Sod Cutter


A sod cutter is a garden tool that is used to take off sods of lawns in a very uniform manner. Earlier, shovels, rakes and other pointed garden tool were used to remove sods or lawns. In the following few paragraphs, a quick overview of these cutters and their function has been given.

What is Sod?

Getting to know the meaning of sod and its anatomy is absolutely essential, since the working of a turf cutter is based on it. Sod which is also known as turf or lawn in several regions, is basically a short grass belonging to Monocotyledon faction of the plant kingdom. The sod is basically a nickname and from the botanical point of view it is classified into several categories. The principles feature of grass that is used in turf or sod include, narrow thin leaves, uniform and that grow from the base that is right above the roots. Now, we are no strangers to lawns and turfs and their enchanting beauty. The uniform and really, really short grass is included in the sod category and is used to make laws and turfs. It must be noted that technically even the bamboo is classified as a grass.

The sod basically has a short shoot and a short but spreading root. The anatomy of the sods is such as when planted really close to one another they collectively take hold of soil to make a carpet of grass. Cutting through this carpet is a really tough job as there are virtually infinite smaller grass units in a single small lawn. To make the job really easy, one can use a sod or turf cutter. The advantage being, it takes off an entire even 'carpet' of sod or of the ground that is uniform and also reusable. Using sod such as Fescue sod in landscaping and gardening has always been popular, it of course adds a handsome effect to the scenario.

About Sod Cutters

There are primarily two types of cutters; one which is the manual turf cutter and second one which is operated by electricity, just like a powered lawn mower. Both electric and manual cutters have a similar mechanism. The core mechanism is made up of a pair (sometimes single) of rollers which is followed by a sharp serrated blade. The level of the blade is a bit lower than the level of the roller or rollers. In such a scenario, all you have to do is diagonally thrust the blade into the grass till you hear the soft sound of breaking roots, remove the blade and check the depth. It should be just below the level where the roots have bulked up the soil in their grip. You will have to use your judgment in such a scenario but remember the volume of soil should be perfect, too much soil will be a major disaster as you will actually dig up the place and too less soil will break the 'carpet' like feature of your work. After you have confirmed the depth, start rolling the cutter forward. The carpet like featured sod will pass through the roller and blade and will come out from the other end.

There are some genuine advantages of using a turf cutter. Firstly, the volume of sod carpet removed reduces. Secondly, the cutter does a neat job by uniformly cutting out the sod carpet and thirdly, the entire carpet can be replanted as grass plugs with successful results.The rental price of a cutter is not much. Some are available for sale anywhere between $100 to $300, depending upon the model that you purchase. If you have a large lawn or a turf, then you can also invest in an expensive sod cutter that costs well above $1,000.

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