On Mon, 02 Feb 2004 05:23:23 -0600, Brian Anderson
opined:

animaux wrote:

I am plannning to sod my backyard with St Augustine in early to mid
Feb. Will it survive any other deep frosts we might still get?

Yes, it's fine. I put mine down in January 4 years ago. Keep it watered well
and don't walk on it for a while.

Speaking of sod, is there any particular treatment that should
be done to the ground before putting down St. Augustine? Is
roto-tilling a good idea, or is it unnecessary? The area I
need to sod isn't particularly compacted, but not exactly
loose either.

Thanks.

It really should be softened up and aerated. The ideal thing would be to water
the area thoroughly and about 3 days later come in with a tiller and break up
the soil. Never do this on very wet soil. In my case, I added compost to the
top layer of the soil and gently raked it in by hand. Sod which is placed on
soil which has not been worked will have a very hard time establishing
itself...if at all.