Nothing looks better in your yard and its landscaping than a soft green expanse of lawn. But when your yard contains a fair amount of dry dirt or patchy weeds and rocks, it can be difficult and time-consuming to get a new lawn growing just from an application of lawn seeds. But, a sod installation is an easy method to beautify your yard, and here are some recommendations to help you install and successfully grow your new lawn from a sod delivery.

Prepare the Ground

When you order your sod, make sure you have the site prepared before the delivery date. Your soil on the site will need to be supplemented with the right fertilizers and amendments to help the new sod take root after its installation. To do this, you may need to have your soil tested for its pH, which will determine if your soil needs any nitrogen, sand, or phosphorus added to improve its quality.

You can also remove the top layer of dirt if it contains a lot of weeds, bramble, or rocks, and replace it with some rich topsoil that has been screened for impurities, such as weed seeds. Then, level the new topsoil onto the area, making it one to two inches in thickness to ensure your new sod's success. 

Also, look at adding an in-ground sprinkler system within your yard. When your lawn gets installed onto soil that already has an irrigation system in place, you can ensure your new sod will get the required water application several times each day for the first few weeks.

Timing Is Important

Because the sod comes in rolls as a living plant, it is important that you lay it within the first day after its delivery. If you let the sod sit too long on the pallets, it will begin to dry out and die. Then if you lay the sod after it has died off, you will end up with a patchy, dead lawn that might not match your previous vision. 

If your time frame for installation gets extended out a couple of days longer, keep the sod wet by moistening it with your garden hose. You don't want to do this for too long, because the sod will begin to grow on the pallets in its rolls, and you won't be able to pull it apart to lay it onto the soil.

For more information, reach out to a local sod seller.