Known for its poor water retention ability, sandy soil is increasingly being selected for sod installation. Water can easily pass through the sand, and that means the grass will have a hard time getting the moisture that it sorely needs to grow and thrive. This is the reason why it is so hard to install sod on sandy soil. However, there is no reason to despair! You can easily improve the water retention ability of the soil by mixing some organic materials like vermiculite, peat moss, or compost with the soil. You can get a rough idea of how much the soil can absorb water by squeezing a handful of moist soil. If it crumbles easily, it means you need to mix more organic matter into it. But if it does not fall apart that easily, it means that no such amendments are needed.
Adding Essential Nutrients
Sandy soil, in most cases, lacks some crucial nutrients like potassium, phosphorus, and nitrogen. Nothing can grow when these essential nutrients are missing, which means you need to first conduct soil testing to figure out the existing nutrient levels. Since water percolates very easily through the soil, sandy soil loses all its nutrients very fast.
Try mixing compost, nutrient supplements, or just rotted manure. These can do the trick here. You need to mix them properly, and these materials need to be tilled into the soil to a depth of about six to eight inches to get the best possible outcomes.
Replacing Topsoil
If it does not work, the next possible step would be to completely replace the existing sandy soil with fresh new topsoil. Yeah, we understand it might sound a bit extreme, but believe us, this is necessary. You need to first remove the top 8 to 12 inches of sandy soil and then level the ground so that new topsoil can be placed. This new topsoil should be rich in organic materials because this will pave the way for a thriving lawn in the days to come.
Eliminating Existing Vegetation
First, get rid of any weeds or grass before you start laying the new sod. Weeds, if not eliminated properly, might come back with a vengeance and will start eating away all the nutrients of the soil that you might have so painstakingly put in to accelerate the growth of the new grass. Give the lawn a good mowing, and hopefully, it will help you get rid of all weeds. You can even use a sod cutter to remove the old grass. In case you are unable to get rid of all these old vegetations, you might have to deal with uneven surfaces later on, as these old vegetations will start decomposing once they get buried under the newly installed sod.
Loosening the Soil Base
The next step is to loosen the soil. This will help improve air circulation and thus help in creating a congenial atmosphere for the newly installed grasses to take root. Try to break up 4 to 6 inches of the soil, and to do that, you can always use tools like a shovel or a rototiller. This process will help increase air pockets in the soil structure, and this will have a positive impact on the ability of the soil to absorb water efficiently.
Leveling and Moistening the Surface
Now, it is time to use a garden roller or a rake and start leveling the ground. This will ensure uniform growth. Once done, you need to moisten the soil but don’t overdo it. Just make the surface damp but make sure that there is no waterlogging because that would do more harm than good. Consistent watering is needed during the initial stage of the sod installation process.
Just follow these steps, and you will soon see grass taking root on your sandy soil.
