Installing garden edging

I am going to lay down new sod in my backyard. Do I need to install my edging before or after I put down the sod?

I would put down the edging first. It will be easier to dig to install the edging without the sod in the way.

This is the best time to be laying sod - do it either in the early spring or early fall so it doesn't scorch.

Depends on the edging - if you're talking a garden edge, don't use the black plastic stuff - just use a simple, deep edge along your gardens and pull the garden soil away from it. (use a flat shovel, and dig clean sides down about 4") The black stuff, in my opinion, is worthless - I've got miles of it piled up behind my shop from jobs I've been on. It's just too difficult to keep in place - and it doesn't work any better than a deep soil edge.

Lay the sod down so it overlaps the deep garden edges a bit - then use a sharp flat shovel and chop the sod along your garden edge. (I use a stihl concrete saw with a junk blade - saves tons of time and does a nice clean edge, especially with curved bed edges)

A good thing to practice when laying sod -- start laying horizontally (parallel to the front wall of your house) across your yard. That way, it doesn't LOOK like freshly laid sod because the joints are hidden by the blades of grass. Laying it perpendicular to the house will show ugly vertical lines all the way up your lawn until the sod establishes and fills in the gap. Also stagger the sod (like bricks on a house).

Water thoroughly until it's established (or until you can't pull up the sod as a mat anymore)

Landscapetech - thank you for the sod tutorial! I need to put some in my tiny back-side yard, so I will follow these instructions! If you don't mind, and since sod is mentioned as a part of this thread as to not get off topic, is there any other prep work to be done for laying sod (e.g. loosening soil, wetting soil before placing, etc.)?

you'll want to make sure the ground is leveled smooth to the grade you want it at - there are 4' and wider grading rakes that really help to get a consistently flat grade. Although it's best to have well-aerated soil underneath a lawn, it's not always feasible in terms of actually installing the sod, so I leave about 1/2" of loose, non-compacted topsoil so footprints and wheel-barrel marks don't show up. "Scuffing up" the existing topsoil and sprinkling some good triple-mix or topsoil on top is usually enough. Aeration the next season is usually a good idea.

Try to wet the soil beginning a few days before the sod is actually laid - the roots will actually begin growing away from the soil if it's dry - always moving from areas of low moisture to areas of high moisture. Wetting a few days before just prevents a muddy mess!

Overseeding annually and top-dressing with a conservative amount of enriched soil every three years or so will keep the lawn looking good - many people install sod and subsequently neglect it. The best way to keep weeds and pests at bay is to raise healthy plants - much like people!

Thanks for the information. I did the job last weekend and it looked just as good as it did the first day and is staying green with the daily waterings (unless the rain takes care of that for me, like today). As I've read, after another week, it should be somewhat established so that I don't have to water unless we have a dry spell. I posted a thread about my project with some pics in the beginner landscaping forum, if you're interested!

is it advisable to spray round up over the existing space to kill weeds first? if so, how long do i need to wait before i can lay the sod? i know it's getting almost too late to be doing this in florida. luckily, the area isn't in full sun all day so i may still have a chance. we have sand and weeds, no soil to speak of. we'll probably put down a thin layer of compost over the area before we lay the sod.
thanks for any help! we've heard so many different ways to go, it's getting confusing.

DO NOT spray round-up on the area to kill weeds first - Roundup is what's called a "non-selective" herbicide, which means it kills all plant life. You'd have to wait for at least a few months to grow anything on it.

Apparently, one single molecule of this chemical is enough to kill a plant. Use it carefully! (Usually only for areas you want NOTHING to grow.)

i appreciate this response. one other man here told us the same thing but i just didn't trust one opinion. most say to spray and wait 10 days and then sod. since sod is costly, we will do it your way.
thanks so much.

Trackin - Make sure you till and roll. The rolling is very important. My neighbor put down some sod and decided to just till the ground and level it by eye. Well, every time he mows, he cuts some grass too high and other he shaves to the ground. It is very important to be level so you mow and walk level. Also, wet the ground each day for a couple days prior so the base is nice and wet and the roots will take quickly. My lawn took in less than a week doing this, and it still looks great! Let us know how it goes.

till & roll...is that anything like rock & roll? lol

seriously, i promise to do exactly what you all say-IF we go with the sod. more and more i'm thinking of putting in perennial peanut instead of a lawn grass.

Hahaha! It's what I was doing a few hours into the project - till, fall down in exhaustion, roll over, get back up....
Perennial peanut sounds interesting. It does make a good groundcover, but does it tolerate foot traffic?

yes, it can take foot traffic, is pest free, drought tolerant, evergreen and it blooms pretty much all the time. don't go holding any square dances on it but it is some tough stuff.

Wow that sounds great! Whatever you decide, take some pics!

We did the Round-up and sod routine last fall, leaving a couple weeks between the final spraying and laying sod. (We were killing bermudagrass and weeds, and installing fescue.)

After we had a sprinkler system installed, we had it harley-raked before we laid the sod, which scuffed and smoothed everything before we put down the sod.

Eleven pallets of sod, five adults (two middle-aged adults and three young men, working in shifts to help us) Never again. The guys who do this for a living deserve more respect than they get - that was one of the hardest days I've put in, in a VERY long time.

Seven months later, the new lawn is still looking great...now to keep the moles out of it. (yeah, we need to put down more grub killer too.)

terry, the spectracide fire ant killer will kill grubs along with other nasties......

i'll take pictures if we go with the peanut.