Laying A Sod Grass Lawn... When To Do It?

[danfred]

It's the dry season now and I noticed a business near my house had planted a bunch of sod and now it's completely brown (obviously from lack of water). My question is when is the best time of the year to sod your lawn? I'm anxious to do it now as I can't stand all the sand blowing into the house... but if I do it now will I just be killing the grass? Will it come back to life once the rainy season comes? I have over 1 rai to sod and I don't want to be watering it all everyday.... expensive and time comsuming!

Thanks for your advice!

[mobile69]

1 rai is gonna take a lot of watering, especially until it roots itself. Why not set out an under soil irrigation / sprinkler system now, then lay the turf. Good luck.

As to the timing, probably best to lay just as rains come? That's a hunch, not an expert piece of advice.

[JungleBiker]

1 rai is gonna take a lot of watering, especially until it roots itself. Why not set out an under soil irrigation / sprinkler system now, then lay the turf. Good luck.

As to the timing, probably best to lay just as rains come? That's a hunch, not an expert piece of advice.

I agree that the best time to plant is in the rainy season though it doesn't have to be at the start. Even so you can plant in the dry season but you will need to irrigate, especially for the first few days, or week or so. In fact, during the early days you will need to irrigate several times a day. But don't drown it, just keep it moist. Then once per day, then later one 2 - 3 times per week and eventually once a week should keep it green. I suggest that you do small sections at a time, not the whole one rai at the same time. That way you can learn as you go about how much water to apply and if you fail and it dies you won't lose so much.

Mobile69's suggestion to install an irrigation system is good because even after your grass is established you will probably want to irrigate during the next dry season to keep it green. Not sure if it would stay alive without water for 6 months as I like to keep my lawn green.

There seem to be 2 main types of turf (sod) in the market - yaa malaysia and yaa nuan noi. I suggest the latter.

JB.

[danfred]

Thanks all for the advice... I hadn't realized that rooting was necessary as it's sod and I thought it already had roots. Anyway, I'll take your advice and wait until the rainy season as there are far too many more important things to take care of while moving into a new house than worrying about grass. Maybe I'll sod just a few meters out and around the house to trap some of the sand from entering the house.

1 rai is gonna take a lot of watering, especially until it roots itself. Why not set out an under soil irrigation / sprinkler system now, then lay the turf. Good luck.

As to the timing, probably best to lay just as rains come? That's a hunch, not an expert piece of advice.

I agree that the best time to plant is in the rainy season though it doesn't have to be at the start. Even so you can plant in the dry season but you will need to irrigate, especially for the first few days, or week or so. In fact, during the early days you will need to irrigate several times a day. But don't drown it, just keep it moist. Then once per day, then later one 2 - 3 times per week and eventually once a week should keep it green. I suggest that you do small sections at a time, not the whole one rai at the same time. That way you can learn as you go about how much water to apply and if you fail and it dies you won't lose so much.

Mobile69's suggestion to install an irrigation system is good because even after your grass is established you will probably want to irrigate during the next dry season to keep it green. Not sure if it would stay alive without water for 6 months as I like to keep my lawn green.

There seem to be 2 main types of turf (sod) in the market - yaa malaysia and yaa nuan noi. I suggest the latter.

JB.

[mobile69]

Thanks all for the advice... I hadn't realized that rooting was necessary as it's sod and I thought it already had roots.

We put down the Malay grass. You don't get much soil with the pieces they sell. Not sure about the other grass.

[thaipete]

There is a nipon variety that only grows to about 1 inch so not much cutting needed but I have had lawns here for 18 years and they do need weeding weekly