Shade + Large Dog = New Grass Needed

[LawrencePerson@gmail.com]

I have a shady back yard. I also have a large golden retriever who
likes to play and romp back there about 30 minutes a day. Needless to
say, this combination has been hard on my grass, and I now have patches
of bare earth that need to be covered. I've calculated how much will
need to be re-sodded and have estimated it will take a little more than
a pallet.

My questions are:

1. What sort of grass should I use? I've got St. Augestine, and it's
not standing up to the dog. I've heard a lot about Zoysia and am
leaning toward that.

2. What sort of compost should I use? Given the smell and the dog, I'm
leaning away from the pure cow manure solution.

[Victor Martinez]

wrote:
> 1. What sort of grass should I use? I've got St. Augestine, and it's
> not standing up to the dog. I've heard a lot about Zoysia and am
> leaning toward that.

Zoysia grasses are really awesome, though I'm not sure they've quite
bred one that is dog-proof. :)

> 2. What sort of compost should I use? Given the smell and the dog, I'm
> leaning away from the pure cow manure solution.

Compost made from manure does not smell like manure, it smells like
dirt. Geo growers and The Natural Gardener both make very good products,
check them out.

--
Victor M. Martinez
Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM)
Send your spam here:
Email me here:

[Jangchub]

On Tue, 30 May 2006 17:59:22 -0500, Victor Martinez >
wrote:

wrote:
>> 1. What sort of grass should I use? I've got St. Augestine, and it's
>> not standing up to the dog. I've heard a lot about Zoysia and am
>> leaning toward that.
>
>Zoysia grasses are really awesome, though I'm not sure they've quite
>bred one that is dog-proof. :)
>
>> 2. What sort of compost should I use? Given the smell and the dog, I'm
>> leaning away from the pure cow manure solution.
>
>Compost made from manure does not smell like manure, it smells like
>dirt. Geo growers and The Natural Gardener both make very good products,
>check them out.

I would add one thing to your statement: Natural Gardener has
beautiful compost, but many times I've bought a yard of it while it
was still hot. So, I'd bring it home and add vegetative matter and
dry leaves and it would cook for about a month or so. If you can
smell ammonia, the compost needs to rest before you plant in it.

[Jonny]

> wrote in message
oups.com...
>I have a shady back yard. I also have a large golden retriever who
> likes to play and romp back there about 30 minutes a day. Needless to
> say, this combination has been hard on my grass, and I now have patches
> of bare earth that need to be covered. I've calculated how much will
> need to be re-sodded and have estimated it will take a little more than
> a pallet.
>
> My questions are:
>
> 1. What sort of grass should I use? I've got St. Augestine, and it's
> not standing up to the dog. I've heard a lot about Zoysia and am
> leaning toward that.
>
> 2. What sort of compost should I use? Given the smell and the dog, I'm
> leaning away from the pure cow manure solution.
>

1. The Palmetto and Raleigh varieties of St. Augustine. The regular strain
is not shade tolerant. Zoysia is poor in shade tolerance.

2. Cow manure is not a good fertilizer. Stick with horse manure. Direct
application is not advised.
--
Jonny

[Jangchub]

On Wed, 31 May 2006 12:02:27 GMT, "Jonny" >
wrote:

>1. The Palmetto and Raleigh varieties of St. Augustine. The regular strain
>is not shade tolerant. Zoysia is poor in shade tolerance.

All varieties will tolerate full sun or full shade.

>2. Cow manure is not a good fertilizer. Stick with horse manure. Direct
>application is not advised.

Horse manure is full of weed seeds. I would never use it again.

[Scott Harper]

In article >, Jangchub > wrote:
>On Wed, 31 May 2006 12:02:27 GMT, "Jonny" >
>wrote:
>
>>1. The Palmetto and Raleigh varieties of St. Augustine. The regular strain
>>is not shade tolerant. Zoysia is poor in shade tolerance.
>
>All varieties will tolerate full sun or full shade.

I agree, the El Toro/Palisades Zoysia that I started from plugs is thriving,
and spreading, in the shade where even St. Augustine would have a hard time.
I have no experience on the dog tolerance issue though...


scott

[Jangchub]

On Wed, 31 May 2006 14:17:49 GMT,
(Scott Harper) wrote:

>In article >, Jangchub > wrote:
>>On Wed, 31 May 2006 12:02:27 GMT, "Jonny" >
>>wrote:
>>
>>>1. The Palmetto and Raleigh varieties of St. Augustine. The regular strain
>>>is not shade tolerant. Zoysia is poor in shade tolerance.
>>
>>All varieties will tolerate full sun or full shade.
>
>I agree, the El Toro/Palisades Zoysia that I started from plugs is thriving,
>and spreading, in the shade where even St. Augustine would have a hard time.
>I have no experience on the dog tolerance issue though...
>
>
>scott

I have nothing but St. Augustine and I have old growth live
oaks with 100 foot canopies and it is green, thriving, needing mowing
every five days or so. Even under the trees where it is very dry it
is thriving without sun.

[Jonny]

"Jangchub" > wrote in message
...
> On Wed, 31 May 2006 12:02:27 GMT, "Jonny" >
> wrote:
>
>>1. The Palmetto and Raleigh varieties of St. Augustine. The regular
>>strain
>>is not shade tolerant. Zoysia is poor in shade tolerance.
>
> All varieties will tolerate full sun or full shade.
>
Evidently, am not one with the same opinion.
http://www.millergrass.com/varieties.htm

>>2. Cow manure is not a good fertilizer. Stick with horse manure. Direct
>>application is not advised.
>
> Horse manure is full of weed seeds. I would never use it again.

Both cows and horses may eat foliage that may contain seed. Whether either
animal contacts seed is controllable. Saying horse only is rather
suggestive that cows don't. Both cannot digest unchewed seeds. Horse
manure is more fertile, more likely to burn if applied directly.
--
Jonny

[Jangchub]

On Thu, 01 Jun 2006 00:27:18 GMT, "Jonny" >
wrote:


>Evidently, am not one with the same opinion.
>http://www.millergrass.com/varieties.htm

The first statement on the website is saying St. Augustine is selected
for it's shade tolerance. What part is not in agreement with what I
said?

>Both cows and horses may eat foliage that may contain seed. Whether either
>animal contacts seed is controllable. Saying horse only is rather
>suggestive that cows don't. Both cannot digest unchewed seeds. Horse
>manure is more fertile, more likely to burn if applied directly.

Which is why I said cow manure is much better than horse manure.
Where's the argument? Cows absolutely do chew their seeds. They have
grinding back teeth and they eat and chew their cud for hours and
hours. They also have multiple stomachs, which horses don't.

[Jangchub]

On Thu, 01 Jun 2006 11:21:07 GMT, "Jonny" >
wrote:

>"Jangchub" > wrote in message
...
>> On Thu, 01 Jun 2006 00:27:18 GMT, "Jonny" >
>> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Evidently, am not one with the same opinion.
>>>http://www.millergrass.com/varieties.htm
>>
>> The first statement on the website is saying St. Augustine is selected
>> for it's shade tolerance. What part is not in agreement with what I
>> said?
>
>Not sure what you said, you left that out in your last response. Your
>response before seemed to respond to zoysia from where I read it. But you
>left that out to, interesting.
>
>>
>>>Both cows and horses may eat foliage that may contain seed. Whether
>>>either
>>>animal contacts seed is controllable. Saying horse only is rather
>>>suggestive that cows don't. Both cannot digest unchewed seeds. Horse
>>>manure is more fertile, more likely to burn if applied directly.
>>
>> Which is why I said cow manure is much better than horse manure.
>
>You never said why, then went on about seeds. Confusing at the least. But
>that information is gone now as was not included in your last response,
>interesting.
>
>> Where's the argument? Cows absolutely do chew their seeds. They have
>> grinding back teeth and they eat and chew their cud for hours and
>> hours. They also have multiple stomachs, which horses don't.
>

What's with the attitude? Your information was not correct. Nothing
is lost, if you'd like me to repost what I said, I will.

The fact is, cows absolutely digest differently than horses, rendering
99% of weed seeds not viable. AND all varieties of St. Augustine are
absolutely shade tolerant.

Both of these answers are different than yours. I have the facts, you
have...who knows what.

[Cindy]

Jangchub wrote:
> On Wed, 31 May 2006 12:02:27 GMT, "Jonny" >
> wrote:
>
>> 1. The Palmetto and Raleigh varieties of St. Augustine. The regular strain
>> is not shade tolerant. Zoysia is poor in shade tolerance.
>
> All varieties will tolerate full sun or full shade.
>
>> 2. Cow manure is not a good fertilizer. Stick with horse manure. Direct
>> application is not advised.
>
> Horse manure is full of weed seeds. I would never use it again.

Chickensh*t is the best, but has to be aged or composted, as it's very
hot! Sheep manure also has no weed seeds. Don't know if you can find
that around here though.