Question
My boss recently had a landscaper lay down sod near our parking lot.  I am in charge of watering it this weekend and it looks like it's dying! I watered it in the morning from 10-12 yesterday, it rained the rest of the day and now today many pieces of the sod have turned brown and dry.  I have been getting mixed advice on if I should keep watering it today during the day.  Is it too late to save the grass? When should I water it?  Thank you for your help.

Answer
Hi Rachel;
The landscaper should have watered it in well, when they layed it down. actually, the should have put good top soil down after they laid the sod, and raked it over to fill in between the sod pieces, and watered it all in well.
I am not sure if it can be saved or not.
what kind of grass is it?
If it is St. augustine, or any of the varieties of st. augustine, I don't think you can water it too much, and it should not be allowed to dry out completely until the roots have taken hold and the grass has started to put on new growth.
If I were your boss, I would call the landscaper and tell him to come and finish his job and do it right.
Landscaper means to do that, not dumop something off and leave.
If you water it enough, it may come back, if there is enough grass with live roots to take hold.
I always water to a depth of at least 6 inches to develope a deep root system to make a much healthier lawn.
Putting about 1 inch of topsoil down, and a good organic fertilizer down ( or table sugar at the rayte of 1 pound per 250 sq.ft of soil) and watering that all in together, will give it the best chance.
An organic program is much easier and cheaper, and less man hours of labor to maintain than gardening with chemicals, for a weed free, harmful insect free lawn.
If I can help further, write me.
Charlotte