Taking Care of New Sod
If you've recently laid down new sod, you will want to take extra special care of it to maintain its healthy look and growth. You end up here either by professional installation or your own. However your sod was installed, you will need to take care of it or you will end up with a checkerboard for a lawn. Replacing sod is a very expensive process so you will want to make every effort to maintain your grass and help it grow roots.
Watering
Make sure you avoid tromping all over your sod. Stepping on the sod can cause it to shift or die in patches, especially if you are keeping up with your watering. The moment you have installed the sod, water it enough to soak both the layer of sod and the ground under it. You should be making sure that you do not leave any pools of water on your sod, although short of that, it is nearly impossible to overwater it. You must water them until saturated for the first 7-10 days (about 1-2 inches of water). A good gauge of appropriate watering is spending about an hour watering twice a day. After the first period of watering, you may walk on the sod and even mow it (just allow it to dry). You must, however, make sure that your mower is in good working order and on the highest setting as it could dislodge the roots of the grass.
Fertilizer
If you are choosing to use fertilizer on your new sod, you will need to wait at least one week before spreading any. If you used sod staples to install your sod on a steep hill, make sure you have removed them after the first few weeks. If you are particularly savvy, you should get a hold of a lawn aerator and use it after the first week to allow the roots to take hold deep in the ground, but it is not required. The sod will have fully installed roots by about two months if well taken of.
