How often/long should I water my newly sodded lawn?

Question

I have some new sod getting rolled within the next few days and have a few questions.

How many days out of the week will I need to water until the sod is established?
How many minutes per zone should I water for on those days?
How long until I can switch to a regular watering schedule (2ish days a week)?

I live in the Dallas, Texas area.

DA. · Accepted Answer · 2011-05-07 00:42:17Z

11

Every day (twice, ideally)
It's not minutes but inches that matter. Check with the people laying the sod. It will depend on the sod.
Until the sod takes (meaning you can't lift it up anymore).

One thing to be sure to do is properly roll the sod before the first watering.

answered May 7, 2011 at 0:42

DA.

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To measure the amount of water, place 2 to 4 straight sided cans (soup/vegetable cans work well) in each sprinkler zone. When the irrigation is complete measure the depth of water in each can. Then average the depths of the cans in each zone. Adjust watering times as appropriate.
– RSMoser
Commented Aug 8, 2011 at 15:54
I should also add, once the sod 'takes' you want to reduce your watering frequency, but increase the amount. The goal is to encourage the grass to develop deep roots. So water less frequently, but longer so that the water can seep deeply into the topsoil.
– DA.
Commented Aug 9, 2011 at 0:48

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