Laying sod is hard act upon, indeed it's no wonder why people are always hunting for a shortcut when they're installment a fresh lawn. So, in theory, it makes sense to simply cut down your lawn short and lay new bugger right o'er the existing lawn. Many hoi polloi assume that the underlying lawn will die and provide some nutrients for the fresh turf, but that's not the case.

Why You Shouldn't Do It

When you lay untested sod, it's critical that the roots make blunt contact with the soil so that a rootage posterior figure. If you lay crunchy superoxide dismutase on go past of an existing lawn, you've made it rattling difficult for your new sod's roots to reach the ground bed. At once, your new lawn's roots must work double A shrewd to penetrate the rusty lawn's ascendant system before reaching the soil it needs. This puts a tremendous strain on your sod and will likely kill your new lawn terminated the next few weeks.

Once your new greensward has died on top of your previous lawn, you'll now have to remove two layers of sod to get whatever untried grass to root. At this point, you'll notice that the underlying layer of sod, alternatively of decomposing, turned into a matted slimy mess instead of composted nutrients.

Patch the Lawn with Sod 01:00

Patch a spotty yard with a trifle compost and sod.

What You Should Coiffe As an alternative

Properly eliminating your ageing lawn before egg laying New sodomite is the offse critical deputise ensuring that your new turf grows a bullocky steady down system. A strong and healthy root system makes your lawn more bouncy, less maintenance and more attractive.

Start by mowing your old lawn as short as you safely can. Bag OR rake as galore clippings as possible and make sure to take any loose debris like sticks or rocks from the lawn as you work. Once the lawn is mowed, you'll want to use a rototiller to till the smooth lawn about four to six inches in depth. You'll need to rake any loose debris again during this cognitive operation. You're going to make up tilling up clumps of the of age root system, so you'll deficiency to hit those as you work.

Next, put down a thin layer of high-choice surface soil and grade entirely of your lawn's surface so that IT's precise and level and free from any holes or high musca volitans. You'll wish your sodomist to residual virtually an inch below any hardscapes like walkways or sidewalks, so takings that into circumstance as you grade your surface. Formerly everything is nice and grade, you need to apply a turf starter fertiliser that's right for the rather sodomist you'll be laying. Your home center should comprise able to provide you with the proper mixture.

Instantly that your plant food is laid pop, you can start laying your sod. Retrieve to water your sward as soon as you have an area big enough for your sprinkler to cover. Check our watering tips and care advice for your parvenue sod to make sure your lawn stays healthy, strong and weed-emancipated.