Sample soil, or

jorton – posted 19 July 2004 21:20

do you know what kind of food my lawn needs from some info?south Bexar county TexasSoil is nuetral colored sand, no claygrass is Burmuda

This sand is deep and drains fast. My lawn looks pretty good but the grass is thin in the full sun areas.

ted – posted 01 August 2004 13:30

test it and send it to A and M- great turfgrass research school- you need to test a lawn no matter where you live- they will tell you the proper nutrients to use.

Dchall_San_Antonio – posted 03 September 2004 12:43

I can tell you what you need, and not because I live in central Bexar county. If you describe your soil as sand, then you need organic matter. You need roots and you need soil microbes. If you are using bermuda because it needs less water, you’re never going to improve your sand. Bermuda needs every bit as much water as other grass if you want it and your soil to thicken up. Bermuda also needs to be fertilized every month in that sand (or anywhere else).

Are you just starting out or did this sand condition develop over a period of time? If it developed over time, then you are probably not watering enough to develop any living organic matter.

If you are just starting out, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. You will need to water, mow low at least every week, and fertilize regularly. I would get the sand going by covering it with a St Augustine sod, then compost, then corn meal and/or alfalfa meal as a fertilizer. I had 8 inches of your sand brought in 10 years ago and you’d never know it was sand today. It’s black and very firm. It can be done without any heroics and without chemicals to help you. If you go with the St Augustine, it will choke out your current bermuda leaving a nice uniform lawn.