Anxious homeowners needn’t worry about giving their new sod too much to drink.

Especially this time of year.

“I say this to everybody: I challenge you to kill it with water,” says Shawn Pine Bay, a partner in Pine Family Farms, which grows fescue and bluegrass for sale at the edge of North Lawrence. “People don’t understand: It should be squishy when you walk across it, and it should be that way for the first week or 10 days after you put it down.

“It’s a living, breathing item. If it doesn’t get water, it’ll die.”

A lack of water is the biggest reason new sod suffers a brown, brittle fate, Pine Bay says. But it’s by no means the only one.

Pine Bay and her father, Roger Pine, say that while laying sod can occur anytime, the best chances for success come in early spring and early fall.

Creating a lawn for a typical home requires laying about 1,000 square yards of sod – that’s 1,000 rolls, for a total weight of 20 to 27.5 tons – and such a project isn’t to be taken lightly, Pine Bay says.

Consider the cost: $1,750 for the sod, plus about $120 for delivery.

“It’s a big investment,” she said. “It’s not something you want to do and then leave for vacation for two weeks. You’ll come home to a dead yard.”

Among Pine Bay’s suggestions for a successful sod installation:

¢ Choose the right grass. A hearty blend of tall fescue is appropriate for the Lawrence area, she said. While Pine Family Farms offers bluegrass, the variety isn’t as hearty and therefore requires more water, more often.

¢ Think ahead. If you already have an irrigation system, great. If not, be sure that you know where all your exterior water faucets are outside and how long your hoses are and how far your sprinklers reach – because you’ll need it all. “You’ll need to water three or four times a day,” she says. “If you have a sprinkler and you’re moving it from spot to spot, you’ll have it going 24 hours a day, seven days a week. : If you only have one sprinkler, you’re going to have dead sod.”

¢ Watch the thermometer. Sod takes root best in cool conditions, she said, so some people even place orders when spells of three or four 55-degree days break out in January or February. The only requirement: that the ground isn’t frozen. “The outdoors act like a refrigerator,” she said. “Then the sod doesn’t stress as much.”

¢ Be prepared. Clear the area of all existing grass, weeds or plants. Then it’s time to till or rake the soil – mixing topsoil or compost into overabundant clay, if necessary – that will be home to the new turf, loosening it up at least a couple inches deep. Also, break up large clods and remove rocks. Then you’re ready to spray the surface with a light coat of water to help things settle a bit, unless Mother Nature cooperates. “If you can, work it before it’s about to rain,” she says.

¢ Work quickly. Sod doesn’t like to be rolled up for long. If you’re scheduled to take a delivery, try to get it down that same day. And if you must put off the work for a while, don’t cover the rolls with a tarp – “that just suffocates the sod,” Pine Bay says – and be sure to keep it wet. “It may be a bit messy, but it’s worth it.”

¢ Consider hiring help. While many Pine Family Farms customers do their own work – especially when it comes to laying a few yards here and there – putting in a full yard oftentimes is a task best left to professional landscapers, Pine Bay says. Pros buy their turf wholesale and have experience getting the job done right the first time. “Sometimes, in the long run, it can end up being a lot more economical,” she says.