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new marathon sod - how much watering?

11 years ago

We just put down new Marathon sod. I was wondering how much watering I should do in the first few weeks to get the root system established. Some websites suggest up to three times per day (at about 15 minutes per watering), seven days per week, which to me seems a bit extreme. Then again, maybe it's fine. I do live in Los Angeles, and the area where the new sod is does get a lot of sun exposure, especially now that summer has come. That being said, I am afraid of over-watering, as that can be pretty detrimental as well. We put the sod down on Saturday. I was going to run the sprinklers (360 degree non rotating heads) for 15 minutes per day at 5am. I figured that 5am is still early enough (the sun is still asleep) for the soil to get soaked thoroughly and for the roots to get enough water before the sun comes out. As I noted, some websites suggested to do another watering around 11am, and a final watering around 2pm. Would 15 minutes per day for the first 2-3 weeks, around 5am, be enough to establish a root system?

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dchall_san_antonio
11 years ago
It depends on where you live. If you really live in downtown Los Angeles, then that is too much water. However, if you live east of there, say in West Covina, then it might be the right amount of water. Every time someone writes in from "Los Angeles," it turns out they live somewhere else. There has only been one person who actually lived in LA. He described where he lived and I did not realize it was in the city limits. Anyway in LA it is most important to know where you really are.

Marathon, Marathon II, or Marathon III?

Generally you need to keep the sod moist for 2-3 weeks until the roots from the sod knit into the underlying soil. Watering at breakfast time, lunch, and dinner is usually good. If you live west of PCH, that's too much. You might be able to go to once a day in the middle of the afternoon. If you live west of the 405 you can probably back off to 2x per day at lunch and early evening. Any place else and I would water three x per day at breakfast, lunch, and dinner times. Then the trick is how long to water. Measure the output of your sprinkler with a tuna can. Time how long it takes to fill the can. If you can fill the can in 15 minutes, then watering for 15 minutes is WAAAAAy too long. If it takes 8 hours, then you will need to water longer than 15 minutes. Start at 30 minutes.

The problem with watering in the very early morning is the afternoon heat will dry up the sod. Watering in the afternoon cools the sod and moistens it just when it needs it most. Once the lawn is established and the roots are deep in the soil, then you can usually go with morning watering. It really makes a difference where you live.

Did they roll the sod down? If not you still can do that. If you don't have much sod you can just go out and walk on every square foot of it to tamp it down. Roots will not grow through the air to reach the soil below. If your soil is so soggy or soft that you cannot walk on it without sinking, then you have other problems. We would need to know what caused that. It is very common which is why I bring it up.
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You are supposed to water lightly everyday for a couple weeks before backing off to 2-3x a week for the same amount of water weekly. (1 inch total a week divided into numbers of days). The idea behind light watering is to keep the sod moist, not very soggy. You may have watered too much every day. I'm afraid to find out what you will pay for the water bill. My neighbors did that and got very high water bill... It's time to stop watering for several days to dry it out then mow. Fertilize with high nitrogen number product (example 24-0-11 by Lesco, and so on) in two weeks.
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This is the second time I've seen this this year. It was not 45 minutes, it was 4 to 5 minutes. Big difference, huh!? All you have to do is moisten the sod, not drench the soil 2 feet down. At this point you should probably not water until the grass looks dry. It's already knit into the underlying soil with all that moisture. Just let it go until you see the blades fold together. Then water it...for 45 minutes. Actually get some cat food or tuna cans and place them around the yard. Time how long it takes to fill those. Then water for that time next time you need water. It should be at least a week. The idea with watering mature grass is to do it deeply and infrequently. Deeply is 1 inch. Infrequently is once a month in the cool months changing gradually to once every week in the hottest heat of summer. You do have a fungal disease in the older grass. Those are disease lesions on the blades (excellent pictures, by the way). This is going to sound crazy, because it still sounds crazy to me, but down here people have good results simply washing disease spores down into the soil with soap. The microbes in the soil take care of the spores. The treatment is to spray with 3 ounces of baby shampoo or any clear shampoo. That is 3 ounces per 1,000 square feet. This is the same treatment as for hard soil. Spray it now and make that the last time you water for several days. But watch it very carefully. If new grass shoots get the disease after you stop watering, then you'll have to treat it. If your soil was graded, that is the perfect preparation for new seed or sod. Rototilling is the worst thing you could do in prep for grass. I disagree with doing it for a veggie garden, too, but for different reasons. Definitely grade instead of rototill.
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Defs looks like 2 lots. Could be different farms. Once everything is growing into your soil, the colors should adjust. I would not walk on it to do anything until roots are in the soil. The chance of pieces shifting is too great before that. I would not back off on the frequent watering until then. Your fertilizer is still sitting in soil that the roots have not grown into yet. Assuming Dr Earth is organic, then the goodness is still there. No need to fertilize again until you have mowed new growth for the second time. Spot spray weeds with Weed-b-Gon Chickweed, Clover, and Oxalis Killer. Violets need the extra oomph from the WBGCCO. Keep after them. Seeds will continue to sprout new plants. Eventually they will run out of seeds. Check YouTube for chipmunk traps. There should be some that lure them up and into a 5-gallon bucket of water.
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