Checkerboarding St Augustine

mooregator – posted 06 May 2004 07:15

I just finished laying a pallet of St Augustine in the “checkerboard” style. I cut each piece in half then laid them with spaces in between each. How long will it take to cover these spaces? and how long (if ever) will it take to level off in these spaces? I live in South Florida, water everyday and have great “growing” weather.

Will-PCB – posted 06 May 2004 07:52

Depends really on you.

I would not push the grass too quickly in the beginning. Just water it daily for the first week, then slowly start holding back the water until you begin to see signs of wilt (where the grass blades begin to curl up on its vertical axis). What you are trying to do is train the roots to start growing deeply into the ground. The deeper the root, the more healthy the grass will be.

I would not fertilize for a month or mow. The lawn simply needs time to anchor itself with deepening roots.

To fill the spaces in between the plugs you’ve planted, I suggest beach sand, or plain old wash sand. St. Augustine seems to love that sand. If you are careful, you can fill those cracks with topsoil, then this fall, top dress with the sand. This might actually be better as the topsoil will hold water better than sand, however be sure to not cover the grass blades with the topsoil.

Most of all, be patient. Once that lawn establishes itself and gets healthy from the stress it was just placed under, it will agressively take over and make your life miserable on its own.

mooregator – posted 06 May 2004 09:11

Will-Thanks for the advice. Consider it done. This forum is awesome! I never would have thought to let the blades wilt (deepen the roots) nor lay sand in between. Looks like the soil with sand on top will be the project for the weekend. Again, thanks for the advice!

Will-PCB – posted 06 May 2004 19:14

No problem man. If you need any more help, just gimme a hollar.

If your near the Panama City area, I’ll be glad to assist you as needed.