Sod...then and now

As we all know sod is used for lawns, golf courses, and athletic fields around the world. It is a favorite of landscapers and home builders because it helps to establish a lawn quickly and it also helps with soil erosion. It is the choice of many homeowners because of its appearance and the environmental benefits. Sod reduces greenhouse gases and absorbs carbon dioxide.  It is much cooler than concrete, asphalt, rock and artificial turf. It releases oxygen and cools the air.  Sod can also be used to repair a small area of your lawn that has died.  Professional landscapers may use it to repair a golf course or an athletic field as well.

There are a few things you may not know about the history of sod.  Great Plains settlers in 1862, used sod bricks to build entire sod houses.  The prairie didn't have standard building supplies like wood or stone.  It may be hard for us to imagine today that sod was used for constructing houses.  But, the prairie sod of the Great Plains was dense, tough, thick and difficult to cut. The plentiful sod was also nicknamed Nebraska Marble due to this denseness.  These characteristics made it an excellent building material. The Great Plains settlers weren't the only ones to use sod when building structures. Scandinavia also has a long history of employing sod roofing and the Icelandic turf house is a traditional house type.

An invention by a man with a very familiar name to us today helped aid migration into the Great Plains in the 19th and early 20th century.  A blacksmith, by the name John Deere, made a fortune when he became the first to make a plow that could cut the dense prairie sod.  

Call Sunbelt Turf Farm for all your turf grass needs!

Sunbelt Turf Farm began in St. Clair County. Over 30 years have perfected the art of growing, selling and the delivery of quality turf grass. Customer satisfaction is paramount and we stand behind our turf grass. Expansions into Shelby and Talladega Counties successfully turned cotton fields and pasture land into beautiful green turf. Commercial and retail opportunities, pick-up or delivery, free estimates, fast turnaround and remaining environmentally friendly separate us from the rest.