I wanted to sod with some leftover sod but didn't have quite enough to fully sod it. I did basically a checkerboard pattern and it has been filling in nicely with runners fully going across the empty areas and I'm sure it will fill in fully in not too much more time. Only advice I have is to add some extra dirt or sand around the pieces to prevent them from drying out too fast while they are getting established


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## 1FASTSS (Jul 11, 2018)

You can do that but your yard would be pretty lumpy because of the different elevations between the existing sod 1.5" taller than the bare dirt. You'll want to raise the soil level up around the sod to help level things out...a lot of work! 

What I did and it filled in very quickly was that lay it out in full pieces in a long row and let it spread horizontally. I created a walkway about 100ft long with 2 pieces of sod and it was 1/2 way filled in within 2 months...full sun exposure. Then winter temps hit and it slowed down. Once spring came the rest of it filled in by May....I had purchased Arden 15 to seed with but sold it and went this route.

I only real issue I have is the elevation difference between the sod line and the existing ground. I've leveled it about 5 times and its better but it still scalps at that transition...its getting better each time though.

Good luck with your project. It will get there.


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## SunnyBermuda (Oct 16, 2019)

Yeah, like they said, it'd work great, but prepare to level next season after the sod establishes. Post some pictures of your progress.


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## LushTurf (May 28, 2020)

Thanks folks. I really hate that it is going to be so bumpy. I will take some pics when I get home and post them to keep up with progress.


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## Benwag (May 28, 2020)

If you want to try to avoid leveling as much you could try renting a sod cutter and set the depth to match your sod and set the new sod pieces in flush with the existing ground. If you go for this I would recommend laying them in rows and just running the sod cutter down a length and fill in with your sod. Just an idea


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## TampaBayFL (Jul 24, 2020)

As a somewhat extreme and carefree example of this concept, when I removed the celebration Bermuda from my yard and replaced it with Empire zoysia, I literally threw the pieces of Bermuda over my retaining wall into an open area. I then literally kicked the pieces around, raked them somewhat even, stomped them into the ground, etc. and then let mother nature do the rest.

Since I had to get rid of the grass anyway, and I really didn't care if any of the stuff took, it was a quick experiment. Surprisingly, the bulk of it actually took. It is now a green patch of various weeds and celebration, but it doesn't look half bad for this "no man's land" area.


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## LushTurf (May 28, 2020)

Benwag said:


> If you want to try to avoid leveling as much you could try renting a sod cutter and set the depth to match your sod and set the new sod pieces in flush with the existing ground. If you go for this I would recommend laying them in rows and just running the sod cutter down a length and fill in with your sod. Just an idea


Goodness, I wish I had thought of this. I actually know a guy with a sod cutter that I could borrow. Back to my question in my original post.... does anybody know if it will damage the sod or lessen the likelihood of it growing well if it has started to almost root and then I pull it up to move it? Obviously, it won't be "rooted" after I pull it up, but with more water and sunshine and time, will it just go back down like new sod?


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## TampaBayFL (Jul 24, 2020)

@LushTurf ......The sod I mentioned above was removed brutally and indiscriminately with a shovel. There was no regard to the Bermuda health nor the roots and it was simply thrown down and stomped down into the ground in the new unprepped area. Most of it took.


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

LushTurf said:


> Benwag said:
> 
> 
> > If you want to try to avoid leveling as much you could try renting a sod cutter and set the depth to match your sod and set the new sod pieces in flush with the existing ground. If you go for this I would recommend laying them in rows and just running the sod cutter down a length and fill in with your sod. Just an idea
> ...


It will be fine to move the sod even after it has started to root. I did the same with extra Tifway-419 sod that i threw behind my shop until I could prep additional area to place it. By the time I got the area prepped, the sod had already started to root behind the shop but it transferred just fine. I had to cut some of the roots with a flat shovel but it transferred well.


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## sirwired (May 21, 2020)

You can use a plugger to remove the existing ground, and then the same plugger to cut a piece of sod to place. Yard Butler even makes a square plugger if you don't want to waste sod.


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## southernbuckeye (Sep 29, 2019)

Are you on a well? If so, given that you already have great water coverage, you might want to try sprigging. Your pallets would provide an enormous amount of material, probably enough to do the entire 6k in one shot.


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## LushTurf (May 28, 2020)

Thanks for the replies. @southernbuckeye Yes, thank goodness I am on a well for my irrigation and such. I have already cut it into pieces and spread them out taking way more time and sweat than I want to forfeit to go back and sprig it. But I was wondering about that before as an option. I actually intended to sprig it, but I couldn't find any sprigs to buy locally. Can you pretty much make your own sprigs from sod?


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## southernbuckeye (Sep 29, 2019)

LushTurf said:


> Thanks for the replies. @southernbuckeye Yes, thank goodness I am on a well for my irrigation and such. I have already cut it into pieces and spread them out taking way more time and sweat than I want to forfeit to go back and sprig it. But I was wondering about that before as an option. I actually intended to sprig it, but I couldn't find any sprigs to buy locally. Can you pretty much make your own sprigs from sod?


People have talked about running sod through a woodchipper, which should work. But no one has actually done it yet.

Sprigs are hit or miss locally. A lot of sod farms won't sell them because they think it hurts their core business.


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## LushTurf (May 28, 2020)

I was wondering about why they don't sell sprigs. Seems like it would be easy for them to use a dethatcher and make a bunch of sprigs very easily. As far as the wood chipper, when a friend rode by and saw how many little squares I had cut with an edger and hand placed, he said I was crazy and he would have backed a bush hog over the whole pallet of sod before he did that. LOL! Sounds crazy, but based on what I have read on in this thread, it may actually make some viable sprigs.


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## TampaBayFL (Jul 24, 2020)

I was told that one of the golf courses near me was sprigged with Bermuda that was prepared and just this way. They took large pieces of it and ran it through a big shredder and spread it all around the golf course. I was also told they also used $200,000 in fertilizer at the same time!


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## LushTurf (May 28, 2020)

BTW, just getting around to adding some pics. Sorry for the dark pic, it was getting late when I finally launched the drone. I don't exactly love it and not sure about the final product, but it'll be a chance for me to learn if I can make it work like this. I hope with a lot of top dressing, I can pull it off. I did some solid areas and strips that shouldn't need too much work. The solid pieces scattered around had already started to root pretty good so I left them alone.



Here's my little piece of the earth just for reference of what I'm working with as far as the separate sections.



Thanks for the help and any further advice is definitely welcomed.


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## Benwag (May 28, 2020)

Looking forward to the progress!


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## cavince79 (Jun 18, 2019)

Should work just fine, but you'll have to do some leveling as you're aware.
I'm playing a similar game in my back yard on a much smaller scale with TifTuf. I started with 20 pieces of sod and some scraps and have been pulling sprigs and plugs and moving them around the yard.


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## LushTurf (May 28, 2020)

Just now getting around to updating this thread. This past weekend I used a top dressing machine to add a couple layers of "lawn sand" to start working towards leveling up what is going to be a nightmare to ride over. I hope it wasn't too soon to add sand, but all of the sod has rooted and seems to be doing well. Plus I wanted to add a little bit of material around the pieces to keep them from drying out so quickly. I used a broom to remove any significant amount of sand on top of the pieces so they don't get higher and even more unlevel. That night after spreading the sand, we got a 1 inch rain. I was concerned that I would have a disaster to clean up the next morning. To my surprise, it actually just helped to wash off remaining sand on top of the sod. Anybody have any input on leveling this mess? Once/if the grass starts to spread this summer, should I maybe hit it with one more half inch or so layer of sand? I still have some leftover. I also thought about watering to saturation and then rolling with a heavy roller to mash the pieces down into our soft soil and somewhat displace some dirt up around the pieces. Just an idea and don't know if it would work. Or should I just wait until next season to do a better leveling job? Problem is, I will have to cut it this season, and don't want to be scalping each piece. Any input or advice is greatly appreciated.


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

Where did you find the topdressing machine?


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## LushTurf (May 28, 2020)

Ha, well I couldn't believe it, but it was right under my nose! A guy that lives two doors down from me does work on sports fields. He owns all kinds of handy equipment. Topdresser, blades, planes, drags, sod cutter, multiple lawn size tractors, etc. I never even met him until a couple months ago. I'm learning about more and more stuff that he owns as I get into this project. He has been a God send for me.


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## 1FASTSS (Jul 11, 2018)

LushTurf said:


> Ha, well I couldn't believe it, but it was right under my nose! A guy that lives two doors down from me does work on sports fields. He owns all kinds of handy equipment. Topdresser, blades, planes, drags, sod cutter, multiple lawn size tractors, etc. I never even met him until a couple months ago. I'm learning about more and more stuff that he owns as I get into this project. He has been a God send for me.


Very cool....I have no where near the size of yard you have but having a topdresser even with 5K would be a god send! 

Just make sure your adding something to get the pieces to spread to it...Milo is cheap and its what I used to get mine to travel a little faster than normal.


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## LushTurf (May 28, 2020)

Good point. I was wondering about that. I can/will add fertilizer or any nitrogen source to try to make it spread when the time comes. How soon can I start adding something like that? What rate? Tomorrow and Saturday will be three weeks since I've laid the sod down.


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

That's awesome that you have someone so close! If anyone in the panhandle of Florida sees this and has a topdresser, please help. A group of us here in Panama City pooled our money and did a lot of bidding for a topdresser on the Weeks auction this week but we can up VERY short of the final amount.


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