Need to plant some grass
 

We just finished our house pad and I need to plant some grass on it so the dirt doesn't wash out. I would like to plant St. Augustine, anbody ever planted seeds and had success with it? I refuse to plant Bermuda grass because I like short grass and can't stand Bermuda grass.

i think you can only get st.augustine in plugs or sod

Crap, that's what I was afraid of.

If you need quick coverage (especially with winter around the corner) I would go with the sod method, especially since we have been in a drought. Once the rain does come your dirt work will be eroding without it!!!!

If I happen to hit the powerball or lotto I'll put sod but other than that I need to plant seed. I'll probably just plant some winter rye then worry about establishing good grass in the spring when the rye dies.

You can get st augustine seed but it is expensive as hell. also it is very fine and you have to mix it with sand to spread it out. Go with the rye grass and then you can plant a variety of grasses like zoyesia? that grows very well even in shaded areas.

thats what i'm gonna do.. plant winter rye and in the spring plant bermuda

I'm goin' with ryegrass where I had my yard redone from all the cement pouring. Come warm weather, the other grass will take over.

Ive never seen st augustine seed. Centipede yes,but no st. aug.

If you know someone with some land that has st.agustine on it you can rent a sod cutter for $75 a day,just cut you out some strips and roll it up.If i am not mistaken all of them landrys from longside had st.agustine in their yards.

Yea that's what I have in the yard at my house on Longside. It's also in the yard where I'm building, I just wanna make sure it comes up.

I just did some myself,i just put a little water on it and it is doing fine.

I would get a zoyisia (sp) or centipede. If you want something really nice for the winter. Bluegrass. But it will die once the late spring gets here because of warmer temps.

I want something that I can keep short. I hate long grass like bermuda with a passion.

I have a test stand of zoysia in my yard, and it is beautiful after 3 yrs. I would go st aug before centipede. Centipede is pretty when it is healthy,but is finicky. St Aug is good and tough. If you have st aug already, it should come back up around the edges as long as you dont add too much dirt. You may want to get a few pallets and just strip sod your new dirt and let it spread from there.

I hate bermuda too, unless its tifway bermuda, thats what they use on golf courses,its kinda like a dwarf, with a prettier texture.

I always wondered about the "longside" part of your ID. :cool:

Check out this info from Auburn University, it may give you some ideas Ross.

http://www.ag.auburn.edu/agrn/turf/homelawns.php

So do you think that since I still have St Augustine in the back yard that it will creep onto the house pad?

I'm looking at that zoysia, I like alot of the stuff I'm reading about it. Can you plant that by seeding or does it need to be sod?

Thanks for that link Raymond, they have some good info on there.

Question....???

If you are talking about the dirt for a "house pad"....when are you planning to build?

If you will be building in 6 months or so.......why not just cover the dirt with pine straw or maybe some cheap hay.

Even if it rains hard and some of it washes out a little.....get a shovel. Or the contractor that puts in the plumbing will have some kind of tractor that can put the dirt back up on the pad.

We are starting to build this week, they will be framing up starting Wednesday or Thursday to pour the slap hopefully next Monday or Tuesday. I want to plant grass now so that it doesn't wash out as bad if we start getting some heavy rains.

Ross, I could be wrong but.........your contractors are going to beat the seeds/grass to hell and back while doing their work. Might be best to use hay to keep the erosion down until the contractors are just about done.
I would also bring in some grade A topsoil before you start with the sod/seeding process.

I'm not planting the grass for looks, just to keep the erosion down as much as possible. I already have my topsoil around the house.

I just looked back and noticed I didn't specify, I want to plant "good grass" in the spring when construction and everything is done. For now I'm planting some winter rye just to last for the winter.

Plant some turnip/mustard greens they'll stop the erosion and ya can eatem!

haha That would be funny

What's so funny???? It's a cover crop you can eat, you will be surprised how many friends you'll have once they get up.:D

We used to plant them in our food plots at the lease. Sad thing is, I think we ate more than the deer did!

well first ya need some seeds. some good soil ,plenty of sun. A private place hidden from prying eyes and nosy neighbors. wait you are talking about grass to cover the yard.... My Bad!

lol I been waiting for something to that extent

me too, just got tired of waiting.