When it comes to planting a lawn, you usually have two camps. You have people who want to do things the old-fashioned way and use grass seed, while others prefer to go for sod. Both of these options have their pros and cons and some might be more suited to you for many reasons. Sometimes, it has to do with who you are and how invested you are ready to be. In other cases, it may have to do with the soil conditions where you live. Let’s take a look at which option would be the best for you depending on your situation.
What’s Your Budget?
First, you have to evaluate your budget and decide how you are intending on planting your lawn. Virtually anyone can plant a lawn on their own with seeds, even if it’s their first time around. Not so much with sod. You can get a much higher quality lawn with seeds than you would with sod for the same price. Sure, you can always try to install sod yourself, but you’re bound to make some costly errors. Poorly installed sod will have visible seams, poor rooting, and look unnatural overall, which is the opposite of what you’re looking for.
What Kind of Environment are You In?
If you have a particular climate, you might have trouble finding what you’re looking for with sod. Finding the perfect grass variety is much easier when you use seeds, especially when using a service like Nature’s Seed that allows you to find exactly the type of grass for your geographical area and climate. With sod, you will be limited to whatever variety the farmer decides to grow.
How Fast do You Want Your Lawn to Grow?
One of the benefits of sod is that you can go from having nothing to a full plush lawn overnight. If your goal is speed, you can’t beat sod. However, some seeding techniques also allow you to get fast results. Hydroseeding is an example. Hydroseeding is performed by spraying a semi-liquid mixture of mulch, fertilizer, and seeds directly on the area where you want the lawn. Lawns that are planted like this tend to germinate much faster than through traditional seeding. These can germinate as fast as in one week and can often be ready to mow in as little as three weeks.
What About Maintenance?
How involved are you prepared to be with lawn care? This is very important to know because seeded lawns require a lot more attention than sod. With sod, you will get little to no weeds if you go for state-certified quality sod. The sod will outcompete any weed seed that tries to settle in.
With seeds, the initial stages are extremely important. Watering is crucial at that time, and you have to keep an eye out for things like erosion and weeds settling. So, make sure that you’re ready for the commitment if you’re going for seeds.
As you can see, both options have things going for them and both could work better depending on the person. This is why you must learn about each one in detail before making your decision.