All:

Recommendations for grasses to plant in a sandy, acidic pine-barrens soil?
Something that take the doughtiness of the nearly pure sand soil. pH can be
handled with lime so I am not concerned. I know that there are cv's out for
this sort of application. I am wondering if folks with experience in this
environment ( MA - FL costal sites) have any experiences to share. I sure
would like to avoid trucking in top-soil just to grow grass!

Thanks

--
Mike LaMana, MS
Heartwood Consulting Services, LLC
Toms River, NJ
www.HeartwoodConsulting.net

I am not quite coastal but my soil is basically sand. It can rain a
belly washer and within minutes any standing water is gone. I thihnk
you would have good luck with pensacola bahia grass. It does great in
such soils. I planted it and its nice and thick. I also seeded some
areas with centipede which has also done good. You can grow grasson
concrete if you can keep it watered enough and provide it with
nutrients, so sand really is not as much of an issue as you think.
Once its started and until it gets some natural build up of clippings
etc it will require a good watering periodically, but once bahai grass
takes ahold its there, and it takes droughts pretty good and can
tolerate some salt. I live in south central portion of Alabama, but
also lived on the Gulf coast and the bahai was also my choice there as
well

On Thu, 6 May 2004 17:42:06 -0400, "Mike LaMana"
fake@MikeatHeartwoodConsultingdotnet wrote:

===All:
===
===Recommendations for grasses to plant in a sandy, acidic pine-barrens soil?
===Something that take the doughtiness of the nearly pure sand soil. pH can be
===handled with lime so I am not concerned. I know that there are cv's out for
===this sort of application. I am wondering if folks with experience in this
===environment ( MA - FL costal sites) have any experiences to share. I sure
===would like to avoid trucking in top-soil just to grow grass!
===
===Thanks

Visit my website: http://www.frugalmachinist.com
Opinions expressed are those of my wifes,
I had no input whatsoever.
Remove "nospam" from email addy.

Agreed if the aforementioned lawn is in the south. Bahia is about the toughest
southern grass there is. Bermuda also does pretty well and is prettier but not
as drought tolerant. These are not cool weather grasses and wait until hot
weather to green up.

FarmerDill wrote:

Agreed if the aforementioned lawn is in the south. Bahia is about the toughest
southern grass there is. Bermuda also does pretty well and is prettier but not
as drought tolerant. These are not cool weather grasses and wait until hot
weather to green up.

I'm in middle TN and have been pulling Bermuda grass out of my flower
beds
this morning, as I will be tomorrow and forever after. I personally
wouldn't recommend it if you also want to garden. YMMV

Kate

Centipede grass is another grass recommended for poor sandy soils. It
doesn't develop the unsightly seed heads of most of the other southern
grasses, and needs little in the way of fertilizers, etc.
"Mike LaMana" fake@MikeatHeartwoodConsultingdotnet wrote in message
...
All:

Recommendations for grasses to plant in a sandy, acidic pine-barrens soil?
Something that take the doughtiness of the nearly pure sand soil. pH can
be
handled with lime so I am not concerned. I know that there are cv's out
for
this sort of application. I am wondering if folks with experience in this
environment ( MA - FL costal sites) have any experiences to share. I sure
would like to avoid trucking in top-soil just to grow grass!

Thanks

--
Mike LaMana, MS
Heartwood Consulting Services, LLC
Toms River, NJ
www.HeartwoodConsulting.net