14 CIRCULAR 328, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



Pieces of sod varying from 2 to 17 inches square and cut to a depth 

 of 1 or 2 inches have been successfully transplanted by merely dropping 

 them on freshly and deeply cultivated land and pressing them level 

 with the surface of the ground with a heavily weighted surface packer. 

 This eliminates the tedious labor involved in digging holes or plowing 

 furrows and setting the sods by hand. 



This time-saving method of transplanting, which has been rather 

 well tested and found to be both practical and successful, may be 

 practiced in several ways. One is to cut the sods at a depth of 1 to 

 2 inches, using a 12-inch sod cutter equipped with erect dividing blades 

 so as to cut two or three strips 4 to 6 inches wide at one operation. 

 The strips then may be cut rapidly with a sharp spade into sods of 

 convenient lengths of 4 to 12 inches and set in a field that has been 

 prepared by disking or one-waying to a depth of 4 inches. 



A 3-man crew can unload the sods in a comparatively short time — 

 1 man to drive the truck or wagon and 2 men to unload the sods. If 

 the sods are thrown to the ground they must be handled with reason- 

 able care, to prevent them from landing grass side down. To elimi- 

 nate this possibility and save time the sods may be unloaded in sheet- 

 iron chutes fastened to the wagon and dragging on the ground far 

 enough in the rear to prevent the sods from overturning as they slide 

 off the incline. In this manner they are rapidly transferred from the 

 wagon to the surface of the cultivated land into which they are pressed 

 by a heavily weighted packer. If there is difficulty in packing the 

 sods level with the surface, shovel attachments may be fastened to the 

 bottom of the sheet-iron chutes, to provide furrows for the sods. 



Unloading also may be facilitated by using a manure spreader with 

 the reel removed and platforms fastened to the sides of the rear end 

 on which the men stand who are unloading. The driver can then 

 operate the apron-moving lever so as to keep a supply of sods con- 

 stantly available for unloading. 



By following a practical resodding method of this sort a farmer can 

 reestablish buffalo-grass pastures on a considerable acreage during 

 his spare time and at a nominal cost. Such work should be started 

 on the higher elevations, so that if it is not completed at once seed 

 washing down from the higher land will assist in resodding the lower 

 areas. 



Other means of facilitating the transplanting of large pieces of sods 

 have been tried with varying degrees of success. Tossing the sods 

 in shallow-plowed furrows and harrowing and packing the land after- 

 wards often covers many of the sods beyond recovery or to an extent 

 that retards growth. 



The Davis erosion-control hole-digging machine has been used to 

 prepare the land for sodding. This machine makes 10,000 holes per 

 acre, or one every 4 square feet. It is possible to vary the depth of 

 the holes from 1 to 6 inches. After placing a sod in each hole the area 

 is either harrowed or raked by hand. The harrowing buries many of 

 the sods and retards the growth of others but leaves a sufficient number 

 to indicate some merit to the practice. Because of the rough nature 

 of land handled in this manner it is impossible to pack the soil firmly 

 around each sod. Using a hand rake instead of a harrow results in 

 renewal of growth by all sods, but adds materially to the cost. 



