I'm a beginner at lawn care so all advice is welcome. I'm completely new to Bermuda and sod so any advice will help. I'm moving into my new house in 2 weeks and we will be getting Bermuda grass sod laid down. When I move in what is the first things I need to do for the lawn? How often should I water at first and how much? Should I put down any start up fertilizer down? Should I put any pre-emergent down? When should I put down weed killer? I do live in Texas and August is the hottest month for us but cooler weather is around the corner. If there is another thread that has all the information on it for my questions feel free to direct it to me. When should I do my first mow. I do plan on using a reel mower. If you need more information please feel free to ask.
Brand new yard maintenance help/advice at my new house.
- Thread starter xDanielx
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You will have to water often with new sod. The turf company, where you purchased the sod, will tell you what to do to get it established. After that, you can follow the guidelines published by Texas A&M.
Thanks for the information. I’ll be sure to contact the turf company.
I would insure there are no left over concrete chunks and bricks in the soil. Any general home building scraps tossed in the soil. 2x4's, nails and so on.
LEVEL the soil front and back like a sheet of plate glass. Truck in a foot of rich top soil mix with 25% compost.
Drop the sod and ROLL it flat with a water filled roller.
Water twice a day with the peak summer heat for 2-4 weeks.
Keeping the above in your mind, grade the soil so water runs AWAY from the house and foundation. Gutters ran into underground pipes to the street.
A good starter fertilizer like 25-25-25 wouldn't hurt a bit. Also mix in some pure nitrogen like 46-0-0. Both of these every month till the turf gets established.
Bermuda will grow on concrete. It LOVES nitrogen. You can't put down too much and hurt it.
Summation: NOW is the time to get good soil for the turf. If you have hard clay like I do, your turf will struggle all year long. Root system is maybe 1 inch long LOL. A foot of rich mix top soil will do wonders for your grass. I would love to scrape mine all up and start over but already have an elaborate irrigation system.
Post up pictures of the yard progression.
slomo
LEVEL the soil front and back like a sheet of plate glass. Truck in a foot of rich top soil mix with 25% compost.
Drop the sod and ROLL it flat with a water filled roller.
Water twice a day with the peak summer heat for 2-4 weeks.
Keeping the above in your mind, grade the soil so water runs AWAY from the house and foundation. Gutters ran into underground pipes to the street.
A good starter fertilizer like 25-25-25 wouldn't hurt a bit. Also mix in some pure nitrogen like 46-0-0. Both of these every month till the turf gets established.
Bermuda will grow on concrete. It LOVES nitrogen. You can't put down too much and hurt it.
Summation: NOW is the time to get good soil for the turf. If you have hard clay like I do, your turf will struggle all year long. Root system is maybe 1 inch long LOL. A foot of rich mix top soil will do wonders for your grass. I would love to scrape mine all up and start over but already have an elaborate irrigation system.
Post up pictures of the yard progression.
slomo
NJMower
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Your phrase "we will be getting Bermuda grass sod laid down" implies to me that someone else is doing the work. If this is true, the only things you need to do are make sure you are picking a good installer and then watering enough.
Installing sod is kind of like painting where the preparation work is 90% of the job. However, in painting, bad prep work will show through the paint. Sod of course hides whatever it is laid over and looks glorious for awhile. A good installer will follow all the best practices, from prepping the soil the day before, having sod delivered the morning of and keeping it in the shade, staggering the joints, getting good root contact with the soil, etc. A subpar installer will potentially skip soil preparation, use old sod, or fail to make sure that each section is firmly in contact with the soil.
As far as watering, the usual mistake is not watering often enough and deep enough.
Installing sod is kind of like painting where the preparation work is 90% of the job. However, in painting, bad prep work will show through the paint. Sod of course hides whatever it is laid over and looks glorious for awhile. A good installer will follow all the best practices, from prepping the soil the day before, having sod delivered the morning of and keeping it in the shade, staggering the joints, getting good root contact with the soil, etc. A subpar installer will potentially skip soil preparation, use old sod, or fail to make sure that each section is firmly in contact with the soil.
As far as watering, the usual mistake is not watering often enough and deep enough.
If the sod shows up and its dry, do NOT accept it. The soil in it should be moist. Dry sod might not make it in this peak summer heat. Bermuda will come back with enough water. Damp or wet sod is the key.
slomo
slomo
Thanks for the information. I’ll definitely take all this advice into account. I’ll definitely make sure they level the yard next week.
I’m making sure to be present went the sod is laid so I will make sure everything is done right. How often should I water at first? Twice a day for how long? I read one inch a week is good once it’s established but what about from weeks 1-4?