How to Remove Sod

Moving sod by digging it up and moving it to another area produces fast, tidy results and stops your lush lawn from being thrown away. Here's the best method to take sod off without harming it.

Tools Needed to Remove Sod

Before you begin, be sure that you have the following gardening tools in your arsenal:

• Hose or sprinkler
• Sharp spade, shovel, or edger
• Spade or pitchfork

How Do You Remove Sod?

Here are the best techniques to follow when getting rid of sod:

• The grass should be watered: A few days prior to when you intend to dig the sod, you should water the area thoroughly in order to make the soil more manageable to handle. After drying for a few days, you'll end up with moist but not soggy soil, which means it holds together but it's not too heavy.

• Cut the grass into strips: Utilizing a sharp spade edger or shovel, cut the entire perimeter of the grass that you intend to get rid of. Cut the sod into 1 by 2-foot pieces or one-foot square pieces. The only thing you need to do is dig through the soil's top layer. So don't be concerned about digging too deep.

• Rip the soil: Dig under one side of each section of soil and push a spade or pitchfork beneath it to cut deep taproots. Take the piece that has been cut and shake the loose soil back on the soil.

• Sod is rolled up: If the pieces are large enough, the pieces can be rolled up as carpeting. If you choose square pieces, arrange them in the vicinity of the area where you're planning to plant the sod.

Caring for Sod Before Laying It

If you're unable to transplant the grass immediately, it will take at least five days in which to spread it down before the grass stops growing in accordance with the season and the weather. In the summer months, active growing sod may begin to show signs of stress in less than 12 hours. This is why you might want to prepare the area for sod prior to digging it out from the soil.

If sod that has been dug up must be left out for more than a few days, keep in mind that water is vital to its longevity. Place the strips or squares of grass in a sunny location where the sun will not dry the soil. If you wait for a long time, you're not able to unroll the grass so it can be watered. This will also allow heat to escape so that grass does not end up dying until you've completed the transplant.

Get Professional Assistance

Once you've learned how to get rid of sod, you might be excited to begin. Remember that sod is a heavy material and, therefore, you'll require assistance from a third party for this task. In reality, for your security, we suggest leaving big projects like sod removal to professionals.