We want to make a new lawn suitable for the kids to play on.
We worry about the hardness of the rocky soil. There
is no lawn at this time, only a thin layer of top soil over rock.

Here are the conditions:
1. The soil is only ~ 2" deep, with a LOT of rock underneath.
2. We have a limited amount of water for irrigation.
(Small rural water well.)
3. We do not want to haul in a lot of expensive top soil.
4. Ideally, we need a grass that will grow under the above conditions.
5. We do not require a conventional grass, just something
to keep the kids from hurting themselves when they fall.
6. The area is about one acre in size.

We have planted Bermuda seed & it seems to be doing ok, but
we are skeptical that it will ever do well.

Buffalo Grass?

Any suggestions? :-)

Gene

On Wed, 02 Jun 2004 13:23:25 GMT, "GeneS" opined:

We want to make a new lawn suitable for the kids to play on.
We worry about the hardness of the rocky soil. There
is no lawn at this time, only a thin layer of top soil over rock.

Here are the conditions:
1. The soil is only ~ 2" deep, with a LOT of rock underneath.
2. We have a limited amount of water for irrigation.
(Small rural water well.)
3. We do not want to haul in a lot of expensive top soil.
4. Ideally, we need a grass that will grow under the above conditions.
5. We do not require a conventional grass, just something
to keep the kids from hurting themselves when they fall.
6. The area is about one acre in size.

We have planted Bermuda seed & it seems to be doing ok, but
we are skeptical that it will ever do well.

Buffalo Grass?

Any suggestions? :-)

Gene


You can try buffalo, but be warned it is not a very lush turf and takes a few
years to really fill in. If I had my choice, I'd have chosen buffalo to turf my
entire property where there is turf. It virtually never needs water once
established, but another warning, it goes dormant in summer heat, to return
again during fall rains. Do some research on it. You may want to limit your
turf areas to smaller measures and put in sod of some type near the children's
activity areas.


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I am no expert, but I have had both Buffalo and Bermuda.
I can not say Bermuda is the best of all, but it is definitely better than
Buffalo.
Buffalo is not as resilient or thick as Bermuda.
Buffalo won't provide much cushion for fall.
Stick with Bermuda. It will fill up your yard.


"GeneS" wrote in message
...
We want to make a new lawn suitable for the kids to play on.
We worry about the hardness of the rocky soil. There
is no lawn at this time, only a thin layer of top soil over rock.

Here are the conditions:
1. The soil is only ~ 2" deep, with a LOT of rock underneath.
2. We have a limited amount of water for irrigation.
(Small rural water well.)
3. We do not want to haul in a lot of expensive top soil.
4. Ideally, we need a grass that will grow under the above conditions.
5. We do not require a conventional grass, just something
to keep the kids from hurting themselves when they fall.
6. The area is about one acre in size.

We have planted Bermuda seed & it seems to be doing ok, but
we are skeptical that it will ever do well.

Buffalo Grass?

Any suggestions? :-)

Gene