Northwesterner has my number. I am not as regular around here since the forum membership seems to have fallen off.
For brand new sod, the watering suggestion is the same as for brand new seed. That is to water 3x per day for 5-15 minutes each time depending on how much water your sprinklers put out. All you need to do is keep the bottom of the top of the turf moist so that the roots will knit into the underlying soil. Once you see the grass starting to grow, then you can back off on the frequency. Ideally you are shooting to water deeply and infrequently. Deeply means one inch all at one time. Infrequently means monthly in the cool months and transitioning to once weekly in the hottest heat of summer. If your grass dries out before the next 'scheduled' time, then water immediately but water deeper.
All this is suggestions to get you started. Once you are comfortable that your grass is okay, then you can tune up the regimen for your soil. The factors bearing on the watering are rain, heat, humidity, clouds, other shade, wind, soil type, soil depth, grass type, mowing height, organic matter, and some others that I always forget. Those are the biggies. I have tall (4 inches) St Aug grass on shallow limestone soil under fairly deep shade. During a normal San Antonio summer I water 3/8-inch per week. During a hot, dry summer I boost that up to 7/8-inch per week. For the last two summers we watered at 7/8-inch for a total of 8 weeks before the humidity returned and the grass did not need so much. Watch your grass for signs of dryness. Then water.
_________________ David Hall Moderator Dirt Doctor Lawns Forum
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