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!

--
gorf

gorf wrote:

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.

The sod should be able to establish itself before winter. It
will go dormant during the winter, but in September and
October you'll have to water the heck out of it. Fresh sod
should be watered every day or it will burn off in the sun.
Some amount of browning is normal, and your lawn probably
won't look too great all winter long, but come spring, it
should come back.

They're probably laying Raleigh St. Augutine sod. It's the
most common type, and it's also a water hog. At The Grass
Patch a pallet of St. Augustine will run you $95 plus $35
delivery if you need it delivered. (Two or more pallets pay
only the one delivery charge.)

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

"escapee" wrote in message
...
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.

All grasses have advantages and disadvantages. I have bermuda and I
wouldn't have anything else. Bermuda takes traffic better than just about
any other type of residential turfgrass. Since I have two dogs and two kids
which are on the lawn all the time, this is a big plus for me. Bermuda is
also very tolerant of selective weed killers. When I get crabgrass, I hit
it with MSMA, and a week later, no more crabgrass.

I will back you up on bermuda, I had St. Augistine in my last yard in Round
Rock and it was great in the spring and fall, but I had to water it like
crazy just to keep it alive in the summer. I put down Tiff419 Bermuda at my
new house and my kids and my border collie cannot make a trail in it and it
takes very little water to keep it green.

-D

"RoyDMercer" wrote in message
...
"escapee" wrote in message
...
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.

All grasses have advantages and disadvantages. I have bermuda and I
wouldn't have anything else. Bermuda takes traffic better than just about
any other type of residential turfgrass. Since I have two dogs and two
kids
which are on the lawn all the time, this is a big plus for me. Bermuda is
also very tolerant of selective weed killers. When I get crabgrass, I hit
it with MSMA, and a week later, no more crabgrass.

I suppose I'm coming from a gardener's perspective. Bermuda, to me, is a deadly
weed. Every year I remove turf. Of the original 2000 sq. ft. of turf, I
probably have less than half that now. I am a gardener, I don't just have a
yard with landscape. So, from my perspective, bermuda is not a good choice. I
also don't have a dog or children. In that regard, the differing opinions are
fine.

On the other hand, everything else I said about the soil and that junk they put
under sod is all still valid.


On Tue, 25 May 2004 03:49:39 GMT, "RM" opined:

I will back you up on bermuda, I had St. Augistine in my last yard in Round
Rock and it was great in the spring and fall, but I had to water it like
crazy just to keep it alive in the summer. I put down Tiff419 Bermuda at my
new house and my kids and my border collie cannot make a trail in it and it
takes very little water to keep it green.

-D

"RoyDMercer" wrote in message
...
"escapee" wrote in message
...
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.

All grasses have advantages and disadvantages. I have bermuda and I
wouldn't have anything else. Bermuda takes traffic better than just about
any other type of residential turfgrass. Since I have two dogs and two
kids
which are on the lawn all the time, this is a big plus for me. Bermuda is
also very tolerant of selective weed killers. When I get crabgrass, I hit
it with MSMA, and a week later, no more crabgrass.






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

My advice for the backyard would be to cover the entire area with woodchip
mulch and wait to decide what you want to do back there. It will keep you
from loosing any dirt. It will be easy to rake up when you decide you want
to put grass somewhere. Also you will not mind having it there if you decide
to put in a deck or other hardscape later, digging up freshly laid sod to
put in a deck is a pain. This comes from my own experience putting in some
buffalo sod in the backyard in August. It was hard work. It took lots of
water, even for buffalo, to keep it alive until winter.

-mark

"gorf" wrote in message
...
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!

--
gorf

In a perfect world, I would have buffalo grass because it takes less water
and when it receives enough it is beautiful blowing in the wind. It actually
looks like surf moving towards a beach. However, life is not perfect. In my
first home, they sodded buffalo grass (I forget which variety), but once
homeowners on either side of me planted St. Augustine, over a period of
several years it encroached onto the buffalo until half my yard was each.
Buffalo is also more susceptible to weeds and trails are easily created..
I had originally planned to put out a pallet of buffalo grass in the
backyard, then I came home one day and my wife told me she was pregnant.
Instead of a $400 pallet of buffalo, I went with a bag of really "good"
bermuda. It worked fine for kids and dogs.
I understand escapee's gardener's perspective. To paraphrase, "one man's
grass is another man's weed." Much as I like Bermuda "in the yard", I hate
it in the flower and vegetable beds. Thank goodness for cheap mulch.
So, to recap, I recommend bermuda if you want the traditional grassy yard.
It doesn't require as much water as the St. Aug yard I have now, and it
doesn't have trails worn in it as easily as buffalo. If you do plant
buffalo, make sure that your neighbors' grasses don't encroach upon it. Use
beds or edging to keep them apart.
BTW, a prior poster recommended putting down wood chips in the interim.
I wish I had done that. I moved into my yard in March of that year. By May,
the weeds had taken over the topsoil in the backyard. I pulled nearly all of
them by hand, and it wasn't pretty or fun.

"escapee" wrote in message
news
I suppose I'm coming from a gardener's perspective. Bermuda, to me, is a
deadly
weed. Every year I remove turf. Of the original 2000 sq. ft. of turf, I
probably have less than half that now. I am a gardener, I don't just have
a
yard with landscape. So, from my perspective, bermuda is not a good
choice. I
also don't have a dog or children. In that regard, the differing opinions
are
fine.

On the other hand, everything else I said about the soil and that junk
they put
under sod is all still valid.

For your situation, Bermuda is definitely not a good thing to have. If you
have more garden than turf, you'll spend too much time keeping the Bermuda
out. I have probably about 1000 sq ft of garden, but about 20,000 sq ft of
turf. I've just learned to live with Bermuda's invasiveness. I run an
edger around my garden beds once per week. Once you get into a regular
routine, it's not that bad. The problems start when you let the Bermuda go
for too long.

"Noman" wrote in message
...
snip advice

Thanks everyone for the excellent advice. I hadn't even considered
different kinds of grass for the different ways of using the yard. Just one
more thing I don't have to learn the hard way... thanks again!

--
gorf

Included in my Idiots Guide to Grass Ca

Let your fertilizer spreader rust over winter. Then, when you
fertilize in Spring you accidentaly give a double-dose to the grass!
St. Augustine wasn't too happy with it, but the Bermuda really took
off and tried to weed that St. Augustine right out! Dark green, deep,
thick...but not necessarilly legal :)

John


"gorf" wrote in message
...
"Noman" wrote in message
...
snip advice

Thanks everyone for the excellent advice. I hadn't even considered
different kinds of grass for the different ways of using the yard.
Just one
more thing I don't have to learn the hard way... thanks again!

--
gorf

"John T. Jarrett" wrote in message
...
Included in my Idiots Guide to Grass Ca

Let your fertilizer spreader rust over winter. Then, when you
fertilize in Spring you accidentaly give a double-dose to the grass!
St. Augustine wasn't too happy with it, but the Bermuda really took
off and tried to weed that St. Augustine right out! Dark green, deep,
thick...but not necessarilly legal :)

Bermuda loves nitrogen! It will go to town on the stuff. I learned the
same hard lesson about rust on my first fertilizer spreader (back when they
were all metal). I have three plastic ones now and I still rinse them out
well after each use.