Rolling or Tamping The Sodded Lawn
You can rent a roller or tamping tool at your local tool rental store.
Rolling - You can either keep a roller handy while laying the sod, and roll each 500 square foot section after it is completed, or you can wait until all of the sod has been laid to roll it all at once. Either way, make sure that you haven't watered too much, or you might do more damage than good.
Tamping - If you don't have a roller, a tamping tool works just as well, if not better, to facilitate root to soil contact and level any small dips or foot prints. The best way to use a tamping tool is to tamp down each piece of sod after you lay it. This keeps you from having to walk back over the sod. If you have help, one person can lay the sod squares, as the other is tamping.
Watering A Freshly Planted Sod Grass Lawn
Do not deeply water the entire area of your freshly sodded lawn until you have finished laying out sod over the entire lawn area, and have trimmed around the edges. Once the sodded area has been rolled or tamped, you will want to avoid walking on the grass area for at least a few days to a week.
In the absence of an automated irrigation system, you'll need to develop a plan for watering. A rotary or fan-type water sprinkler connected to a hose works fine.
The first watering should be deep. Water enough so that at least 2 inches of the soil beneath the sod is moist. To avoid walking on the sod, try to set water sprinklers along an outside edge, spraying inward.
Until the sod grass roots in firmly, check soil beneath sod for moisture content once or twice a day. If the soil has dried out a bit, water again. Repeat this process until sod has firmly rooted. This may take 3 to 7 days depending on the time of year and weather conditions.
When sod has rooted firmly, continue with a typical watering cycle as is needed to maintain a healthy, green appearance.
Additional Tips
Try to install all of the sod the day it is delivered. If you have sod left over, unroll or space it out on the ground in a shady spot if possible. Water lightly, and use it the next day.
When installing sod on a steep slope, start by laying sod at the lowest point, and use "sod staples" to hold sod squares firmly in place in the event there comes a downpour of rain. Staples should be equally spaced and set in around the edges at least 6 to 8 inches apart.
Do not overwater your newly planted sod grass. Water deeply after planting, and then on an as needed basis to keep soil beneath sod damp until firmly rooted in. Check soil moisture content by lifting up a corner of a sod square. If it won't lift, this means your sod is rooted in!
When rolling sod with a roller, roll one 500 square foot section at a time as you lay the sod. To avoid slippage of sod, fill roller to 1/3 capacity rather than completely full.
Instead of rolling, rent a tamping tool and tamp each square of sod grass as you go.
