As a first time home owner I've got tons of gardening questions, but I'll start with the basics. The builder is putting down sod in the front lawn and a seed blanket (?) for the rear yard. The town I will be living in has watering restrictions. Many of my friends tell me the sod is going to die if I don't soak it every day. The watering restrictions are, I can water every other day from 5 PM to 8:30 PM. Won't this be enough time to water the sod and the back yard?
I ask a lawn question and I get an answer from an idiot? I guess each NG has to have their village idiot and I've just been contacted by the one for this group!
Consider the advice of your friends and also your builder. They know your climatic area - perhaps even what type or blend of grass is in your sod/seed blanket. That said, let me hazard this advice:
Newly installed sod dries out fast and requires watering right away. Have it installed the same day you can water. A new lawn has changing water requirements according to how well it has rooted into the soil. When new, the lawn has a shallow root system and needs the surface to stay moist, but not soaking wet. After a couple of weeks(?) when the sod is well anchored, deeper watering is required, but less frequently.
You don't have to soak your lawn every day. A new lawn needs water, but grass doesn't grow in wetlands. (At least the kind of grass you want on your lawn).
New seed will need water to germinate. You will have to keep the surface moist while the grass gets started. If you can only water during certain hours, make sure you do that. Don't water until puddles form. You only need to keep the surface moist.
A light cover of straw mulch will help keep the moisture in the ground rather than evaporating. This will lower the watering requirements. The grass will grow through the straw and the straw will decompose in place.
If you really have problems with enough water, you might consider watering only that area you want to use (next to the house; a play area; a place to sit) and convert the rest of the yard to shrubs or wildflowers or xeriscape or whatever your neighborhood association will allow. Shrubs can be watered with greywater (from bathing, dishwashing, laundry).
Sod, being already established grass with soil attached, needs water to put roots down into the ground, but not as much as new grass from seed.
You may want to contact the city office about the restrictions enforced.
In "hot" weather here - they will not charge you for watering on your OFF day if you have new sod or seed. They allow you three weeks to get it started without buggin' ya (if they even notice you did it to begin with).
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