Sod – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sod or turf is grass and the part of the soil beneath it held together by the roots, or a piece of thin material

In British English and in Irish English such material is more usually known as turf, and the word "sod" is limited mainly to agricultural senses (for example for turf when ploughed).

Sod is typically used for lawns, golf courses, and sports stadiums around the world. In residential construction, it is sold to landscapers, home builders or home owners who use it to establish a lawn quickly and avoid soil erosion. Sod can be used to repair a small area of lawn,[1] golf course, or athletic field that has died.

Scandinavia has a long history of employing sod roofing.

Following passage of the Homestead Act by the US Congress in 1862, settlers in the Great Plains used sod bricks to build entire houses.[2] While it might be hard for some to imagine sod as a suitable primary building material, the prairie sod of the Great Plains was so dense and difficult to cut it earned the nickname Nebraska marble. Blacksmith John Deere made his fortune when he became the first to make a plow that could reliably cut the prairie sod.[3]

Sod is grown on specialist farms. For 2009, the United States Department of Agriculture reported 1,412 farms had 368,188 acres of sod in production.[4]

It is usually grown locally (within 100 miles of the target market)[5] to minimize both the cost of transport and also the risk of damage to the product. The farms that produce this grass may have many varieties of grass grown in one location to best suit the consumer's use and preference of appearance.

It is usually harvested 10 to 18 months after planting, depending on the growing climate. On the farm it undergoes fertilization, frequent watering, frequent mowing and subsequent vacuuming to remove the clippings. It is harvested using specialized equipment, precision cut to standardized sizes. Sod is typically harvested in small square slabs, rolled rectangles, or large 4-foot-wide (1.2m) rolls.

Mississippi State University has developed a hydroponic method of cultivating sod. For the very few sod farms that export turf internationally, this soil-less sod may travel both lighter and better than does traditional sod when shipped. Additionally, since the sod is not grown in soil, it doesn't need to be washed clean of soil down to the bare roots (or sprigs), and time to export is shortened.[6]

Sod has two main utilities: immediacy, and cultivar availability.

See more here:
Sod - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia