By "forked" do you mean "stuck the fork in the ground, pulled up a big clod of soil, and then flipped it upside down"? If so, you grass will probably live, but you will have a very bumpy lawn at the end.

I would check around to see if you can rent a sod roller. Basically, it is a big plastic barrel with a handle. You fill it with water and then roll it over the new sod. It will do a much better job of pressing the soil smooth than your feet. After that, make sure to water every day for the first 2 weeks, then every other day, then every 3rd day etc until the grass is well established and rooted into the soil below.

Thank you very much for replying so soon!

Bugger! Nope we just stuck the fork in and pulled it out.
This is bad isn't it? We are gonna have to turn the soil over for this to work arn't we? Would the sod/turf survive being rolled up whilst we turn over the earth below , or is that gonna just be more wasted effort?

Will start looking for roller rental ASAP!

Regards

Brad

About a year ago, my neighbor put St.Augustine grass right over his existing lawn/weeds. All he did was scalp the lawn, then laid the sod. His lawn did fine, and still looks good.
I would not personally do that, but it did work.

I think you've done a great job of preparing the site. Especially with the short notice. I would not pull up the turf you just laid, you will be fine. The old roots should die off. If they dont, you'll just have more grass coming up, no big deal - right?

The roller is always a good idea when laying sod.

Also, most important: be sure you dont let the soil dry out. billl's plan is right on. You might need to water Twice a day for the first week if temps are high and grass starts to look dry. Say 20 to 30min each zone. After that follow billl's watering plan.

Stop bitting your nails. Your new grass will be fine.

Thanks for that!

I'll make sure its watered. We hosed it well just after we laid it. Then, as if someone was watching, it rained. Not just a shower, threw it down, all night! But I will still water it a lot. It's the first thing I'll do when I get home tonight, that is if the wife hasn't beet me to it!

Thanks again to Bill & yourself for all your advice!

PS: I'll post a pic I took with my camera-phone just after we finished.

Cheers

Brad

This is bad isn't it?

Shrug. Not really, it's just not optimal. Later on, after the grass is established fully you may want to core aerate it to loosen up the packed soils.

You're in the UK, so that's probably a cool season grass. If so, fall is great. Until then, just follow the watering method above and if you want to feed, do so as long as the weather's compatible.

Really, sod's tough to mess up. :-)

Thanks for your input!

So what's 'core aerate' sounds painful? when should I think about using the roller? Now or wait utill its established?

Also could I 'over water' the sod? I left the sprinkler on & it rained so its squishy if you press it with your foot. Also will walking on the sod prior to it establishing hurt it?

Again thanks for all you help, I'm learning loads!

Cheers

Brad

You should have already used a roller. The roller is used to ensure good contact with the newly laid sod and the soil/earth below. Fill the roller 3/4 full of water and roll over the new sod, and thats it. You will never use it again unless you lay more sod.

Yes, you can over water, but not just this one time. If you did that every day then it would become a problem. Let it dry out a little until you water again. Try to keep it moist for the first week, not soaked.

Yes, You should try to stay off the new sod as much as possible until it is established.

So what's 'core aerate' sounds painful?

Well, I wouldn't do it to my worst enemy, but the lawn likes it. ;-)

Basically, a core aerator punches holes 2-4" deep (depending on the setting and your soil) and around 5/8" across in the lawn, pulls up the cores it yanked, and drops them atop the lawn surface. It sounds like it'd do a huge amount of damage to it, but it doesn't.

Core aeration will loosen a packed soil, allow water and nutrients to penetrate to the roots, and give you a good base for reseeding the lawn if that's what you want to do (if not, you don't have to).

The grass survives the damage with no problems and actually grows better and thicker because of it.

You only have to core aerate a lawn once a year or every other year if you're not using organic methods.

Organic folks--like me--do it every now and again. I'm coming up on my first aeration this year, and only because I'm reseeding some elite grass.

Just another note on aerating. The main benefit is that it breaks up compacted soil. One of the reasons foot traffic wears a path in grass is that the earth is constantly getting trampled and smashed down. Good soil should have plenty of tiny air pockets so it readily absorbs water and roots can easily grow through it. When you smash it down constantly, you lose that property. You'll end up with pooling water, mud and stunted plant growth.

With that said, the best aerators are earthworms. They work 24/7 and are basically free. If you add enough organic matter (coffee grounds, used tea leaves, chipped leaves from trees, compost etc) the worms will do most of the aerating for you.

Where's the pic?