Growing Grass

Joshua, when we had to do a yard from scratch, we used sodding. We were in Texas at the time and used St. Augustine. It took off very quickly. We've done smaller areas with seed, but it takes sooooo long to grow to that nice thick lawn and you have to be more careful with it in the process.

 

ha! It's what you called Grass on a Pallet :laugh:

 

Well, it is more expensive than seed. A lot of work initially. Less work to get it to "take."

This site talks about the costs.

 

Joshua

How big of an area are you looking at---as in---square footage---an acre?? 1/2 acre---there's all different types of grass--my favorite is Saint Augustine(there's not much of that around this part of Alabama---and then I like Burmuda and Centipede

I do that kind of thing---you know---besides preaching

Last year I reworked a man's "Lake Front" lot-------about a 1000 square foot lot that sloped gradually down to the Lake---Logan Martin Lake in Lincoln, AL

Anyway---the lot was in bad shape---so I hauled in a truck load of top soil/fill dirt--about 8 cu. yards worth--that cost 125 "dollar-reenies" and because of a steep slope going down I wasn't able to use a front end loader/tracker---I had to wheelbarrow the whole job down the slope(about a 45 degree angle)---all of it was done by hand---no heavy equipment--took me about 2 weeks from start to finish

After I got the fill dirt in place--I packed it down and then purchased about 3 pallets(about 400 sq. feet per pallet) of Bermuda(common) from a local sod farm and "sodded" in down----the sod cost about 200.00(if I recall)---it turned out nice---I wish I had some pictures but I don't know how to download from camera to bb links

It greened up real good in the spring and stayed green even with little rain

You can fertilize it lightly with 13-13-13---try to apply the fertilizer right before a rain if you can

Bitsy is right----you CAN seed the lot in---but its hard to get a quick stand--and it can't be mowed until it established a good root system

Keep your mower blades sharp and cut just the top 1/3 of the grass

 

I thought it was illegal to grow grass.

Oh.......you probably meant the kind cows eat.

 

I work on a 1000 acre sod farm. We have Palisades Zoysia which is a high end Zoysia and runs close to $200.00 a pallet wholesale and a pallet covers 450 sq feet or about a 20x20 area. Then we have Royal Zoysia which is the same price as the Palisades but looks like Bermuda and blends well with Bermuda. Then we have the Meyers Z-52 Zoysia and its like $135.00 a pallet wholesale. Now you ask why Zoysia, if you have shade you will need Zoysia for it to live if not you can plant Bermuda which runs $65.00 a pallet wholesale and covers the same area. These are the grasses we have and there are a whole lot more of them out there. What I would do is take a soil test and have it analysed and that will tell you how much AG LIME you need to get your soils PH level at the neutral level, then prepare you ground and here is what you need to do if you lay sod, you need to put down STARTED FERTILIZER on the dirt and lay the grass. This will get the nutrient right on the roots and it will take much faster this way. If you have any questions just ask. The prices I quoted are what we get in TN and prices will vary. Most plant sod because in TN they are required by law to lay sod in residental areas.

 

I used to be a professional landscaper. Here is what I highly recommend. You need to find out what type of grass grows well in your area, but for the most part any fescue type will work and be hardy. However any dog will burn portions of the lawn when he goes wee.

Try this as an affordable alternative to bringing dirt and putting down sod.

Go to your local tool rental store (Home Depot, or Lowes or a mom and pop joint) and rent what is called a slit-seeder. This machine is simple to use and does not take much time. It has a hopper for the seed and the guys at HD or Lowes should know what to set the flow of seed at.

The machine does all the planting for you. It has a tiny disc harrow that will make a "slit" (hence the name) in the ground and deposit the seed. Grass seed does not need much dirt coverage to germinate, in fact to much can prevent germination or slow down the process.

Circle your lawn several times to give yourself a place to turnaround and then go back and forth like you are mowing your lawn. Make sure to overlap your passes. Thats it.

You can but down fertilizer if you like but the most important thing is to water. Water every day if that there is no rain.

This is your most economical solution to reseeding your whole lawn.

You can fill in the areas of soil that are missing if necessary but you should not have to cover the whole lawn.

I have done this many times with great success and the clients loved the results.

 

Oh, I forgot. If you do this right you will start seeing grass within 5 to 10 days. And timing is important. Renovate the lawn in the fall or early spring before the summer heat comes.

 

The best way to grow grass is to watch it with avidness, best under a tree in a comfy chair, a cool drink in hand......the grass is one tough job...you need to watch and watch over the summer period:wavey: