Dillo dirt on established, healthy but not immaculate St. Augustine,
Central Austin. When this spring should I do it? Seems a little early
now, but I'd like to get it spread before I expect lots of growth.
What dressing thickness should I budget for? I want to do it well,
but not bury the lawn. Also, I had the misfortune (long ago) of
getting several yards of the stuff that was full of big chunks of
wood. Fine for beds, but not for the lawn. So recommendations on good
quality/price including delivery would be appreciated.

On 18 Feb 2004 08:22:03 -0800, (Doug Lassiter) opined:

Dillo dirt on established, healthy but not immaculate St. Augustine,
Central Austin. When this spring should I do it? Seems a little early
now, but I'd like to get it spread before I expect lots of growth.
What dressing thickness should I budget for? I want to do it well,
but not bury the lawn. Also, I had the misfortune (long ago) of
getting several yards of the stuff that was full of big chunks of
wood. Fine for beds, but not for the lawn. So recommendations on good
quality/price including delivery would be appreciated.

Okay, two things: I don't use sludge products, which is what Dillo Dirt is. It
is processed human waste and can, and usually does contain unacceptable levels
of arsenic and other heavy metals. So, if you really want to do your lawn
justice, buy a gallon of Medina Soil Activator Plus (the plus is seaweed) and a
liquid humate product, like "John's Recipe." I believe you will come in at
about the same price for a few yards of compost. When I do use compost, I use
Rivitalizer Mix from the Natural Gardener. Sorry to sound like a Dromgoole
commercial, but I've used his products and they are superior to most and are
locally supporting organics.

Now, if you do want to still use Dillo Dirt, you want to do it now so it can
mellow through spring rains and I'd recommend figuring how much you will need to
put a quarter inch top dress onto the turf. Not more than that as it is
unnecessary.

(Doug Lassiter) wrote in message . com...
Dillo dirt on established, healthy but not immaculate St. Augustine,
Central Austin. When this spring should I do it? Seems a little early
now, but I'd like to get it spread before I expect lots of growth.
What dressing thickness should I budget for? I want to do it well,
but not bury the lawn. Also, I had the misfortune (long ago) of
getting several yards of the stuff that was full of big chunks of
wood. Fine for beds, but not for the lawn. So recommendations on good
quality/price including delivery would be appreciated.

Gee. Didn't think this one was that hard. A previous post in the fall
said "now is a good time", and if not then, then springtime. Yeah, I
get that. I was wondering about a little more precision. I'll go with
late March, and get some holes in the ground before that.

(Doug Lassiter) wrote in message . com...
Dillo dirt on established, healthy but not immaculate St. Augustine,
Central Austin. When this spring should I do it? Seems a little early
now, but I'd like to get it spread before I expect lots of growth.
What dressing thickness should I budget for? I want to do it well,
but not bury the lawn. Also, I had the misfortune (long ago) of
getting several yards of the stuff that was full of big chunks of
wood. Fine for beds, but not for the lawn. So recommendations on good
quality/price including delivery would be appreciated.

Gee. Didn't think this one was that hard. A previous post in the fall
said "now is a good time", and if not then, then springtime. Yeah, I
get that. I was wondering about a little more precision. I'll go with
late March, and get some holes in the ground before that.

In article ,
(Doug Lassiter) wrote:

Gee. Didn't think this one was that hard. A previous post in the fall
said "now is a good time", and if not then, then springtime. Yeah, I
get that. I was wondering about a little more precision. I'll go with
late March, and get some holes in the ground before that.


If you use synthetic fertilizer timing is more of an issue: if you
fertilize too early you are feeding weeds because the grass is dormant and
will not respond to the added nitrogen. You need the ground to warm up
considerably for the grass to break dormancy and hence people recommend
adding synthetics after you have mowed the grass once or twice in spring.

When you add something like dillo dirt a very small amount of nitrogen is
immediately available and the rest is made available by microbial action.
This is quite slow so adding it now would not hurt. The microbial action
itself also responds to temperature (higher=more) so in a way it is a
natural time release formula.

Roland