The following facts are the important basics about sodding that may be new to you, or they may be a good review to refresh what you know about sod installation:

1. Don’t walk over your lawn when it is covered by snow. Walking a path on your lawn during the winter can damage the grass and prevent the spring shoots from growing in the trampled areas, leaving ugly bald spots. Paths throughout the garden should be planned and set in advance to prevent dry and damaged grass, even in the winter.

2. Compared with seeding a lawn, during the first few years after installation, a sodded lawn will have little few problems with weeds establishing themselves (unless of course they were rampant just before the installation, in which case re-sodding helps to manage the situation). You should always be able to recognize weeds when you see them pop up, and swiftly remove them—the most notorious offenders being dandelions and clover, which can multiply and spread rapidly and “drown out” the growth of your cultivated grass, spoiling the entire look of your lawn. Just cutting the grass isn’t enough to get rid of them, so you must be merciless when tearing them out of the soil by hand with as much of the root as possible. Remaining roots are still viable for a while before the plant gives up and dies, and so long as it produces some green leaves in which it can obtain energy from the sunlight, you will continue to have a problematic weed in your garden. When removing dandelions, try to do so before they go to seed and scatter all over your lawn, they will be quick to sprout and grow new shoots if given the opportunity.

3. Avoid walking on the freshly laid sod after an installation before the first mowing. During this period, right after the grass is laid, it will need to be watered thoroughly well, more than any other time the grass may require it—try having the installation just before a period of prolonged rains, which will water it thoroughly and prevent it from being tampled.

4. Cuttings should be removed from the lawn when you mow it, but small bits of cuttings that remain between the blades are ok to leave in, they will act as a bit of mulching and fertilize the ground when they decompose. However, it is advisable to avoid leaving the cuttings over your lawn as it prevents the live grass from having full access to the sunshine they need for energy, and can promote thatch.

5. Consider investing in the purchase of an electric or gasoline powered lawn mower—it is an indispensable help to gardeners that want to keep a beautiful, even lawn. Leaving room in your budget for this machine will not be superfluous, as you will need to mow your lawn often during the growing season of the grass. Keeping the grass at it’s healthy height of 2.5 cm-3.5 cm, while not letting it grow too long (don’t cut more than 1/3 of the size of the grass blade at any cutting, or it will weaken the grass) is A LOT of work to do by hand.

6. Do not destroy earthworms, they do not ruin the lawn. The more of them that live under a layer of turf, the healthier and stronger the grass will be. Vermicompost (earthworm droppings) is a powerful—and FREE—natural fertilizer.

7. Watering a mature lawn should only be done when necessary and only use  a sufficient amount of water for the grass. Too much moisture disturbs the natural balance of the soil, suffocates earthworms and compacts the topsoil, leading to the overgrowth of the sod layer. Keep in mind that it is better not to walk on a freshly watered, wet lawn.