Some tips for lawn care

Prepare the soil as you would for a seed bed - rototill to a depth of 3 to 4 inches and rake smooth. Make sure the overall grade will run water to the boundaries of your property to eliminate water pockets. A light application of a fertilizer low in Nitrogen and high in Phosphorus and Potash with help root establishment.

Green side up! Actually there are no hard-fast rules in laying sod. Make sure all seams are snug and avoid laying sod over clumps or stones that create air gaps that will dry out the sod quickly and hinder rooting. Rolling the sod after laying is not necessary, but it gives that added touch of professionalism.

This is the most important and critical operation immediately after the sod is laid. Start watering as soon as you have an area big enough to water. If sod is allowed to dty out it may shrink causing gaps between the seams. Water to a point so that the sod has a squishy feel to it. You can't overwater on the first watering. Continue to water twice daily until sod has rooted. Gradually lessen the amount of water applied at each setting once sod has rooted up to the oint of mowing. A good rule of thumb to remember is that heavier, less frequent watering are beter than lighter, more frequent waterings. You need to keep the moisture deep in the soil so grass roots establish themselves deeper in the soil. After rooting has been established water only as necessary to keep the sod green and growing.

Depending on how fast your sod roots determines how soon you can mow for the first time, uwually 1 to 1.5 weeks. Reach down and gently pull up on the sod, if it has attached itself to the soil enough to resist the upward force of a lawn mower it is ready to mow. Mow at the highest setting for the first mowing, then gradually lower your mower one setting at a time for subsequent mowings to a height you like, usually 1.5 to 2 inches. REMEMBER: Never remove more than one third of the grass blade height at each mowing. To do so may cause the grass plant to undergo shock. Tell tale signs of mowing too low or removing too much of the grass blade at andy one time will produce a yellowish cast to the lawn. Another good rule of thumb is that the lower you mow the grass the quicker it dries out and produces a shorter deeper rooting. One more point, since new legislation has eliminated the disposal of bagged clippings, be happy to know that those clippings you used to removce and discard are full of nitrogen, enough to supply one third of the lawn's nitrogen requirements for the whole season! If you mow often enough to keep the clippings short they will decompose and become part of the soil.