Oklahoma is a grassland—short grass prairie in the west, tall grass prairie in the east and mixed grass prairie in the Central part of the state. When the land was open for non-native settlement, settlers found an ocean of grass, with a thicker, tougher root structure than the grass we have in our lawns today. The grass roots were so thick and tough that the prairie sod could not be cultivated until the blacksmith John Deere invented a steel plow that could cut through it. Our Oklahoma state grass is Indian Grass, which is native to the tall-grass prairie, along with big bluestem, little bluestem, and switchgrass. Two major short grasses were blue grama and buFfalograss. In the mixed-grass prairie there were needle-and-thread grass, sideoats grams and western wheatgrass, along with many more species. The thick, tough roots of prairie grass came in handy for settlers as they built their first homes. The prairie had minimized trees or other standard building materials, but sod from the thickly-rooted prairie grass was abundant. The first step was clearing grass from a Large area with a cutting plow drawn by mules, oxen or horses. The sod was cut in rectangular bricks that were 2 feet wide, 1 inch deep and 6 feet long. Construction involved stacking the bricks to form walls. If the sod bricks sat in the sun and dried, they would crumble, so settlers could only cut enough sod as could be used in one day. The sod was laid by putting them like bricks, in side-by side rows. Bricks were always laid with the grass side down so the roots would grow into the brick above and Stabilize the structure. Three rows of sod would make a thick wall that could support the weight of the house. Seams between the sod bricks were staggered to keep the walls as tight as possible. Every third or fourth layer of sod was laid crosswise to bind the stacks together. Windows were the most expensive part of a sod house and were difficult to install. After setting a wooden frame into the wall, the builder continued to lay rows of sod around it. When the bricks reached the top of the window frame the builder left off two layers of brick and laid a cedar pole over the gap. The resulting space, stuffed with grass or rags, protected the windows from breaking as the house settled. For the roof, cedar poles held up layers of brush tied into bundles, along with mud, grass and more sod. The resulting structure was a well-insulated but damp dwelling that was very inexpensive. Sod houses required frequent maintenance and were vulnerable to rain damage. Stucco or wood panels often protected the outer walls. Canvas or plaster lined the interior walls, and muslin sheets covered the ceiling to keep dirt from dropping into food or an occasional snake from falling onto the bed. Oklahomans don’t live in sod houses anymore, but our state is still a great place to grow grass for a variety of uses—lawns, golf courses, sports fields, etc. In residential construction, sod, or turfgrass, is sold to landscapers, home builders or home owners who use it to establish a lawn quickly to avoid soil erosion. Sod can be used to repair a small area of lawn, golf course, or athletic field that has died. Sod also cools the landscape, improves air and water quality, and prevents flooding by draining water. Sod is grown on special sod farms. In 2014, Oklahoma had 48 farms, with 13,577 acres in sod production, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). Nationwide there were 1,292 farms with 320,566 acres of sod in production. Sod is usually grown locally (within 100 miles of the target market) to minimize both the cost of transport and also the risk of damage. Sod farms may have many varieties of grass grown in one location to best suit the consumer’s use and preference of appearance. Sod is usually harvested 10 to 18 months after planting, depending on the growing climate. On the sod farm it is fertilized, watered and mowed frequently and vacuumed to remove the clippings. It is harvested using specialized equipment, precision cut to standardized sizes. Sod is typically harvested in small square slabs, rounded rectangles, or two- by five-foot rolls.