sodding

kv – posted 12 March 2004 11:21

Our top soil is in bad shape. How much top soil do we need to add to sussessfully sod St. Augustine in full sun to moderate shade areas?

Thanks!

Dchall_San_Antonio – posted 15 March 2004 07:55

Four to six inches is minimum.

If you already have that and you’re not satisfied with the soil, apply a top dressing of 1 cubic yard of compost per 1,000 square feet. That is an extremely thin layer (1/3 inch) of material, so don’t try to over do it.

At the same time, add 10-20 pounds of a ground up seed meal. I use corn meal but alfalfa pellets, soy meal, cottonseed meal, milo, or any other ground up seed, bean, or nut works fine. You’re looking for protein content.

This is an organic way, in fact the only way, to restore organic matter to your soil. The organic matter that matters is the living organisms in the soil. The ground up corn feeds those little guys and they will restore the health of your soil. The fastest way to damage your soil is it till it.