Question
Hey I was amazed at this quick reply. It is so detailed and helpful!! Thanks a million!!

I only have two more questions (for now)

1. How long does it typically take sod to take root in Austin?

2. How (with a shovel or spreader) do I do this part and when (before laying the sod or after a few days)? (Pasted below)

"Last preparation step: apply a nice dose of starter fertilizer to the soil.  Since you want roots now, a starter fertilizer will be one with plenty of Phosphorous - the middle number in the N-P-K formula on the side of the fertilizer bags.  Bone meal is a nice organic choice, and you are working with a small area, so it won't break the bank.  You don't have to worry about applying too much; Bone meal won't burn roots."
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Followup To

Question -
I googled this everywhere but no one describes the entire procedure. I am extremely new in this area and am pretty dumb in these matters. So pls help!!!

I have st augustine grass in Austin TX and just need to change 4 squares of it near the curb.

I have some questions:

1. what do I spread below it?
2. How do I place it?
3. Does the soil at the bottom have to be tight?
4. what if there are gaps? Do i fill them with soil?
5. After sodding, do i roll over it with something?
6. After sodding, when do I water?
7. How often do I water?
8. How do I water- with a hose? How long? Or with a mug and bucket? Does it matter?
9. Do I fertilize immediately or after 4 weeks?

Sorry about the long list but I have no clue what to do and am so worried. Thanks in advance!!!

Answer -
Fear not, my Texas friend, it's easy.  Only 4 squares?

Tell me please you did not buy the sod yet.... Don't buy any sod until you have the soil prepped and you're ready to roll it out.

4 squares, a total of a liliputian 4 square feet, doesn't call for a Rototiller.  If you were going to put down 100 square feet or even 50, you would Roto.  But with this de minimis real estate project, you can use a good old fashioned shovel.

It is awesome that you know what grass is there now.  You would not believe, Girish, the number of people out there who have absolutely no idea whatsoever the name of the lawn. That's not usually a problem, until you want to sod or seed someplace in the middle of the lawn.  And then you don't want Kentucky Bluegrass in the middle of a sea of Fescue.

Now, Girish, I have to warn you, I do not believe in the use of chemicals.  So I am going to assume, although I am probably wrong here, that you have good, honest, healthy soil to place that sod on.

Chop up the soil nice and deep, a foot or more down, and get out the rocks, the weeds, the old roots, and anything else that doesn't belong there.  

Since you're in the neighborhood, it would not be a bad idea to add some Pelletized Lime to your soil from your local garden center, and a nice big dose of Humus as well.  These will adjust the pH and enrich it with more organic matter.  And that's Humus - NOT Hummus.  Pronounced "yoo-muss" in New York.

Hoe and shovel, roughly, to incorporate the humus in a very basic way.  Don't puree your soil and homogenize it to make the entire mix perfectly uniform - your earthworms (assuming you did not kill them with weed and bug killers) will take care of that.  Too much mixing will do more harm than good; you want to be microbe-friendly, and disrupting the soil structure is a sure way to damage them.

You might consider adding a generous dose of specialized fertilizer called "WOW Plus" from Gardens Alive (www.gardensalive.com).  This is a combination organic weedkiller + grass/sod fertilizer.

The weedkiller is based on corn gluten, believe it or not.  For reasons not fully understood, corn gluten keeps certain weeds from sprouting.  It works, it doesn't get into the water supply, and you can walk barefoot on it without destroying your liver and pancreas.  

Now, when you're done digging and pulling out and hoeing and amending, get a rake and rake out any remaining roots and stones you dig up.  Level off the surface nice and smooth.

Get out as much as you can.

Level off the surface nice and smooth.  Rake the soil flat, grading the slope away from your foundation.  Pick up any roots or debris on top.  

You are now ready to sod.

Sod should be cut the day you lay it out.  Sod that sits on pallets in a store for 2 or 3 days -- or longer -- will pose a lot of problems.

Do you know what the most important thing is throughout this exercise, Girish?   

Guess!

ticktockticktock

Time's up!

Answer:  Smooth, even soil is CRITICAL.  Grass hills can't level themselves.  Unless you want your lawn to look like a family of moles and voles lives in the yard, the grass should be carefully smoothed before you sod.

Next most important thing here: Water your sod correctly and do not underestimate the potential disaster you will court if you blow off correct sod watering.

Neglecting to water correctly is the main reason for failure when homeowners plant a new lawn, take the watering chore seriously.  Morning waterings will discourage fungus from developing.  Using a fine spray keeps the water from overwhelming the new seedling roots.

As leaves fall this month - they do that in Texas, don't they? - don't rake any leaves away.  Ditto, grass clippings.  They're wonderful for turning into rich earth that will grow beautiful grass next season.  Don't mow too early or too late, too low or too high.  And resist using those anti-American weed killers or insecticides.  After all this time and money, you want to be able to walk barefoot on your lawn with no worries at all.

Last preparation step: apply a nice dose of starter fertilizer to the soil.  Since you want roots now, a starter fertilizer will be one with plenty of Phosphorous - the middle number in the N-P-K formula on the side of the fertilizer bags.  Bone meal is a nice organic choice, and you are working with a small area, so it won't break the bank.  You don't have to worry about applying too much; Bone meal won't burn roots.

Now comes the fun part.

Make sure your sod is cut the SAME DAY it is going to be layed.  Sod can't go more than a day out of the ground without suffering significant damage.  

Sure, your sod may look fine and dandy when you roll it out.  But for every hour it's spent out of the ground, delicate root fibers are drying out and dieing.  It's all about damage control at this point.

The basic ground should be watered first.  Then, roll your squares down, and water again, thoroughly, right through, especially toward the edges of the squares, where any roots might be exposed.  Water your sod every single day until the roots are established.  The key is that you want to keep the sod evenly moist without soaking it.

Once the roots are strong enough that you can't lift any squares, cut back a little on the water schedule.  

You'll fertilize again after the first mowing.  This time, pick a high Nitrogen fertilizer.

If you want to do something really good for your entire grass, go out and buy some White Clover.  This plant helps fix Nitrogen in the soil.  That's the only way you'll get any Nitrogen into your grass, and Clover is an efficient, smooth way of doign that.  Then buy a balanced fertilizer to keep the lawn from turning yellow.

A short, simple list of "Ten Steps to Establishing a Healthy New Lawn" is available from The Lawn Institute (www.turfgrasssod.org/lawninstitute.com).  It wouldn't hurt to read it over and see if there's something there that you could use for your new sod.  Remember, there is no shortcut to the beautiful, vivid green blanket you want for curb appeal.  Sod is expensive. You want to take care of it.  Now you know how to do that!

Answer
Look's like you'll be busy this weekend, Girish. By the way, my father had a best friend named Girish who won several Tony awards for film editing. But he lived in New Jersey. Nice lawn, too.

To be perfectly honest, Girish, I can't be certain how many days we are talking about in Austin, Texas - I am after all the Long Island Gardener.  But I can tell you that in a week you would see roots, although it is better not to disturb the sod for a peek.  Be patient.  Water it carefully but don't kill it with kindness.  You don't want to create a soggy swamp out there, just lots of moisture so the roots don't dry out.  If it rains, don't water until it needs it.  If you get a heat wave and it's 99 degrees F outside baking in the sun, make sure those roots don't dry out.  This is one of those areas where you just have to accept the fact that you are practicing.  Be prepared to make mistakes.  It's all fixable, and you learn a lot that way.  Overwatering - you could be setting yourself up for a fungus problem, especially if there is no balance of Nature down under.  So be patient but don't neglect anything.

The fertilizer ideally goes down on the soil before you put the sod down so that the roots are making contact with it.  That's the first application.  It wouldn't be a disaster if you didn't put it down under the roots.  Just put it over the roots instead.  Then re-fertilize, with a spreader, 3-4 weeks later.

I suppose we ought to talk about mowing your grass.

The Lawn Institute (noted yesterday) has advice about the best mowing heights for all types of grass.  These may not sound very important, but the length of the blade of grass is critical to how much Photosynthesis can be going on in your lawn.  This is not really a cosmetics exercise.  The right height will build healthy grass that can out-wit weeds, especially some of the newer cultivars, which are bred for resistance.  I encourage you to read over all the material you can find about Bermuda so you can grow some great grass there in Austin.  The fewer chemicals you use, the greater your grass will be.  Not to mention greener.  True story.