Lawn Renovation Time

Discuss how to and whether you should renovate your lawn
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cjac9chris
Posts: 46
Joined: December 27th, 2020, 12:46 am
Location: North Central San Antonio, TX
Grass Type: St. Augustine
Lawn Size: 1000-3000
Level: Some Experience

Lawn Renovation Time

Post by cjac9chris » March 21st, 2021, 7:20 am

Hey ATY,
Spring is here! Time to renovate my St. Augustine!!

Here's what my 3500 sq. ft. backyard currently looks like:

I have a 1200 sq. ft. two-toned lawn. Half annual ryegrass (400 sq. ft.) and half thinned out mystery St. Augustine (700 sq. ft.).

Then I have portions of bare soil where some dead trees, a crumbling flagstone patio and the previous owner's invasive shrubs resided.

My current plan is to cut out all existing grass, let it lie fallow and water frequently for a few weeks to let weeds germinate, terminate those suckers and then lay down Palmetto St. Augustine sod.

I want to make sure I get the soil prep right. I'm planning on dragging with an old pallet I have sitting around to level it out a little.

I think the shampoo trick would be helpful to soften the former flagstone area. Other than that, I'll probably put down some organic fert, Hydretain granules, some molasses and some kelp help.

There's a little slope on one side of the lawn and I'm planning on putting some jute mesh on the ground, then laying the sod and staking with biodegradable sod stakes.

As for watering, I have one of those little hose-end timers. I was thinking I'd hook it up to run every 6 hours for the first two weeks and see if that gets it established. How much am I trying to put down in inches? My precipitation rate is 0.19.

Am I forgetting anything? Thanks in advance!

-Chris

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Dchall_San_Antonio
Posts: 3339
Joined: December 17th, 2008, 1:53 am
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Grass Type: St Augustine
Lawn Size: 5000-10000
Level: Advanced

Re: Lawn Renovation Time

Post by Dchall_San_Antonio » March 28th, 2021, 7:16 pm

Usually I have a lot to say, but you have it covered. As for watering, you can do it every 6 hours, but the idea is to moisten only the top of the soil under the sod. If it gets mushy, you watered far too much. It might be every 8 hours or every 12 hours works better. Stay flexible with that, and keep it moist but not mushy.

cjac9chris
Posts: 46
Joined: December 27th, 2020, 12:46 am
Location: North Central San Antonio, TX
Grass Type: St. Augustine
Lawn Size: 1000-3000
Level: Some Experience

Re: Lawn Renovation Time

Post by cjac9chris » March 28th, 2021, 11:29 pm

Dchall_San_Antonio wrote:
March 28th, 2021, 7:16 pm
Usually I have a lot to say, but you have it covered. As for watering, you can do it every 6 hours, but the idea is to moisten only the top of the soil under the sod. If it gets mushy, you watered far too much. It might be every 8 hours or every 12 hours works better. Stay flexible with that, and keep it moist but not mushy.
Good to hear! But man, the engineering side of my brain has such a hard time with that. I want watering recommendations in inches! I'm learning... caring for plants is making me more patient and more okay with some fudge factor.

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