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PostPosted: Tue Mar 27, 2007 10:06 pm 
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Joined: Fri Apr 15, 2005 11:59 am
Posts: 3
Location: Grand Prairie,TEXAS
Someone tell me how to prepare for new St Augustine Sod. Present area was over taken by what I think is Bermuda in time taking over the St Augustine. I want to re sod with new St Augustine. What all do I need to do. Could not find any help on the site. Please Help...


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PostPosted: Fri Mar 30, 2007 12:01 am 
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Joined: Fri Apr 15, 2005 11:59 am
Posts: 3
Location: Grand Prairie,TEXAS
Thanks for all the replys.....

I did find my answer under organic FaQ in the gardening & landscape sections. dchall article was excellent I thought, but still have a question being a novice gardner in my old age. after removing the old sod and disposing, I was planning on tilling in compost to the old soil which seems very rich from four years of using organic amendments. Would this be sufficient adding a couple inches of compost?? Or should I add cornmeal or other product before laying the new St Augustine Sod. Imust really be getting old after after hearing a couple quotes from landscape companys to do this job I about Cr.....well feinted so talked a grand son in doing the job for me.

Thanks for someone answering........


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 Post subject: Forgot
PostPosted: Fri Mar 30, 2007 12:13 am 
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Joined: Fri Apr 15, 2005 11:59 am
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Location: Grand Prairie,TEXAS
:oops: I forgot to mention why my lawn got in such terrible shape. I completely ignored watering instructions and watered for three years after going organic, at least three times a week fifteen minutes at a time......It sure did promote the old wild bermuda or whatever it is to grow plus weeds galore to pull, and.. just down right got ugly. Do you see the tears dripping on this, thinking of all the water I wasted, and the bills my god...and the waste of all the organic amendments used to get it to do something but die.....oh well a lesson learned.


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PostPosted: Fri Mar 30, 2007 8:28 am 
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Joined: Sat Mar 06, 2004 7:33 am
Posts: 764
Location: Plano & land at Dodd City,TEXAS
I'm sorry no one has replied but somtimes the most knowledgable members are busy w/jobs...

I'm unsure if you have grass now or not. If you have bermuda it's best to remove it & sounds like you may have done that.

A thin (1"-2") of compost over the yard is an excellent start. You may want to wait & see if any bermuda pops up b/4 you lay the St. Augustine, & dig it up if you can. Water both sides of the St Aug sod & lay it down. You can spread a little compost over the top but not enugh to shade it.

If we continue to have these wonderful rains, you should be good. Then you may need a little corn meal!

Patty

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PostPosted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 10:28 am 
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Joined: Tue Mar 18, 2003 3:45 pm
Posts: 2884
Location: San Antonio,TEXAS
NEVER TILL YOUR SOIL!

I meant to shout that. Did it work?

I don't even agree with tilling to prepare for veggies, but in the case of lawns, you will NEVER have a level surface again if you till. I know this goes against the Sunset Western Garden Book and all the othe sage advice from Neil Sperry and others, but when you ask the teaming masses what they hate about their lawns, it is unevenness. That comes from tilling. The only way to resurface a potential lawn area is with a real tractor and a boxblade. Even bobcat type tractors won't work right. Just forget all about doing anything to change your current surface.

Just scalp your current turf down. If you do anything to the surface, use a power rake to loosen and shred only the top 1/4 inch. Then apply the sod and roll it down. Rolling it is very important. The bottom of the sod needs to be in contact with the underlying soil or the roots will die.

Then if you want to apply compost, cornmeal, alfalfa, or whatever, do it after you put the sod down. Everything goes on top of the grass for best performance.

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 Post subject: Scalping
PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 11:37 am 
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Joined: Wed Mar 28, 2007 12:27 pm
Posts: 17
Location: Mckinney,TEXAS
What does scalping mean? How do you do it? Don't you have to apply something to kill the old grass first? I have very patchy bermuda in my front yard because it doesn't get enough sun so I want to plant St. Augustine. I also have an area in my backyard that is mostly shade and want to plant St. Augustine there. Half of it is just dirt and half is thin Fescue I planted in the Spring. For some reason half of it died altogether (probably from too much water) and the other half is just thin.

Cathy


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PostPosted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 9:40 pm 
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Joined: Sun May 27, 2007 7:19 am
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Location: OKLAHOMA CITY,OKLAHOMA
I was in the exact same position you're in almost 3 months ago, patchy Bermuda due to large shade tree. And I had zero experience in lawncare other than pushing a mower. But with the help of one poster on this board, Tricky Grama, and many others on the Gardenweb.com site, I now have a lawn that all my neighbors admire. It's not perfect, but it's getting there.

This is what I 've done so far, step-by-step and with pictures where appropriate:

1) Scalping is just basically mowing your grass as short as possible by using your mowers lowest setting.

2) To kill the existing Bermuda, spray it with Round Up at double the strength posted on the label, because Bermuda is tough to kill. As a matter-of-fact, you will want to wait 5-7 days to see if any returns. If so hit it again.

3) Next I rented a power-rake from Home Depot and using it's lowest setting, went over my yard twice at opposing angles. What this does is loosens or tears up 1/4" or so of topsoil, which makes it easier for your new sod to take root, especially if your soil is compacted like mine was. It will look something like this;
Image

4) I don't know anything about St. Augustine, but the key to a good sod-lay is to keep it (the sod) moist, not soaked, until you get it down. And once it's down keep it watered daily until it starts to take root. Then you'll want to back off the daily watering gradually until you're only watering once a week, giving it 1" of water all at once. This will help promote deep roots. I'm not knowledgable about St. Augustine so if I've given bad advice RE: watering, I hope someone else steps in and corrects me. My turf of choice was Zoysia due to its heartiness, shade tolerance, slow growth, and if cared for properly it's dense, carpet-like appearance.

I won't go into the mechanics of laying the sod because it sounds as if you know what to do. I'll just share with you a few of my pics.
Image
This is just after I'd finished. Not bad for a rookie, IMHO.

Image
This is the second pallet, which sat in my truck bed for a week due to my work schedule. Even though I tried to keep it moist, the slabs on the bottom started to go dormant, thus the straw color. But check out the next pic.

Image
Thats the same area! See what I mean by heartiness? Heres one more;

Image
This sod is barely over 2 months old and look at it! If I can do it, anyone can.

I will say that I have not used any chemicals on this turf since killing off the Bermuda. Its been totally organically cared for. I've used nothing but Soybean Meal, Alfalfa Meal, and Corn Gluten Meal, along with a little ACT.

Well, I hope I was able to help you in the same way Tricky Grama helped me. Thats what these forums are suppose to be about, trading our experiences to help each other. Good luck with your project and post back how it goes.[/i]


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