One of the first things you can do when considering a new lawn is talk to a professional. They will give you guidelines to how much topsoil and gravel you will need. How much sod it will take to cover your area. Now is also the time to design how your yard will look. Include building of gazebos, patios and walkways. Will you have a square lawn or will it be curved? Where will you place flowerbeds?

The first thing you need to do is prepare the soil. Scraping and leveling your yard gives your lawn a better appearance. Tilling your soil will give the roots an easier time to establish roots. Before laying the sod add an all-purpose fertilizer to the top of the soil to feed the sod while it establishes a new root system.

Your lawn needs to drain well and be as level as possible. It is important to remove all debris and rocks, raking the yard smooth. Your sod needs to be planted the same day it arrives on pallets. The longer it sits on the pallets the harder it will be for the sod to establish itself as your new lawn. Grass that dries out is more susceptible to disease and may die. There are a number of sod species are available.

Talk to a professional about which choices would be best as your new lawn. When working on your soil to prepare for laying sod, walk on a wide board to prevent making deep footprints or wheel tracks before planting. Deep footprints compact the soil and restrict root development. Leaving dips in your soil will give your lawn an uneven appearance.

Watering the surface of your yard will cool the soil and lessen the effects of stress on the sod. Sod can be laid any time of the year. Generally it is best to lay cool sod in the fall and warm species of sod in the spring to avoid harsh conditions. Always plan to water within thirty minutes of laying your sod. Water everyday for two weeks to give the roots time to establish themselves.

Warm grasses that are available as sod are bermuda grass, buffalo grass, kikuyu grass, seashore paspalum, and zoysia grass. Warm season grass usually consists of only one variety. The cool grasses are bent grasses, hard fescues, Kentucky bluegrass, perennial rye grass, red fescue, tall fescue. Cool season grasses contains several varieties of the same species.