How to Lay Sod Grass In Time for Spring

Our lawn has been in rough shape for quite awhile. It’s not a large plot, about 10×12, but it adds some nice color to our backyard. The rest of our yard surface is concrete which we’ve covered with an outdoor rug and furniture but we want to keep the lawn as good looking as possible. It’s got burns from dog urine and was simply neglected by the previous tenants.


Recently I got the call from a neighbor who had some leftover sod he was willing to give me so I headed over to check it out. It was almost the perfect amount that we needed so I spent the afternoon laying the new sod. Sod should be put into the ground within 24 hours of cutting it so I had little time to rent a tiller and roller.


I also grabbed some manure and compost sodding mix.
The first step was to prepare the soil which required me to remove the old grass and lossen the top 6 inches of soil with a rototiller. I spread the manure mix and compost and then mixed it in and then used the roller to smooth it all out and get it level.



I then laid the sod and started watering. It’s all about how deep you get the water so 2-3 waterings per day that really get deep into the soil is better than 5 light waterings.
If you live in a cold climate you’ll want to wait until after the last frost of the season but here in Southern California you can almost lay sod year round.
Have you laid sod before? What was your experience like?