[mike ryan]

My back lawn took a bad beating this winter from both the weather and my faithfull but somtimes annoying dogs . I have decided to lay sod rather than seed and have to wait. Can anybody throw some helpful tips my way? They would be much appreciated. Thank you

[mike ryan]

has nobody got any advice for me?

[treehugger]

Well firstly Mike, if and when the weather improves.
Hire a sod cutter and strip the old lawn off the garden to a depth of 6-8 cms.
If it's just a small garden dig it over lightly with a fork to a depth of 10 cms; this will get some air back into the soil and provide a nice new base for the sod to root into.
Don't bother adding any fertilisers at this stage; they may burn the new roots.
If it's a big garden a light tilling with a rotovator will do the trick.
Once you have to soil tilled, rake the garden level and remove any stones and debris.
Now you must firm the soil, you can use a roller from the hire shop; they hire pedestrian rollers, you just simply fill the roller with water and roll away, a couple of passes in each direction criss crossing the garden should do .
Lightly rake the garden again just fluff the surface of the soil, you can then begin to lay the sod, working from planks laid across the garden, try to avoid walking on the soil from this point on.
criss cross the sod joints as you lay them; similar to the joints in a block wall .
Keep all joints well butted together ensuring there are no gaps between each piece of sod.
After each full line of sod is laid in place. firm the sod into place by laying a plank on top and walking heavily up and down the plank , this will ensure good root contact with the soil below.
When all the sod is laid, fill in any suspect joints with a mix of dry soil and grass seed; simply just brush the mixture into place using the side of the palm of your hand.
Finally , give the garden a good watering and water lightly every evening for the first week unless it's raining, hehe.

Hope this helps ,
best of luck

[mike ryan]

thanks treehugger very helpful. I was advised to throw down sum root fertiliser before the sod. Would you disagree

[sillydad]

http://www.leinsterlawns.com/faqs
http://www.donedeal.ie/find/gardening/for-sale/Ireland/turf

[mike ryan]

thanks folks have all i need to know now.I'll let ye know how i get on