St. Augustine in sand

ramartin – posted 31 March 2004 08:08

I live in east Texas near a lake. [ about 1 mile ] We built last fall here and the soilis very sandy and loose. I would like very much to plant St Augustine, but I don’t know what to put with my soil. I did plant Rye this winter and it grew crazy. Can you help me. Thank you Ri**********@**ik.com

cohiba – posted 31 March 2004 14:24

Your lucky, As far as I’m concerned there is no better growing medium than sand. Perfect drainage,loose, full of air pores. Keep in mind that it doesn’t hold nutrients well. Therefore when you fertlize go in smaller amounts more frequently. Heavy rains can leach nutrients out of the soil. Adding organic matter will help if your soil is low on OM. If OM is good then don’t till. Tilling destroys soil structure and brings weed seeds to the surface. Instead consider aeration and over seeding or plugging/stolons, ect. A good website that will help is below:

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/plantanswers/turf/publications/staug.html

Maybe a little too much info. Fall overseeding with ryegrass makes sence to me its cheap and can be up in a week or two.

Good luck…..

Dchall_San_Antonio – posted 04 April 2004 12:33

St Augustine is native to the coastal areas of Africa and performs very well in all sandy soils. My lot was washed out up to 6 inches down from decades of neglect when I bought it. I brought in sand for my fill and the St Aug is doing the very best in the deepest sand.

I fertilize with corn meal and alfalfa which are basically the ingredients in most organic fertilizers. It looks better and better every year as the organic matter builds.

ted – posted 04 April 2004 16:30

there’s nothing wrong with sand. but test it first. also, are you in a portion of texas where st. augustine is your only choice?