Planting Grass Seed or Laying Grass Sod?

Setting up a brand new lawn originating from a simple piece of soil could be much work and thorough decision-making has to be taken in account. The primary and most crucial choice when starting a turf lawn is grass selection. You need the grass that meets your distinct requirements and goals for the lawn that you've imagined. After grass selection has been properly established, you then will need to determine if your lawn will be established by planting grass seed or laying sod. There are a few considerations when you make this decision so let's review them.

 

Grass Selection

 

The grass species which you have selected to plant a new lawn is the first factor when determining to plant grass seed directly or laying sod. Various grasses like, hybrid bermuda, St. Augustine, seashore paspalum, and most zoysia grasses, don't make seed or can be really challenging to commercially harvest. Therefore if choosing to use one of these grasses for your new lawn, the choice is not difficult. Grass sod or even in some instances sprigs and plugs is what you'll use.

 

I live in the South West United States and quite a few homeowners have Bermuda for their lawns. Although there are actually some very interesting seeded varieties that have been engineered over time, most people utilize a hybrid Bermuda because of their dense, green, low growing properties. These hybrid varieties are only able to be established vegetatively and grass sod is by far the main technique. So, first determine whether the grass you have selected is available in either seed, sod, or both after which you can choose what most closely fits your situation.

 

Grass Economics

 

Most grass species can be bought in a sodded form and is hands down the quickest method to establish a new lawn. There's no time wasted germinating grass seed, waiting around for the grass to fill out and then after a few months, you've got your lawn and all that needs doing is the lawn mowing schedule with the right equipment. With sod, you can have a beautiful, green, new lawn, literally overnight which is the way many turf grass professionals prefer to establish a lawn. However there's a downside. Cost! Cost per square foot when laying sod can usually get expensive and definitely will make a good dent in your wallet when laying grass in a large area.

 

It's about economics. When you have a small lawn or are simply renovating a small portion of your yard, laying sod may pencil out and become economically feasible. Alternatively if establishing grass within a large area, although involving more work, planting grass seed could be the method to use.

 

I've seen some beautiful lawns established by both planting grass seed and laying sod but make sure that you pick the technique that's appropriate for your unique grass planting situation.

 

For much more useful information planting grass seed for your specific state, visit the Planting Grass Seed Center where you can find just about everything you need to know on how to plant grass, when to plant grass, and many more planting grass tips.