What You Can Do This Summer to Keep Your Sod Healthy

Sod installation can provide you with a beautiful, green lawn in the span of a weekend. However, after laying sod, there are some steps you should take to help ensure its long-term health.

If you recently took advantage of sod installation in Sunnyvale, TX, then keep reading to learn what you can do to keep your new lawn healthy this summer.

Inspect Your Irrigation

When it comes to sod problems, a significant amount of these are due to problems with the watering system. Ensuring that your lawn is getting the right amount of water for your turf grass variety and the season can help keep it healthy through the summer months. Too little water will leave your lawn dull and brittle, and too much can cause your yard to be soggy and prone to fungal disease. You should also be sure that none of the heads are plugged with debris and that the nozzles are in good condition. To do this, check your irrigation settings and then run your sprinklers. Each area of the lawn should get hit with water from 3 of the heads.

Fertilize Your Lawn

Healthy soil makes for healthy lawns, and this goes for sod, as well. While there’s no need to fertilize your sod right after installation, feeding it in the summer once it starts to become established can help ensure that it gets the nutrients it needs to keep its color and continue to grow. To help your sod grow lush and thick, consider feeding it a slow-release fertilizer every 6 to 8 weeks, taking care not to overfertilize it.

Minimize Stress Levels

The heat of summer can be stressful for your lawn, especially one that’s made up of newly planted sod. To help keep your sod healthy and happy despite the high temperatures, try to minimize the amount of additional stress that you put it through. To do this, avoid giving it too much foot traffic, wait for a couple of months before fertilizing, and mow on a consistent schedule without ever cutting off more than 1/3 of the blade length at a time.