The reddish, brown stuff is what they call chocolate loam. It is the worst crap
on the market. It is mined from low down into quarries and has absolutely no
biota in it at all. I can assure you, the soil under it is hard as a rock, and
has rocks. It also has clay, caliche or black gumbo soil.

So, I would definitely ask the builder if you can upgrade the soil and if they
can bring in several yards of compost and add that to the reddish, brown dirt.
You will love me later if you do this. Also, if the sod is in full sun, you may
want to also upgrade to Buffalo grass, not bermuda. At the very worst, ask for
St. Augustine or Zoysia, but do not use bermuda. It is very hard to get rid of
once you have it. I'd also recommend you decide where you may want to plant
some trees, or other garden beds and mark those out and let them leave the sod
off those areas and you can put mulch on those areas for now. Again, you will
love me later.

For the backyard, call The Grass Patch. Their prices are not outrageous and
they install and did a great job in our backyard. Unfortunately, a month after
they put it in we had a pool dug, but at least the dog didn't track in dirt
every day.

As for when, sod can be put down any time of the year in Austin. The key is
keeping it moist till it breaks out and sets out roots. That takes about a
month. It will go dormant in the winter, and very hot parts of the summer, but
it will not be dead.

Take a look at http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/growgreen/lawncare.htm



On Sun, 23 May 2004 22:05:59 GMT, "gorf" opined:

Hello,

I should be a homeowner by September and I would like some advice concerning
the lawn. At the moment, the lot is basically a bunch of reddish/brown
dirt. The soil does not appear to be rocky and I got the impression that it
didn't have any significant rock underneath. In September the lot will have
sod except for the backyard which will be dirt.

First, any tips for maintaining a decent look for the parts of the lot that
will already have sod? I wish I knew what type but I won't (it's probably
the cheapest available knowing the builder). I'm concerned that starting
this late in the year might be detrimental to the grass if we have anything
other than a mild winter.

I'm also concerned about the back yard. I don't want to lose my dirt to my
neighbors so it is in my interest to put something down early. Is it
possible to lay down sod in September and have it turn into something other
than dead grass once Spring arrives? Any tips for the back yard?

What about price? I read that it is around $3 to $4 for 9 square feet of
sod, is this accurate?

Thanks for any tips! I just don't want to waste money and/or do anything to
the lawn that will cost me later on down the road. I really want something
nice that my daughter can run around on (oh yeah, how do I discourage fire
ants and those nasty grass hornets?).

Thanks all!



Need a good, cheap, knowledge expanding present for a friend?
http://www.animaux.net/stern/present.html