A beautiful, lush lawn or yard area not only makes a property look more attractive and put-together, but it is an ideal place for a family to relax or for children to play. Additionally, a grass lawn or yard area can help prevent erosion and brings some of the stress-reducing effects of plants and green space to your home. When deciding on a lawn, homeowners can choose between having a lawn seeded, or opting for sod installation.
Why Growing a Lawn From Grass Sod Is the Best Landscaping Option
- You get to use your lawn sooner: A seeded lawn takes much longer than a grass sod lawn to grow in. This means that you can use your lawn sooner.
- You get a beautiful lawn right away: Even once a seeded lawn grows in, it needs to be re-seeded in order to become as lush and green as a grass sod one. It can take up to two years of care for a seeded lawn to be grown in to the level of a grass sod lawn.
- Less irrigation and water wastage: A grass sod lawn has already been grown from seeds, which require extensive watering and care earlier on, which saving you water.
- You know the grass has been grown by experts: With a grass sod lawn, there is no need to re-seed or worry about root development. The grass is already grown close together, making it dense and lush. Additionally, you can be sure that you’ll sidestep many of the issues that come with seed-grown lawn landscaping: Calgary is very sunny, with windy weather. This can make it difficult for a busy homeowner to ensure that grass seeds get enough water and don’t blow away in the wind.
Calgary Landscaping: Four Tips For Caring For Your Lawn after Sod Installation
1. Do Not Use Your New Lawn Right Away
- New sod has shallower roots than an established lawn, so it is important to ensure that the roots do not get torn up. There are certain precautions that you can take to make sure that your lawn is able to properly take hold:
- Avoid walking on your new sod for at least 10 days, and avoid walking on the lawn for three weeks to a month. The exact amount of time your lawn should remain undisturbed can vary by weather conditions, so it can be helpful to ask you Calgary landscaping expert for more specific information.
- To make sure children and pets do not go on the lawn, it can be helpful to put up a small barrier with stakes and ribbon or tape.
2. Water Your Lawn Frequently
- Keeping the new grass sod lawn well-watered allows the grass to put down strong roots.
- The best time to water your new grass sod lawn is earlier in the day. This is before the weather has gotten hot enough to evaporate the water, meaning you will conserve water.
- Take the climate into account when planning on caring for new landscaping: Calgary has sunny weather year-round, and can have high temperatures in the summer. This makes ensuring your new lawn is adequately watered very important.
3. Do Not Over-Fertilize Your New Grass Sod Lawn
- Sod is usually fertilized before it is transported to the lawn, and fertilizing it too soon can be counterproductive because the lawn might not be able to absorb all of the nutrients in the fertilizer.
- Not only does over-fertilizing waste fertilizer, but it can cause a lawn to develop some yellowish patches.
4. Mow Your Lawn With Care
- New sod should not be mowed immediately, because immediately after sodding the roots are not established. Mowing or disturbing the lawn, especially with a ride-on lawn mower, can tear up the grass.
- The best time to begin mowing the lawn is around three weeks to one month after the grass sod lawn installation.
- You should avoid mowing the lawn if the grass is less than three or four inches long. THe exact length of the ideal grass to cut can depend on the type of grass and other factors, so it is best to discuss this with your Calgary landscaping expert prior to sod installation.
- Avoid cutting the grass too short (never more than ⅓ of the blade length at a time), and make sure your mower blade is sharp to avoid pulling on the grass too much and disturbing it.
- Mow along strips rather than across them to avoid tearing up the grass , and stop watering the lawn a day or two before mowing to avoid tearing and clumping the grass sod.
Contact Us
To learn more about landscaping, sod installation, and how a well-maintained lawn or green space can beautify your property, you can reach us at (403) 669-4434 or through the contact page of our website.
