Centipede Sod – Irrigation Techniques

Q: I am going to put down centipede sod in my GA yard. I am on well water that only generates 5 GPM. I have had different people tell me different things regarding the feasibility of having irrigation installed due to the limited amount of water. What are your thoughts on that? One of the opinions I got was from someone that said, if I can spend a fair amount of time hand watering it when it first goes down, and can get it established, then it would probably do fine on its own without the irrigation all together. If you agree with that, that would be my preference, due to the cost of installing the irrigation (although because I am on well water, the water would be free).

A: I think your friend is right, particularly if you till in an inch of organic matter before laying the sod. The organic matter acts as a sponge, releasing water when drought hits.