Sod vs Grass Seed

Sod/Seed

When putting in a new lawn the hardest question you will have to decide will be---Should I use seed or sod? Below you will find some general information on the advantages and disadvantages of both. If you have any questions regarding this subject or any thing pertaining to gardening or landscaping, please e-mail me at diygardeningandlandscape@gmail.com

Cost is a factor

The big factor in this, is money. Seed will run you around $2.50 a pound (rye) and up . Figure 1lb covers 200 sq ft. A 5,000 sq ft lawn would cost about $60-70 for seed {Rye). Add a bag of fertilizer and you have a rough cost of putting in a seed lawn. Also figure in something to cover the seed with. Peat moss works great, it holds in the moisture and helps keep the birds out. Use just enough to cover the seed. You don't want the seed to dry out. In about 10 days you should see some grass sprouting up. Sod is a instant lawn. Sod will run you around .60 cents a sq ft-average. . A 5,000 sq. ft. lawn would cost about $2500 + ---plus a bag of fertilizer.

The trouble with seeding a lawn are the weeds that will show up to compete with your grass seed. One way to prevent weeds from overtaking your new lawn is to wait a week after you have rototilled your yard and spray the weeds with Round-up and rototill again. If you don't want to use round-up--just rototilling will also help in keeping the weeds down. Most likely you will have to over-seed a second time to fill in spots where the grass seed didn't germinate.

The beauty of sod is that you don't have as much trouble with weeds and it's instant lawn. In about two weeks you can walk on it and do what ever you want to on your new lawn. With seed, it's about 4 to 6 weeks before your lawn looks ok and can be walked on. If money is not a problem, go with sod. If you use seed you will still have a nice lawn, it just takes longer.

All Garden Centers will carry several types of lawn seed for your area. You can order sod at some Garden Centers, and sometimes order direct from the grower--check with the local Garden Center, or Google for sod near you :)