A FEW SUGGESTIONS?

James – posted 12 April 2004 10:39

I presently have a lawn full of mostly weeds with some bermuda.This is in Louisiana,by the way…NW corner of the state.

I am getting several loads of dirt brought in later this week. I am smoothing out the front yard and starting over with the grass planting. I plan on planting centipede. The area is about 10000-15000 square feet with minimal shade.

Is there another seed I can mix the centipede with in order to cover a little more area? Which kind? (the centipede needs to easily take it over)

Should I mix the seed with sand as I have read about? What kind of sand/seed ratio?

James – posted 13 April 2004 06:32

ANYONE???????????

ted – posted 13 April 2004 10:43

i don’t know anything about centipede, but sodding in your neck of the woods is a better alternative to seeding. warm season grasses typically do not seed well or are hard to establish. try sod or st. augustine. another concern i have in this situation is that whatever caused you problems with your original lawn might still be there??? also what type of dirt are you getting? has it been tested? lots of unanswered questions on this one…

cohiba – posted 13 April 2004 13:34

James,Ted makes a great point of testing your soil. Who knows what you might get from a truck load of topsoil. I’ve heard horror stories of people building on old farms that the farmers have used/abused atrazine and it will not allow your turf to get established. Testing is the only way to be sure your going to be successful.

bassadict69 – posted 14 April 2004 06:33

When we first cleared my lot it was real brushy. We never did it right the first time! We pretty much just bush-hogged it & I threw down some rye grass since there were lots of bare spots and it was December when we bought the place. The next summer I just simply through out some Bermuda seed with no ground preperation.The dirt being brought in will be the same as I used in my backyard last year with pretty good results. I will test it though this time per everyones suggestions. Sod is entirely too expensive considering the area I need to cover. I am picking centipede due to its low & slow growth and little need for maintenance. I rarely have time for yard work, fertilization, watering, etc. From what I have read, centipede is very low maintenance once it is established.