Sod in checkerboard

smthorpe – posted 04 March 2011 11:57

I am 1000 sq ft where I need to plant new St Augustine.

From what I know, pallets cover 450 sq ft. Do I really need two (or even three pallets) or can I plant the sod in a checkerboard pattern?

Has anyone done this and what were your opinions/results?

Any help is appreciated.

seed – posted 10 March 2011 23:31

Sod in a checkerboard is lumpy, takes as long to fill in as plugs, and if it’s a true checkerboard, you are paying to fill 50% of the area. You are saving 50% but you are spending more time and aggravation to get a real mess.

So either sod wall-to-wall or plug with 3-5% of the area. Get a machete, sharpen it well, and cut your sod into squares about 4-6 inches across and plant them in rows at least 24-36 inches apart, and at least 24-36 inches apart within the rows.

Once they start running the will fill in fast. It may take 5 months of growing weather altogether. If you plant 4 inch plugs 24 inches apart on a square grid (offset would be better), you will need 28 square feet per 1000 square feet of planted area. Once they root, put about 1/2 handful of Milorganite on each plug, that way you are not feeding the weeds. Water no more than once per day at first, less often later. When you starting see weeds, start mowing.

sabermetrics – posted 15 March 2011 09:21

1000 square feet is about 30 feet by 30 feet so not too big of a space …

I just used Home Depot sod to cover about the same amount of space. I plugged about 3-5% of the ground. Since Home Depot sells their sod in the plastic plug-sized sheets, the pieces almost fall apart and I did not have to cut a single plug. Most plugs just fell apart from each other without extra effort. In a few cases, I was able to pull them apart while keeping existing runners intact. These runners are actually running 3-4 days later. (Central Florida temps are high 70’s right now.)

Home Depot sod is probably overpriced for a large scale job … but for something small it was convenient.

[This message has been edited by sabermetrics (edited 15 March 2011).]

Alex_in_FL – posted 18 March 2011 16:32

You can make your own plugs and get by with one pallet if you want. Cut several of the pieces of sod into 3×6 strips, soak the strips in water (I used a wheel barrow) for about 20 minutes then plant. In my test these soaked strips grew much faster and had a higher spread rate than the non-soaked strips.