OmManiPadmeOmelet wrote:
In article ,
jOhN wrote:


Borg hater wrote:

"Cindy" wrote in message
.com...


Actually, if you have clay and it's got the right amount of moisture,
it does do a pretty good job, but you can't just jam it into the soil
and expect it to activate six inches at once. With patience, the
Ryobi does work well for a small garden. At least in my experience.
Fortunately I don't have any rocks to speak of.

I don't anymore. I went from gravelly soil, more rocks than dirt, to this
ugly red clay. The clay is better than the gravel, though. At least

plants


grow.




Am having a big problem geting the St. Augustine to grow in some red
clay/sand mix they put on my leech field and in front of the house. The
Bermuda grass loves it though.


Are you cutting it high? Short cuts on mixed Bermuda and St. Augustine
often ends up with the Bermuda the winner.


So if I plant St. Augustine in with my resident Bermuda and cut it tall,
will the SA take over???

That would be awesome! I'm regretting putting in the Bermuda and am
beginning to wonder why that ratty looking grass is so damned expensive
to buy the seeds...

Thanks!

With adequate water, nutrients, and sun the St. Augustine will usually
prevail when cut high. My mower is usually set to the highest position.
The bermuda is still there and will take back over if you don't water
adequately regardless of the mower height. I've got a couple of places
that catch the afternoon sun next to the sidewalk that need extra
watering in the summer.

Remember that St. Augustine is mostly on the surface so the long
standing up leaves provide shade for the runners. IMHO the shade helps
deter the bermuda with its full sun requirements. 20 years with a
bermuda and St. Augustine mixed yard had some hard lessons in it. I'm
almost entirely St. Auggie now and with it's dense growth patterns I
don't have many weeds. In parts of my front yard there haven't been
weeds for 10 years. No herbicides and a mulching mower (avoid thatch)
with fertilizer a couple times a year - woohoo! The bermuda had weeds
year round.