My garage organization need a new late spring cleaning. Finding a roll of grass sod, made me wonder how to dispose of it, since it’s dried out, from a week ago.
But can I revive it with the same TLC that a regular grass patch needs? If not, can I just turn it upside down and use it as mulch?
Hmm. A week is a long time in the life (and death) of a roll of sod. Sod tries to continue growing even after being rolled. It releases nitrogen, which heats up the roll and begins to kill the sod as soon as 12 hours after the sod is harvested.
The standard amount of time you have to lay the sod rolls varies between 12 hours and five days after harvesting, depending on the time of year and the weather.
After a week, I suspect there has been too much damage to the sod you have discovered in your garage.
If it is just yellowing and doesn’t have a terrible smell, you can try unrolling it in the shade and watering (but not so much it rots) but I don’t hold out much hope for resurrection, since it was probably quite hot in the garage over the last week.
I would not use the dried out sod as is for mulching. However, the yellowed sod can be composted to make a new garden bed, using the lasagna technique.
Cut the roll into desired lengths. Turn the first piece over and then spread a layer of wet newspaper over that. Put in fine nitrogen organic matter, such as leaves topped with soil or compost. Coat the surface of the area with more soil, then add carbon rich material. Repeat. The layers of material will help break down the sod and turn it into usable soil. Each layer needs to be about an inch (2.5 cm.) or so thick with a total height of 18 inches (46 cm.) or more. If you want the process to go faster, weight a sheet of black plastic over the pile to keep the heat in. Check it frequently to make sure the pile is lightly moist. In five to six months, turn the soil and till it for planting.
June 5, 2022