San Diego, CA - Just had Platinum TE Paspalum installed

Bermuda, St. Augustine, Zoysia, Centipede, Bahia, Paspalum, etc
Cosmacelf
Posts: 6
Joined: December 3rd, 2017, 4:31 pm
Location: Rancho Santa Fe, CA
Grass Type: Seashore Paspalum
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: San Diego, CA - Just had Platinum TE Paspalum installed

Post by Cosmacelf » May 20th, 2018, 3:45 pm

Well, dumping tons of water on my lawn probably wouldn't work for the reason of soil permeability. Our soils here are a thin layer of top soil onto either rock hard clay or rock hard sandstone. My gardeners literally use an electric jack hammer when digging anything past 4 inches depth. If you put too much water onto it, the water just stays there on top and you end up with a wet soggy mess.

lucasDOG
Posts: 14
Joined: June 10th, 2018, 3:00 am
Location: San Diego, CA
Grass Type: Seashore Paspalum
Lawn Size: < 1000
Level: Some Experience

Re: San Diego, CA - Just had Platinum TE Paspalum installed

Post by lucasDOG » June 10th, 2018, 12:18 pm

Hi. I'm a San Diego resident in Rancho Penasquitos (92129). I installed 900 s.f. of Platinum TE from West Coast Turf in the fall of 2015, so this is my third growing season. I'm excited to compare notes with other San Diegans who have installed this gorgeous turf grass.

I chose Paspalum for my backyard for many reasons:
a) It's water-wise and drought tolerant.
b) I know Tall Fescue is popular in San Diego, but it's too hard on the bottom of my feet. I like to walk barefoot on my lawn and Paspalum feels great; it's nice and soft.
c) I hate plastic grass and will never, ever use it.

For irrigation, I use low-flow Hunter MP Rotators. Coming out of dormancy this season, I've been irrigating 2x/week at 1" depth. This is too much water—both in terms of saturation and cost. It's also yielding a lot of mushrooms. I going to back off to 1x/week or less at 1" depth or more.)

I mow using an electric rotary mower at 1-1/4" height. (This is the lowest setting on the mower.) I have seen (and read) that lower cutting heights invite more weeds. Case in point, the last two growing seasons, I mowed much higher—to approximately 2-1/2" or more. This yielded minimal weeds and required less water because the earth was shaded by the lawn and wouldn't dry out as quickly.

My soil is clay. I tilled in a massive amount of mulch, organic matter, and gypsum prior to sodding, but the clay is still a big problem. I continue to spread gypsum on a regular basis to help loosen the soil, but haven't seen much improvement over nearly three years of treatment.

I fertilize using Milorganite (people poop) 3x to 4x per year per the package instructions during the growing season using a drop spreader. I like Milorganite because it's environmentally friendly, releases its nitrogen and nutrients slowly. and, most importantly, Paspalum seems to love it.

I pull weeds by hand. I'm struggling with an invasion of Annual Bluegrass (Poa Annua), which has been growing in numbers over time. I'm not sure how to treat this, but I'm thinking i"ll try to kill it off by spreading a heavy dose of salt (1/3 cup per s.f.) in the affected areas. Seashore (Paspalum is salt tolerant, whereas Annual Bluegrass is not.) I'v read there are some pre- and post-emergent herbicides that could help, but I'm not even sure I could buy them without a license (even if I wanted to).

The parts of my lawn in full sun perform the best. I have a massive Ash tree at the edge of my lawn and its shade inhibits growth in the shaded areas. Fortunately, it's not enough shade to kill off the grass.

I'm not a big fan of the dormancy, so I'm intrigued by the concept of over seeding with Ryegrass during the winter.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it. I'm eager to hear your comments, suggestions, and questions.

Lucas

User avatar
Dchall_San_Antonio
Posts: 3341
Joined: December 17th, 2008, 1:53 am
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Grass Type: St Augustine
Lawn Size: 5000-10000
Level: Advanced

Re: San Diego, CA - Just had Platinum TE Paspalum installed

Post by Dchall_San_Antonio » June 12th, 2018, 11:23 am

Lucas,
DON'T overseed with rye. The tall ryegrass shades the soil and slows the awakening of the paspalum in the spring.

Your soil may very well be clay-like, but you might want to get the minerals analyzed before treating it like clay. Check the forums for soil test topics. There are a bazillion of them here. Fixing clay soil is different from fixing a soil with too much magnesium. Both act like clay. Is the soil bumpy when you mow it? If you haven't seen any improvement with repeated apps of gypsum, then it probably does not need any gypsum at all. I see you are new here. There are many comments in the forums about softening hard soil? Also check the forums for how to get rid of poa annua. Adding salt, again, without a soil mineral chemistry test, could be a really poor solution.

It's good that you have a source of Milo. When my mother lived in Temecula I could not find it anywhere. Finding any organics, even at feed stores, was very hard.

Why would you lower your mower to the lowest setting if you know it invites weeds??? It also dramatically increases watering needs. Tall grass stays green a lot longer with one app of water.

Watering: Deep and infrequent is the mantra for watering. This is for all turf grass all over the place. Deep means 1 inch all at one time. Put some cat food or tuna cans around the yard, and time how long it takes your sprinkler(s) to fill all the cans. Memorize that time. That will be the time you water from now on. My hose, sprinkler and water pressure takes 8 full hours to fill the cans. Your time will likely be less. I like gentle watering. As for watering frequency, that depends on the daytime air temperature. With temps in the 90s, deep water once per week. With temps in the 80s, deep water once every 2 weeks. With temps in the 70s, deep water once every 3 weeks. With temps below 70, deep water once a month. Note that you have to keep up with quickly changing temps in the spring and fall. This deep and infrequent schedule works in Phoenix and in Vermont, so it should work for you. The reason for deep and infrequent is to grow deeper, more drought resistant roots and to allow the soil to dry completely at the surface for several days before watering again. If it rains, reset your calendar to account for the rainfall.

lucasDOG
Posts: 14
Joined: June 10th, 2018, 3:00 am
Location: San Diego, CA
Grass Type: Seashore Paspalum
Lawn Size: < 1000
Level: Some Experience

Re: San Diego, CA - Just had Platinum TE Paspalum installed

Post by lucasDOG » June 12th, 2018, 1:49 pm

Thank you, Dchall_San_Antonio.

sandiego62
Posts: 26
Joined: July 23rd, 2017, 1:13 pm
Location: Clairemont (San Diego), CA
Grass Type: PASPALUM
Lawn Size: < 1000
Level: Novice

Re: San Diego, CA - Just had Platinum TE Paspalum installed

Post by sandiego62 » July 30th, 2018, 12:06 pm

lucasDOG, can you please post some pictures? How do you like your electric mower? Does it suck up the clippings well? I have a clippings catcher on my Scotts push reel mower but I'm finding I probably should be raking as well. I recently raked up a few big brown spots including this dead spot and ALOT of crap came out. Wondering if that's also contributing the dying grass...

Image







Image


lucasDOG
Posts: 14
Joined: June 10th, 2018, 3:00 am
Location: San Diego, CA
Grass Type: Seashore Paspalum
Lawn Size: < 1000
Level: Some Experience

Re: San Diego, CA - Just had Platinum TE Paspalum installed

Post by lucasDOG » August 12th, 2018, 10:20 pm

@sandiego62, here;s my Platinum TE lawn and my mower.

The mower is a 16" electric mower with 40V interchangeable batteries. It turns out the same company in China makes the same mower for all the most common brands: Greenworks, Ryobi, Kobalt, and many others. They put a different fascia on each of them, plus other minor differences. (I know you're supposed to use a reel mower on seashore, but I prefer this rotary mower set to 1.25 or 1.75 inches.)

I don't know what's happening with your brown spots. Maybe fungus? What's the latest?

@Dchall_San_Antonio., you wrote: "Fixing clay soil is different from fixing a soil with too much magnesium. Both act like clay. Is the soil bumpy when you mow it?"

Yes, it's very bumpy! I'll do the soil test.


Image

Image

User avatar
Dchall_San_Antonio
Posts: 3341
Joined: December 17th, 2008, 1:53 am
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Grass Type: St Augustine
Lawn Size: 5000-10000
Level: Advanced

Re: San Diego, CA - Just had Platinum TE Paspalum installed

Post by Dchall_San_Antonio » August 14th, 2018, 2:36 pm

That really looks great.
RE the brown spots: do you have a dog?

How are you guys watering? I assume it is much less frequently than they water fescue around there. How often and for how long do you water?

lucasDOG
Posts: 14
Joined: June 10th, 2018, 3:00 am
Location: San Diego, CA
Grass Type: Seashore Paspalum
Lawn Size: < 1000
Level: Some Experience

Re: San Diego, CA - Just had Platinum TE Paspalum installed

Post by lucasDOG » August 14th, 2018, 2:54 pm

Yep, the small brown spots are nitrogen burns from dog urine.

Per your earlier suggestion, in the last month, I changed to watering ~1.5" once weekly since temps have been in the high 80s and low 90s in our area (92129). By the 5th or 6th day after irrigation, certain areas of the lawn (with the most sun exposure) are showing stress with some withering and seedlings.

I use Hunter MP rotary nozzles, so they distribute the water slowly. They deliver ~0.5 gallons per hour and I tun them for a total of 3 hours overnight.

User avatar
Dchall_San_Antonio
Posts: 3341
Joined: December 17th, 2008, 1:53 am
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Grass Type: St Augustine
Lawn Size: 5000-10000
Level: Advanced

Re: San Diego, CA - Just had Platinum TE Paspalum installed

Post by Dchall_San_Antonio » August 15th, 2018, 11:06 am

The heat stressed parts of the yard might improve after a few more weeks of deep and infrequent watering. It take time for the roots to grow down deeper. Or, it might be that the heat is simply too much and those areas need a little more water. If you could adjust a sprinkler head to water deeper right there you would not have to alter your watering schedule. Pretty soon it will be cooling off an you can back off on the watering frequency. I have a couple spots where the St Augustine gets stressed about day 5/6, but so far I have powered through and made sure those spots got a little extra water on our watering day.

Did you time your watering using cans? .5 gallons per hour x 3 hours is not the same as 1 inch of water in a can. Maybe it is in your case, but not in general.

The problem with urine spots is the "rapid release" of fertilizer. Blood meal also has this problem. The problem is the soil is not populated with enough microbes to process all that nitrogen at once. You can help the soil along by scattering a heaping handful of table sugar onto the spots. This blast of sugar feeds the bacteria and causes them to go into a repopulation mode temporarily. Once the sugar is gone and the population is increased, they will handle that urine quickly leaving a deep green spot with tall, dense, grass in it. Over the long term the lawn would benefit from spraying with molasses at 3 ounces per 1,000 square feet along with at least once a year app of organic fertilizer.

jdang307
Posts: 2
Joined: September 17th, 2018, 11:45 am
Location: San Diego (east of 15)
Grass Type: fescue
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: San Diego, CA - Just had Platinum TE Paspalum installed

Post by jdang307 » September 17th, 2018, 12:09 pm

I was wondering if anyone installed this in San Diego. I'm in Scripps Ranch and have a dying fescue lawn. The previous owners put in a crap irrigation system, which was okay the previous 3 years but this unusually warmer summer (it got hot in June/July and stayed hot! Usually don't feel the heat until end of July/August etc.) killed it. It exposed all the parts of my lawn that didn't get good irrigation so I'm in the process of changing some things without having to dig up the system (not my forte).

I actually conversed with Dchall over on Houzz, and he recommended St. Augustine. I really want Palmetto St. Augustine because my kids want to play on the lawn, and St. Aug is kind of coarse. Palmetto is the finest bladed variety but you CANNOT get it in California. None of the outside places will ship it here, and nobody here sells it I can find.

So seashore paspalum looks like the next thing to try. Is it somewhat shade tolerant at all? I see conflicting info. I have one corner of the lawn that is blocked by my roof until about mid-day and then it's fine. West Coast Turf says Platinum TE is not shade tolerant, but the Miami Dolphins installed it in their refurbished stadium because of the shade tolerance (They have a roof that is partially closed etc.

Anyway, I'm also thinking this isn't enough to take over fescue ... But seeing as it is supposed to use less water, watering it just right might let it thrive and let the fescue die off. My lawn isn't large at all (maybe 600-700 sf) but I don't like laying sod :rotfl:

lucasDOG
Posts: 14
Joined: June 10th, 2018, 3:00 am
Location: San Diego, CA
Grass Type: Seashore Paspalum
Lawn Size: < 1000
Level: Some Experience

Re: San Diego, CA - Just had Platinum TE Paspalum installed

Post by lucasDOG » September 17th, 2018, 5:33 pm

@Jdan307, I'm in 92129 (Rancho Penasquitos). I bought my Platinum TE from West Coast Turf a few years ago. I'm getting ready to sod the front lawn, too—hoping to beat the cool weather and short days.

> my kids want to play on the lawn

IMO, Paspalum is not as hardy as St. Augustine, but mine is doing fine with a five year old and two large dogs.

> Is it somewhat shade tolerant at all?

Paspalum definitely prefers full sun. However, much of my back lawn is shaded by an enormous Green Ash tree. (You can see the trunk of the tree in my previous photos.) Although the growth under the tree is not rapid, it survives.

> I don't like laying sod

It's only available as sod.

jdang307
Posts: 2
Joined: September 17th, 2018, 11:45 am
Location: San Diego (east of 15)
Grass Type: fescue
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: San Diego, CA - Just had Platinum TE Paspalum installed

Post by jdang307 » September 18th, 2018, 10:36 am

lucasDOG wrote:
September 17th, 2018, 5:33 pm
@Jdan307, I'm in 92129 (Rancho Penasquitos). I bought my Platinum TE from West Coast Turf a few years ago. I'm getting ready to sod the front lawn, too—hoping to beat the cool weather and short days.

> my kids want to play on the lawn

IMO, Paspalum is not as hardy as St. Augustine, but mine is doing fine with a five year old and two large dogs.

> Is it somewhat shade tolerant at all?

Paspalum definitely prefers full sun. However, much of my back lawn is shaded by an enormous Green Ash tree. (You can see the trunk of the tree in my previous photos.) Although the growth under the tree is not rapid, it survives.

> I don't like laying sod

It's only available as sod.
Hey there. Yeah it won't get a lot of use, just occasional use. When I said I don't like laying sod, what I meant was, I was hoping I could plug it and have it spread and overtake fescue. I know St. Aug can cut through the fescue, but I'm not sure seashore paspalum can. Maybe, if it takes less water than fescue, I was hoping I could find the window where the paspalum can still thrive, while the fescue doesn't.

sandiego62
Posts: 26
Joined: July 23rd, 2017, 1:13 pm
Location: Clairemont (San Diego), CA
Grass Type: PASPALUM
Lawn Size: < 1000
Level: Novice

Re: San Diego, CA - Just had Platinum TE Paspalum installed

Post by sandiego62 » September 23rd, 2018, 12:36 pm

Almost two months since last set of pictures where I raked the brown spots. Still looks bad. I've only used Milorganite 1x since installed a year ago. Maybe should have used more.

Also bonus picture of my large 20+ lb cat next to what I think is St. Augustine growing back fast in backyard. About a year ago we completely rototilled backyard and removed two large ficus trees. Those were tiny little plugs about 1.5 months


Image

Image

Image

lucasDOG
Posts: 14
Joined: June 10th, 2018, 3:00 am
Location: San Diego, CA
Grass Type: Seashore Paspalum
Lawn Size: < 1000
Level: Some Experience

Re: San Diego, CA - Just had Platinum TE Paspalum installed

Post by lucasDOG » October 21st, 2018, 12:43 am

Newly sodded front yard. ~450 square feet. Platinum TE seashore paspalum from West Coast Turf.

Still tons of work to do on this house and landscape.

url=https://postimg.cc/5YbgKHy7]Image[/url]

Krs1
Posts: 291
Joined: March 15th, 2015, 11:15 am
Location: Oceanside (north San Diego coastal)
Grass Type: Tifgreen hybrid bermuda
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: San Diego, CA - Just had Platinum TE Paspalum installed

Post by Krs1 » March 30th, 2020, 11:57 pm

So I am about to start a project and have been wondering what grass to go with! It’s been 2 years since the last post can I bring it alive for some updates gentlemen! I’m really interested in this grass

Krs1
Posts: 291
Joined: March 15th, 2015, 11:15 am
Location: Oceanside (north San Diego coastal)
Grass Type: Tifgreen hybrid bermuda
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: San Diego, CA - Just had Platinum TE Paspalum installed

Post by Krs1 » April 5th, 2020, 1:59 am

Any updates on these platinum lawns? Anyone?

User avatar
Dchall_San_Antonio
Posts: 3341
Joined: December 17th, 2008, 1:53 am
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Grass Type: St Augustine
Lawn Size: 5000-10000
Level: Advanced

Re: San Diego, CA - Just had Platinum TE Paspalum installed

Post by Dchall_San_Antonio » April 8th, 2020, 3:47 am

Krs1, reawakening this topic is fine, but since you don't already have a Platinum TE Paspalum lawn, it would be more to your point to describe what your issues are in a new topic. When you post the new one, it helps to be more specific about your location than just San Diego. National City is different from La Jolla is different from El Cajon, etc. Actually you could fix that in your profile and you won't get nagged about your location every time you post.

Krs1
Posts: 291
Joined: March 15th, 2015, 11:15 am
Location: Oceanside (north San Diego coastal)
Grass Type: Tifgreen hybrid bermuda
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: San Diego, CA - Just had Platinum TE Paspalum installed

Post by Krs1 » April 11th, 2020, 9:41 am

Copy I’ll fix my location thank you, don’t really want to start a new thread just want an update on these lawn a few years later. I’m in Oceanside btw

lucasDOG
Posts: 14
Joined: June 10th, 2018, 3:00 am
Location: San Diego, CA
Grass Type: Seashore Paspalum
Lawn Size: < 1000
Level: Some Experience

Re: San Diego, CA - Just had Platinum TE Paspalum installed

Post by lucasDOG » April 19th, 2020, 3:30 am

Hi Krs1. I'm in PQ. Thrives in the late spring and summer. Goes dormant in the late fall and winter. Drought tolerant. Flexible mowing height. Gorgeous dark green. Feels great under bare feet—so soft.

Krs1
Posts: 291
Joined: March 15th, 2015, 11:15 am
Location: Oceanside (north San Diego coastal)
Grass Type: Tifgreen hybrid bermuda
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: San Diego, CA - Just had Platinum TE Paspalum installed

Post by Krs1 » April 20th, 2020, 11:37 am

Thanks for the info! Would love to see some pics of it in the summer! Also any problems with weeds or disease?

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 5 guests