The Second Bag
Over Sod: what goes on the lawn one month after Under Sod went under it
Under Sod goes under the roll so roots and fungi meet the soil. Over Sod goes on the lawn one month later, when the sod has tacked, so the now-rooted lawn can thicken and green without a second dose of phosphorus.
The System, In One Line
Under Sod under the roll at install, mixed into the top 4 inches of prepared topsoil, one bag per pallet.
Over Sod on the lawn at one month, one bag per four pallets.
Then the seasonal schedule.
It is the second half of one system, built to pair with Under Sod™ and with nothing else to remember: one Under Sod bag per pallet at install, one Over Sod bag per four pallets a month later. Over Sod ships in spring 2027.
Application
How Over Sod is used
One month after install, once the sod passes the tug test — a corner won’t lift. One 25-pound bag covers 2,000 square feet, which is four pallets of sod, at 12.5 pounds per 1,000 square feet: about one pound of nitrogen, three-quarters of a pound of potash, a quarter pound of iron, and no added phosphorus. Spread it, water it in a quarter to a half inch, and go back to the normal seasonal schedule for the grass and the region. One rate. One bag size.
When not to apply
Not today if: the sod is wilted, the air is over 85 degrees, the date is inside your state’s fertilizer blackout, or you’re inside the water buffer.
Never one bag per pallet — that is Under Sod’s rate, in the soil, and 25 pounds of Over Sod on 500 square feet of month-old sod is too much nitrogen on the surface.
Target Specs
What Over Sod is (planned analysis)
Target analysis 8-0-6 with 2% iron. The final guaranteed analysis is set by the manufacturer’s label; these are the targets Over Sod is being built to.
Target: 8%
Nitrogen
Most of it slowly available from a slow-release nitrogen base, with a small soluble fraction for early color.
Target: none added
Phosphorus
Guaranteed phosphate is held at or below 0.67 percent, which is what Connecticut’s fertilizer law treats as phosphorus-free. Under Sod already placed the phosphorus the new lawn needs under the roll; a second dose on the surface would only shut down the mycorrhizae Under Sod put there.
Target: 6%
Potash
From sulfate of potash, continuing the stress package Under Sod started for heat, traffic, and the first winter.
Target: 2%
Iron
In a non-staining form. This is the ingredient Under Sod leaves out on purpose. Under Sod roots the sod. Over Sod greens it.
Target: 3 to 4%
Humic and fulvic acids
Target Ascophyllum seaweed is 1.5 to 2 percent, the same chemistry as Under Sod at a lighter dose, because the soil-building dose is already in the profile.
Planned: none
No live biology
Surface-applied spores at one month don’t reach the contact zone the way Under Sod did; the biology story belongs under the roll.
Target: SGN 150 to 180
Medium granule
So it spreads clean and doesn’t track onto pavers or into the house.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Over Sod?
The second bag of the Under Sod system: a phosphorus-free surface feed applied one month after new sod goes in, planned as 8-0-6 with 2 percent non-staining iron, one 25-pound bag per four pallets. It ships in spring 2027.
Why does Over Sod have no phosphorus?
Because Under Sod already put the phosphorus a new lawn needs under the roll, mixed into the soil where the roots and the mycorrhizae are. A second dose on the surface a month later would suppress the fungi Under Sod placed, and on most Northeast soils it isn’t needed. Holding phosphate at or below 0.67 percent makes Over Sod phosphorus-free under Connecticut’s fertilizer law, which means it can be used at one month and again in any later season without a soil test.
When do I apply Over Sod?
One month after install, once a corner of the sod won’t lift. Not in heat, not on wilted sod, and not inside your state’s fertilizer blackout — if the one-month mark falls inside the blackout, wait for the first allowed date.
How much Over Sod do I use?
One 25-pound bag per four pallets of sod, which is 2,000 square feet, or 12.5 pounds per 1,000. That’s about a pound of nitrogen. Never one bag per pallet — that’s Under Sod’s rate, and it goes in the soil, not on it.
Can I use Under Sod without Over Sod?
Yes. Under Sod does the rooting job on its own. Until Over Sod ships in spring 2027, feed once at one month with a phosphorus-free slow-release lawn fertilizer at about a pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet.
Until spring 2027
Under Sod ships first. Until Over Sod is on the truck, the one-month feeding is a phosphorus-free slow-release lawn fertilizer at about one pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet, watered in, and nothing with a high middle number. Ask us which one our crews are using this season.
Notification List
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Homeowners get notified, landscapers get the contractor-partner note, farms and distributors get the dealer note.