Learn About Our Sod

You need to measure the area you want to cover. Hopefully, you have a square area which is the easiest to measure. If so, you need to measure the length and the width and multiply these numbers. This number will tell you how many square feet of sod you need. Sod comes 400 square feet to a pallet (roughly the size of a double car garage. Take the square feet you came up with and divide by 400. This will tell you how many pallets you need. Each piece is 16x 24 inches and covers 2.67 sq ft. There are 150 pieces in a pallet.

Al grass grows in full sunlight, so you always want to pick your grass based on your worst-case shade scenario listed.

• FS: Requires full sunlight
• PS: Tolerates partial shade
• HS: Tolerates heavy shade

Bahia and Floratam are both FS and Palmetto sod is HS.

A pallet typically weighs between 3000 to 3500 pounds. It can weigh less or more depending on the fields’ rain. We recommend a 1-Ton American-made truck, such as a full-sized Ford or Chevy, or a dual-axle trailer to haul the sod. PLEASE NOTE: WE DO NOT RECOMMEND LOADING SOD INTO A TRUCK WITH A SPRAY-IN BEDLINER. SPRAY IN BEDLINERS DO NOT HAVE ANY GIVE AND A VERY EASILY DAMAGED. In no circumstances are we liable for any damage to your bed during loading.

If you can not carry the weight but still want to pick up the sod, you can hand load it (EXCEPT FOR BAHIA) and not pay the pallet deposit charge. The customers do all hand loading.

For residential orders, all pickups are generally scheduled for Wednesday and Friday from 8:00am until we close at 5:00pm. We ask that if you cannot come between these times, you call ahead before you pick up so we can ensure that we have someone here to load.

Deliveries are generally scheduled for Wednesday and Friday (except for orders of 14+ pallets, in which case you can pick the delivery day to be Tuesday-Saturday). All sod is cut to order and you must order at least three days ahead. (Orders received after 2:00 pm will not be processed until the next day because when we leave at 5:00 pm, all orders must be called into the field). This schedule may change during holidays and other times as necessary. Sod is brought in on an order basis only and we only bring in enough sod for what we have orders for. The delivery schedule is made up on the afternoon before your delivery day. Under no circumstances can we guarantee a delivery time. You can request as early as possible or as late as possible and we do our best to accommodate, but sometimes it is not possible. The customer can call after 2:00 pm the afternoon before your delivery, and we can tell them here they are on the schedule.

Please note:

The Florida Summer (Heat, Humidity, Rain) is a guarantee for fungus. Fungus is a naturally occurring disease and can not be warranted against.

**It is CRITICAL you call a spray company within 24-48 hours of getting sod and have them spray for fungus and sod webworms.

Initial Care

Number 1 and most important: Do not water your sod while it is still stacked on the pallet. When you do, you create a microwave effect and the sod cooks from the inside out.

Water the ground before laying the sod. Begin watering your grass immediately. Do not let it sit even for 1 hour. If you are laying multiple pallets, water as you go. Even letting laid grass sit for 1 hour in the Florida sun will be seriously detrimental and could even kill it.

We recommend that you have a spray service inspect new sod for fungus and other diseases within three days. IF YOU EXPERIENCE ANY PROBLEMS AT ANY TIME OR CONCERNS WITH YOUR NEW GRASS, YOU MUST CALL IMMEDIATELY AND WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU CALL A SPRAY COMPANY. 99.999% OF THE TIME, IF SOD DIES WITHIN THE FIRST MONTH, IT IS DUE TO LACK OF WATER OR FUNGUS. Typically anything that is caught right away can be taken care of. When you let the damage go on for weeks, it is usually too late to save the grass.

Sod should be watered at least 1-inch per day (approximately 1 hour in the morning and 1 hour in the evening) for the first two weeks unless there is sufficient rainfall. Every irrigation system is different, so this is just a general rule. Your grass may take more or less water. An excellent way to measure how much water you are giving the area is to place an empty tuna fish can or anything flat that can hold water and turn your sprinkler on. When the water reaches the top of the tuna fish can or the equivalent on another container, you will know how long to run your water. Most people overestimate the time they are watering, so if your sod starts turning brown after the second day of watering, you may need to reassess your watering time. You also don’t want to overwater, so cut back if you get standing water.

Sod needs to be fertilized after you lay it with a 100% organic fertilizer. The most common types of organic fertilizer are ironite and milorganite and they can be purchased at any home improvement store. Do not use a chemical fertilizer until the sod has rooted into the ground. Chemical fertilizers can burn the roots of the sod, killing it. After initial fertilization, use 16-4-8 fertilizer at recommended rate in March and September. During the summer use only an organic fertilizer such as those listed above.

During the late spring, summer, and early fall, we require that you put fungus control on your new St. Augustine and Zoysia grass. We can almost guarantee that it will get fungus, and we feel it is better to pretreat (but this will not completely prevent it) than to lose your new grass. As a preventative, we recommend calling a spray company within 24-48 hours of getting the sod.

If you still experience fungus problems after repeated treatments, especially in saturated areas, you need to have a spray company that can use higher strength fungicide. Do not let the fungus go: you can lose your entire lawn!

PLEASE NOTE that sod is an agricultural product. It is not a manufactured product in which every piece is an exact, perfect duplicate of the one before. There may be differences in the soil base depending on the amount of rain we have or have not had. Slight unevenness in the sod field could also cause differences in the finished product. Some pieces could break apart or possibly not be as green as others. Rest assured that the entire pallet was cut simultaneously from one strip of sod in the field. Please lay all pieces, and be sure to water, fertilize and put fungicide down if required. Follow all instructions on the back of your ticket. You may find it necessary and beneficial to the finished product to roll the sod. A small amount of settling will occur naturally. You can take your lawn mower (blade off!) and drive over the new sod to seat the pieces. If you notice ANYTHING when laying your fresh grass, you must call us within 24 hours of receiving the grass. Even if we are closed, leave a message. This proves that you laid your grass on time and didn’t let it sit on the pallet too long. Calling also allows us to address and fix any problems you might have.

• Long-Term Care – There is a lot of information available, and it would take up an enormous amount of space to list it here. Please visit the University of Florida Extension Website https://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/yourfloridalawn/ for detailed information or call our office, and we will send you a copy of care information broken down by the seasons.

• We recommend that you visit the St Johns River Water Management District website in regards to the amount of water your established grass needs

• There are no spray companies that we recommend. With the correct guidance, we feel that every homeowner can maintain their own yard. This way, you know what chemicals are being applied, and you can save money. Scott’s has a great program on its website that will guide you on what to use for your exact grass at each time of the year. You can even sign up for an email list with handy reminders and tips.

http://www.scotts.com/smg/gosite/Scotts-v2/MyLawn

They also have an App that you can download for your phone.

No. In most instances, the sod is cut the day before we deliver the sod or on your pickup day. This means the field order has to be in by 5 pm the day before that. When we close at 5 pm on that day (two days before you are to receive your order), we must submit our order to the field. After that time, the sod is yours. We will do our best to try to sell your sod for you, but we are under no obligation to do so. If you have reserved the sod with your credit card, you will be charged if you do not accept the sod.

In addition to selling wide varieties of sod by the whole pallet, we also sell St. Augustine Floratam and Palmetto by the piece. (We do not sell Bahia by the piece because it breaks apart.) Please note that all pieces are self-serve, and you must load your vehicle. We recommend you call ahead for availability as we sell out quickly.

Purchases of full or half pallets include a $7 refundable pallet deposit. This deposit can be given back if you bring back the wooden pallets to our yard in Ocoee. You must bring your yellow copy of your pickup or delivery ticket to show the office staff in order to get this credit. If you are returning for someone else, we ask that you please bring the name of the person who placed the order and the approximate delivery date.

If you have recently ordered sod for delivery and are making another delivery purchase to the same address, our driver can pick up the empty pallets when he brings your new sod. All you have to do is stack the pallets neatly on or close to the driveway, visible to the driver. Please indicate that you would like the driver to pick up the empty pallets when you place your order so we can let the driver know.