New Farmer wrote:

Hey Folks,
1. "Keep watering deep every five days and st. augustine will take over."
Will this really happen? If yes, how long will it take? I dont care much if
its mixed augstine and bermuda as long as its green.

This is what I did. When I moved in the yard was less than 25% St.
Augustine and was a giant mess of dandelion and thistle in the spring.
I try to water as little as possible, once/week or a little less, for a
couple hours. The grass browns out in the heat of the summer but gets
better in the fall and looks great every spring. I have St. Augustine
nearly everywhere that I can expect it to grow, probably 80% or more of
the yard. It won't grow in the shady parts or under the playscape.
This has taken 4 years or so but I haven't used feed or herbicides to
speak of. I did have to resod 100 ft^2 or so, 2 summers ago when
Pflugerville banned watering completely. That sod spread immediately
into the rest of the yard. When I dig up grass for beds I transplant it
in trouble places. Eventually it'll displace the Bermuda.

4. "Get some runners from other places in the yard and plant those in the
dead areas". Again, how long will the grass take to establish and how do you
really plant runners? Under the ground, over the ground..prepartion?

(at a different house) I saved the runners that grow into the sidewalk
after edging and planted them carefully one spring, by the end of the
summer they had filled in a 50 ft^2 area or so. I just pitched a bunch
of runners mixed with mower clippings into a different corner of the
yard and got the same results. I think you have to water this plan
pretty well until it's established.

Obviously, I am looking for an option thats balanced between expense,
effort, and time to establishment.

If you're patient, water and wait. You'll see every spring that the St.
Augustine spreads more and more. If you're not patient then re-sod the
trouble spots. It'll spread fast.

--steve