How Often Should You Be Watering Your Newly Installed Sod?

How Often Should You Be Watering Your Newly Installed Sod?

Installing new sod is an excellent way to achieve a lush, green lawn quickly. While it transforms your property instantly, your new lawn is still fragile and will need adequate hydration to establish. A good watering schedule for your newly installed sod will start as soon as installation is finished. Right after it is installed, you should water your sod deeply to jumpstart root development and prevent your new grass from drying out. Then, for the next two weeks, a frequent but light watering schedule is essential to keep the soil moist. After that, you can cut back on the frequency but water your new lawn for longer to promote deeper root growth. Additionally, you should avoid watering at night, as this can lead to fungal diseases. The best time to water your sod is in the early morning in Pennsylvania.

Water your sod deeply after installation to encourage it to start establishing its roots.

The day your new sod is installed is one of the most crucial moments that will determine whether it will take root properly or not. After your sod is installed, you'll want to water it deeply and thoroughly. This step is crucial because it will encourage your sod to attach its roots in the soil, kickstarting its development.

Ideally, the soil must be wet at a depth of about 3 to 4 inches. Skipping the first watering can be detrimental to your new grass. Freshly installed sod is vulnerable and can easily dry out. Without proper moisture, the roots will not bond with the soil, and your new grass will wilt, turn brown, and eventually die.

Light but frequent watering is key for two weeks after sod installation.

For the first two weeks after your sod has been installed, you'll want to water it several times throughout the day. However, each watering session must not run for long. The idea is to water your new sod lightly but frequently to keep the soil and the sod consistently moist.

This watering practice will support your sod's early root development, keeping it bonded with the ground as it continues to anchor itself on the ground. It's important to take extra care when watering your new sod during this time. While the rule is to water your new grass frequently, you'll want to be mindful of watering too much and making the soil soggy to avoid issues like fungal diseases.

Transition to deeper but infrequent watering for weeks 3 and 4 after sod installation.

Once you reach weeks 3 and 4 after your sod has been installed, you can cut back on the frequency of watering, but increase how long you do. This will ensure the soil is soaked deeply to train the roots of your sod to reach further into the soil, helping it become more established. Rather than short bursts of watering, you'll want to shift to watering your new lawn once or twice a day, but make each session run longer.

Avoid watering your sod at night.

While watering your sod is a crucial step to helping it establish its roots in the soil, you'll want to avoid doing so at night. That's because watering your sod at night can lead to fungal diseases, which can cause serious damage to your new lawn. Instead, you'll want to water your sod in the early morning. The cooler temperatures in the morning will allow the water to soak into your sod, giving it enough time to dry out properly so the grass blades are not exposed to moisture for too long. This will also minimize the loss of water because of evaporation.

Give us a call today to schedule our sod installation service.

At Lehigh Valley Lawn, we will install sod on your property to give you a beautiful, green lawn almost instantly. We offer our sod installation service to residential and commercial property owners in Macungie, East Greenville, Fogelsville, and throughout the surrounding areas in Pennsylvania. Give us a call today at (484) 547-8246 to schedule our sod installation service!