How To Lay Sod For a Perfect Lawn

Test your soil to find out what nutrients it needs. Garden centers sell do-it-yourself kits, or you can arrange a test through your local Extension Service.

Put down the first row of sod along a straight line, like the edge of a driveway. If your yard is uneven all around, create a straight line by tying a string between two stakes.

Stagger the rows of sod the way bricklayers arrange bricks. As you put down each roll, tuck the edges into the next one as tightly as possible without overlapping them. Spaces between sod strips can cause the edges to die, turning them brown.

Keep your budding lawn moist by watering it, once a day for 10 minutes for the next three weeks. After that, give it about an inch and a half of water over a week.

Press the sod into the soil with a weighted lawn roller. This will help knit it into the soil.

Wait until your new grass is about five inches tall before mowing it for the first time; then keep it between two and three inches.

Lay sod at the appropriate time of year, which depends on where you live. Ask your local gardening center or check with the Cooperative Extension System, a national agricultural network. Find the nearest Extension office on the USDA web site.

Take the weather into consideration: If it’s been rainy, water less; if it’s been hot and dry, water more. To test if your lawn needs watering, walk on it. If the grass springs back, it’s fine; if your footprint remains and the grass has a grayish hue, it’s too dry.