In my own experience, you can’t truly appreciate the varying qualities of grass until you become a home owner and spend your first two years perplexing over why your grass doesn’t even look half as good as your neighbor’s. Perhaps you spend one month’s paycheck on lawn treatments only to still be shown up that neighbor. Sometimes the unfortunate truth is that grass can fluctuate from high-end and plush to low-grade and rough. Some home builders charge extra for the high quality grass, so it’s possible you could purchase a home that’s already resigned to an unsightly lawn. If this is your case, hopefully you have turned to sod as your alternative. With so many choices out there, you need to educate yourself in order to choose the best sod for your yard.
1. Find sod that comes straight from a field. Some sod companies will wait to cut your sod until it’s ordered so that your purchase is as fresh as possible.
2. Make sure your sod is “Grade A”. In other words, it has the lowest possible weed content
3. Check the soil to ensure it isn’t falling apart. Is it as consistent as possible? Sod thrives on its soil to make roots and grow, so cheaper sod with worse soil will be more expensive in the long run due to the extra maintenance you will need to do.
4. Ask about irrigation and seed. How does the company keep the grass sod hydrated and fertilized around droughts and heavy sun? What type of seed do they use to grow the sod? It’s important to make sure they aren’t skimping or using cheap fixes that you’ll have to spend money repairing.
5. Will the company help you install the sod? A great deal can be said about the quality of the sod from the willingness and communication of the sod business. It’s always positive to receive a bit more than you’d expect!