Moistening Sod

• Spray the ground with water. Sod has a hard time establishing roots if the soil is dry and compacted. The soil should be moist, but not saturated. To check to see if it is moist, press your fingers into the first 3 inches of top soil. If it is dry, apply more water. Gardeners should spray each piece of sod with water before laying. The sod should be damp and not dripping wet.
  
  

Laying Sod

• Lay the sod horizontally around the perimeters, working from the outside of the lawn to the inside. Sod edges should butt up against each other as close as possible. Press dirt into any cracks between the sod pieces. When creating rows, stagger the sod much like you would if you were laying bricks. Lay out an entire row of sod and go back to the beginning and start the second row coming in.
  
  

Cutting Sod

• Oftentimes, gardeners will have areas that are smaller than their sod pieces or irregular borders. To create a seam, place one sod piece in the small area and on top of the adjoining sod piece. Cut through both pieces of sod, so that they butt tightly against each other, similar to creating seams for carpets.
  
  

Sod Care

• Heat and loss of moisture are sod's worst enemies. It is best to lay sod in the morning, before soil evaporation and the heat of the sun dries out the sod. After laying out the sod, push a lawn roller that is halfway filled with water over the top of the sod to achieve sod to soil contact.