Gardening Tips

     Tip 1030              Watering Guide for New Sod in Southern Nevada

Newly planted sod needs to be watered much differently than established lawns. New sod must be watered more frequently for the first three weeks. This watering guide is for the Las Vegas metro area, but should also work well for other southwest high desert regions. For established lawns, only water often enough to avoid wilt between irrigations. The tables below detail watering frequency for newly planted sod in summer or winter.

Watering New Sod - Summer Schedule
Summer Schedule: Temperatures Above 90 Degrees Fahrenheit
Time Since Planting	Watering Frequency	Schedule	Duration
First 14 days	4 times daily	6 a.m. & 10 a.m. 1 p.m. & 5 p.m.	4 minutes
15 to 21 days	3 times daily	6 a.m. & 10 a.m. 2 p.m.	5 minutes
after 21 days	3 times daily	4 a.m. & 6 a.m. 10 a.m.	5 minutes

Watering New Sod ? Cool Season Schedule
Winter Schedule: Temperatures Below 90 Degrees Fahrenheit Proper soil depth of 6 inches water for max. minutes
Time Since Planting	Watering Frequency	Schedule	Duration
First 14 days	3 times daily	7 a.m. ? 8 a.m. & 10 a.m.	3 to 5 minutes
15 to 21 days	3 times, every other day	7 a.m. ? 8 a.m. & 10 a.m.	3 to 5 minutes
after 21 days	3 times as per SNWA restrictions	7 a.m. ? 8 a.m. & 10 a.m.	3 to 5 minutes
Watering New Sod ? Winter Schedule
Winter Schedule: Temperatures Below 70 Degrees Fahrenheit Proper soil depth of 6 inches water for max. minutes
Time Since Planting	Watering Frequency	Schedule	Duration
First 7 days	3 times daily	7 ? 8 & 10 a.m.	3 to 5 minutes
8 to 21 days	3 times, every other day	7 ? 8 & 10 a.m.	3 to 5 minutes
after 21 days	3 times as per SNWA restrictions	7 ? 8 & 10 a.m.	3 to 5 minutes

Newly Planted Sod:

Soak the sod enough to keep the top three inches of soil along with the layer of sod constantly wet, but do not allow water to stand for long periods. When rooting has sufficiently developed to prevent sod from being pulled from the soil, cut watering. After 21 days, the roots should be established.

Additional Watering Tips for Sod

• If you have a dry area or a blue-gray area (a sign of water stress), place like-size containers in that area and one in a green area. Water sod 15-30 minutes, and then measure both containers. If the dry area is not getting the same amount of water, adjust the sprinkler heads.
• Use several shallow containers such as tuna cans or margarine containers and space throughout the yard. Water until the containers fill to 1 inch. However long this takes is how long you should water established grass.

© 2007, Star Nursery, Inc.
Copy provided courtesy Star Nursery
www.StarNursery.com

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