When to Fertilize New Sod

when to fertilize new sod

If you’re planning to quickly grow your turf, going with sods might be the best idea for you. With proper watering, fertilizing and care, you can easily grow it into a turf really quickly. However, the geographical conditions might also prove to be an additional boost if they are right. So, when to fertilize new sod, you ask?

Well, let’s find that out together, shall we? In today’s article here at Turf Mechanic we are going to take a look at this. We are going to figure out when to fertilize new sod, since finding the right time is actually pretty hard.

But, before we go for it, there are a few things that you might want to know. To begin with, you need to actually know how you might want to take care of your new sod when you plant it. So the main things you might want to keep in mind might be summed up as this.

  • Proper Watering: The first thing you might want to do is properly water your turf. This is something you might want to do with a proper sprinkler if you’re as lazy as I am! So, click here to find out the 4 Best Impact Sprinklers on Tripods that we recommend!
  • Fertilizing it: Fertilizing it properly is yet another thing that you might want to pay a lot of attention to. You might go for either a drop spreader or a broadcast spreader based on your lawn. However, you might click here to read our article on the main differences between the two. It might help you figure out the right choice for you!

Where does fertilizing it on time come in?

Well, you can plant sod anytime you really want to. And perhaps it’s going to make it if you do it properly. However, if you want it to be really healthy and beautiful, you might want to do a little more research.

Ideally, you should plant it during the right time of the year so that it can get ideal conditions for growing. That would ensure that it remains healthy and beautiful for a long time. So, I would personally recommend that you do the research- it’s worth the little extra bit of effort.

The right time to fertilize new sod depends on a few factors.

Well, as I just remarked a while ago, you can plant sods any time you want. Honestly, you can even plant them in the snow- only to have them die really soon.

However, if you want them to grow as perfectly as you want them to, selecting the right time might be a great choice. However, the right time to fertilize new sod might actually depends on a few things, such as:

  • Geographical Location : Your Geographical location is actually a really important thing to consider when you’re going for this. Your geographical location affects your seed, and it affects the time when each season comes, so it’s one of the most major things to consider!
  • Type of Seed: The Exact type of seed that you opt for is yet another thing that you need to consider. Keep in mind that there are several types of seed out there. The ideal time for planting sods of each of them actually varies. And as such, you need to do your research based on the exact variety of grass that you’re planning to get. Once you’ve done your research, you can be fairly certain about it growing quickly and beautifully.
  • Giving it enough time: One thing you might want to keep in mind is that your sod needs time to grow. The time after fertilization should be ideal for it. In a case like this, it can easily grow the way you want it to. So, you might want to consider fertilizing it at a time right before it’s optimal part of the year.

Again, Alphasod, we can say:

You won’t need to give your turfgrass lawn its first dose of fertilizer until about four to six weeks after sodding. After that, you’ll need to follow up with a second application about six to eight weeks later.

Why wait so long to fertilize a newly sodded lawn? Two reasons:

First, new turfgrass has a short root system. Because of this, until it has a chance to develop, the sod has a decreased ability to absorb nutrients. Fertilize too soon, and most of the nutrients will just be leached into the soil.

Second, turfgrass is typically fertilized at the sod farm just before harvest. So, an additional application isn’t usually needed immediately.

Keep in mind, too, that the timing of your sod installation matters. If your sodding was done in the fall or winter, wait until spring arrives before fertilizing.

See my full grass growing guide here for more helpful tips – no opt-in needed.

When to fertilize new sod?

Well, as we just remarked, it isn’t really possible to provide you with a general time for fertilizing your sod. However, you sure can actually figure it out yourself, depending on your specific situation.

We have already mentioned the main things that you must keep in mind. And trust me, once you’ve done a little bit of research, you’ll find out that the main thing is really simple. All you have to do is find out when the most favorable condition for your grass is going to be. Then, all you have to do is fertilize is right before that time.

And if you can do it properly, your grass will get the maximum amount of time that it needs to actually grow properly and healthily. So, personally, I recommend doing this little bit of extra research for your lawn. After all, you’re working so hard for your lawn already, if a little bit more can give you substantially better results, there really isn’t much reason to shy away from it!

Quoting SFGATE on a few other things you might want to keep in mind,

Fertilize new sod for the first time about six weeks after laying the sod. Apply fertilizer as recommended by the results of a soil test or broadcast a slow-release, granular fertilizer with a 10-10-10 or similar formula at a rate of no more than 1 pound nitrogen per 1,000 square feet of lawn. If the sod struggled to become established and was slow to root, wait to fertilize the sod until about four weeks after new growth appeared or the sod rooted securely. If the sod was installed in winter or when it was dormant, do not fertilize the sod until after green-up in spring.

Conclusion

So, I bet you’ve realized by now that it’s impossible to give a general answer to this question. However, in today’s article, I’ve tried to lay down the main things that you might want to consider. As long as you can consider these main points, it should not be too hard to find the right time to fertilize your sod.

We also took a look at the fact that you actually need to be aware about some major geographical factors. That’s one of the things I’d recommend paying a little bit of extra attention to along with the type of seed that you choose.

You must keep in mind that the best seed isn’t the one that all the people go for. It’s the one that you think is going to serve your purpose the best and is going to do so within a reasonable price and time limit.

Turf Mechanic is always here for you!

Finally, we have reached the end of today’s article. We really hope that you could learn at least something new from this article. Hopefully, you would be able to implement these ideas in real and actually make your lawn even more beautiful!

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