Gary – posted 18 August 2003 06:55
I am having a problem with St Augustine also. I pluged the yard last year. The grass is speading like crazy. The problem I am noticing is of the plugs (older grass). the plugs are yellowing, but not the new grass. it almost looks like its is deprived of water, But we been getting plenty. Not to much water cause my wet areas look fine. Some clues are: I see no spots on blades. Plugs near the street 15’x100′ look the worst, it hasn’t spread at all, the ground is very hard out there and clay soil. I treated the yard with insect control.I live in NC, the grass type is “Raleigh”. I am thinking I need lime and aerateing.What do you think? Is there any advantage to powdered lime verses pelletized besides the mess?
Jims’ Turf – posted 19 August 2003 18:34
It sounds to me like on hot days the soil around the plugs and the shallow root system are not retaining the moisture that they get from rain and irrigation. I would spread a 1-2 inch layer of plain old white playsand all around the plugs and anywhere the grass is thin. Your lawn does not sound established enough to retain moisture on its own. When you have an established stand of St. Augustine it shades the soil keeping it cooler and slows down evaporation. The “WHITE” sand not dark top soil, will not absorb as much heat as the darker soils thus slowing down evaporation while at the same time allowing rain or irrigation to easily penetrate to the roots where it is needed. I also use a product call hydratain evry 2 to 3 months and it works great. Link supplied below.
gary – posted 20 August 2003 12:03
Thanks Jim. I will try your tip. The worst area is fun sun all day but so is other areas… mainlythe soil is “hard” clay. A few things I may have left out the first posting are, I do have anestablished lawn of fescue31. We have been getting a unusual wet summer around here,way above average. the shoots seem to be doing great which I would think have even shallower roots. I havent heard much talk on the pH requirements for this grass.Really I can’t find any information. Does it not matter?..I will give your tip a try and letyou know. Thanks again.