Sod prep question
danman421 – posted 24 March 2011 08:05
I have about a 5000 sq ft yard that I want to sod half right now and the other in a few months. I live on the coast of NC and my soil is very sandy. Here are a few pictures and key at the end shows what picture was taken where:
Key/Sod area: https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_WxFEX611-RM/TYtA0ZD0ppI/AAAAAAAABRU/dy z8Z7_UUxQ/s800/Untitled1.jpg
How should I prep this area? I am having a guy come in a grade the area flatter as well as remove those shrubs just off the patio. Please advise! Thanks!
[This message has been edited by danman421 (edited 24 March 2011).]
GolfSuper – posted 24 March 2011 08:57
Where in NC do you live?
Do you have a specific turf type in mind? Zoysiagrass, bermudagrass or possibly even a cool-season variety?
Also, do you have an irrigation system?
-Perry Whaley Owner, ConsultantGreen Fa*************@gr***********.net
danman421 – posted 24 March 2011 08:58
quote:Originally posted by GolfSuper:Where in NC do you live?
Do you have a specific turf type in mind? Zoysiagrass, bermudagrass or possibly even a cool-season variety?
Also, do you have an irrigation system?
-Perry Whaley Owner, ConsultantGreen Fa*************@gr***********.net
Hi Perry, I am in Wilmington, NC. I will be going with standard Centipede as it what a lot of people have around here, I have it in my front yard, its cheapest and the house will be a rental in a year or so. I considered plugging with JaMur Zoysia but I dont think it makes sense, I want to knock this out. I do have irrigation. Thanks.
[This message has been edited by danman421 (edited 24 March 2011).]
danman421 – posted 25 March 2011 09:38
Any help?
GolfSuper – posted 25 March 2011 13:06
Once the area has been flattened and levelled (and the existing grass has been removed by tilling prior to flattening),
you can go ahead and lay the centipede sod down and I would get some sod staples as well so you can secure the sod while it’s root system is developing.
Newly sodded areas will require frequent irrigation as well.
-Perry Whaley pw*****@gr***********.net
danman421 – posted 25 March 2011 13:11
quote:Originally posted by GolfSuper:Once the area has been flattened and levelled (and the existing grass has been removed by tilling prior to flattening),
you can go ahead and lay the centipede sod down and I would get some sod staples as well so you can secure the sod while it’s root system is developing.
Newly sodded areas will require frequent irrigation as well.
-Perry Whaley pw*****@gr***********.net
This is what I figured, can I get away with not tilling?
GolfSuper – posted 26 March 2011 20:37
Most likely, as long as the surface isn’t too compacted.
danman421 – posted 28 March 2011 12:55
So I would need to spray roundup, probably twice. Then I can lay sod on top of the dead weeds/grass? The surface is not too compacted, its very sandy. Thanks
ken4255 – posted 20 April 2011 11:46
I sodded one small part of my yard and went the whole 9 yards in prepping the soil. I used round up, then instead of tilling, I used a sod cutter to remove the fescue (not really an orthodox method), then I had new topsoil put down and graded. I laid 3 pallets of meyer zoysia and had about a pallet left over. There was another section of yard I could use the sod on, but I hadn’t planned to sod it yet. I didn’t have time to prep — I was concerned about the sod drying out. So, I just laid this zoysia directly on top of some other fescue, growing in Georgia red clay. No roundup, no tilling. All I did was mow it first.
Both areas rooted nicely and grew fine. My only problem was the second area had some fescue growing between the seams, which was a bit of a pain to get rid of. I tried Image (imazaquin), but the normal dose seems to take too long to kill off the fescue. On the next try, I used too much and at the wrong time (can’t use while zoysia is dormant), so it stunted the zoysia a bit. It all came back eventually.
bottom line:
– you can get away without prepping.- I think you should at least kill off the existing grass first (sounds like you’ve done that).- I don’t really know about sandy soil, there are other posts on this site that indicate that the grass will dry out too fast with sandy soil — the answer seemed to be to add topsoil.
danman421 – posted 20 April 2011 12:35
Thanks ken4255. I the yard is graded and most the grass is dead, I will try and upload more pictures.
danman421 – posted 03 May 2011 07:39
Well I laid 7 pallets of sod last night. I hear from everywhere that my method is fine laying on top of mostly dead vegetation since my soil is so loamy/sandy and soft. Here are before/after pictures, comments welcome:
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