Why Sodding is Better than Reseeding


Do you shudder whenever you look at the thin patches or bald spots on your lawn?

There are a few factors which make your grass a little bit too bare for your comfort:

Fortunately, you have two options to thicken your lawn and restore its appearance:

  • Reseeding
  • Sodding

While both get the job done, at Wright Landscape Services, we’ve found that sodding is the more effective option.

Here’s why.

Sodding helps your lawn right away

As a residential homeowner, commercial business owner, or someone responsible for property maintenance, you want your bring your lawn back to life ASAP.

Reseeding takes weeks, if not months, to yield results.

Fresh, healthy sod can be laid down in just a few hours to give you an “instant lawn.”

And once you’ve performed some initial lawn care maintenance on it, you can begin using it shortly thereafter.

Other benefits include:

  • Sod roots tend to grow and establish themselves into the ground very quickly
  • If water for your lawn is available, sod can be laid down almost anytime during the year
  • Best seasons for sodding are fall and spring

Less time and effort is required

You’re busy. You don’t have excessive amounts of time to dedicate to your lawn.

At the same time, you’re unwilling to tolerate weak-looking grass any longer.

As mentioned above in this blog, seeding takes time. You first need to aerate your lawn before applying grass seed.

Then, you need to water carefully.

And then, you need to repeat the seeding process until your lawn begins to take.

Sodding has the advantage because:

  • Installation is quick and clean; not a lot of mud or dust is generated with sod
  • Sod can be laid down in flat or sloped areas with ease
  • Sod can be cut/manipulated to perfectly fit within any landscape design
  • It can tolerate exposure to sunny areas

Perhaps the most appealing time-saving element of sod is that once it’s laid down, as long as it’s properly cared for, you won’t need to do it again.

Sod can be laid down almost anytime during the year

Grass seed has a very finicky temperament, in that:

  • It has to be applied at just the right time in just the right quantities
  • Birds and other critters may eat your grass seed
  • Excessive winds can blow grass seed away and render it useless
  • Grass seed needs an ideal temperature of 16°C to grow properly

Although the best planting and growing seasons for sod are fall and spring, it is possible in theory to apply fresh sod in the dead of winter and still get positive results.

You probably don’t want to do that, though.

What makes for good quality sod?

Despite appearances to the contrary, all sod is not the same.

There are 4 characteristics to distinguish high-quality sod from something you should avoid placing on your lawn:

  • Soil thickness: Good sod should have 1” of soil attached to its bottom. Too much soil and the roots can’t grow through. Too little soil and the roots won’t establish themselves fully.
  • Fertilization: Properly fertilized sod is drought-resistant. It also has nice looking, consistent shade of green that helps the sod tolerate the installation process.
  • Grass strength: Weak grass leads to weak sod. A mature layer of grass should have tons of roots, consistent colour, and at least 2” in length.
  • Harvest schedule: Once sod is cut from the farm, it should be installed within 8 hours. Anything longer and you risk the sod dying once it’s laid down.

Reseeding does have some advantages

While sodding is a solid option, that’s not to say that reseeding should be avoided at all costs.

Reseeding for your gardens and planting can work for you if:

  • If you have a flat lawn
  • Your lawn is in both sunny and shady areas
  • You’re willing to invest the time and patience for grass to grow
  • You want to store extra grass seed to use later

Let us bring your lawn back to life

You don’t like the look of your lawn and you’re ready to do something about it.

That’s why you should contact us today for a FREE estimate on our any of our award-winning lawn care services.

We’ll get back to you quickly.

And we’ll also give you the healthy, green, and lush lawn you want and deserve.

Contact Us

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