The fastest way to a lush new lawn is to use sod. Your yard will essentially be dropped into place as each strip is laid. Rooting your new sod is vitally important to promoting a healthy future for your lawn.

Here are some excellent preparation steps that can be done before your new sod is laid to help ensure your landscape investment grows to its maximum potential.

Weed and Invasive Grass Removal

The area that you are preparing for sod may already be bare dirt, but if it is not, you need to make it that way. If the area is not completely dirt, with no growth at all, it is a good idea to apply a complete herbicide treatment to kill all unwanted weeds and invasive grasses. It is suggested that you wait a minimum of two weeks before laying sod over any treated areas, so prepare accordingly if you need to clear away unwanted growth.

Soil Test

Once the area is completely bare, have a soil test completed. You can often take samples to your local extension service, but a professional landscaper can also perform this important test.

What a soil test is going to provide is evidence of any soil deficiencies that may create problems for your new sod. You will learn the pH level of your soil, plus the test will give you a clear indication of other types of mineral issues in the dirt that will be the growing medium for your new lawn.

Knowledge of this information will give you a chance to correct any problems prior to the installation of your sod. Taking care of issues at this stage is much easier than finding out after your grass shows problems that are related to soil conditions.

Tilling

Once you've removed all the growth, leaving the area clear, and once you have your soil-test information in place, you can successfully prepare the soil to receive sod. If you are not educated in how to adjust for soil problems, a landscape professional can provide you with that information, plus they have the equipment to perform this important final prep.

There should be three tilling stages to your final prep. You will till the entire area to be sodded—at least six inches deep.

First Till

When you finish tilling, do a walking inspection of the area, picking out any visible rocks, roots, or other things that are not dirt. As you do this inspection step, have a garden rake with you to level out any large hard clumps. If you have a sandy base soil, clumps should not be a problem.

Second Till

Do the second till of the area across the direction you did the first time. This will break your soil up to an even finer state, making it more receptive to new root growth. While you probably won't find much this second time around, do a walkover checking for rocks and roots again.

Third Till

This will be your final till and is the stage in which you add any nutrients, fertilizer, or soil additives to improve your soil quality or correct problems. Evenly broadcast anything you add, including a root starter fertilizer.

Use granular fertilizer and reduce the amount by 25% to avoid burning new root growth from your sod. Spreading a layer of topsoil or even Sphagnum peat moss will also help establish a fertile growing medium for the sod.

Do this final tilling diagonally across the sod area. Since the sod will be laid in rows or rolled in parallel rows, this will provide a better base layer under the sod to enhance early root growth.

The success and vitality of your new lawn will depend on the strength of the root system. Preparing the area ahead of time by using these simple steps can help ensure you have a lush lawn for years to come. Contact a company such as Metro Sod & Seeding Inc for more information.