St. Augustine Plugs… Please Help!

Sir Skrip – posted 07 April 2003 11:25

First off, I’m in Southern California and I just had my front yard (which is in 2 square sections) tilled. The yard had a lot of rocks & dirt, and most rocks were taken out. I then raked some dirt off cause there just was way more dirt above the cement line. after i went down about 2-3 inches in dirt, I added lawnsoil (scotts) and mixed it in with the metal rake in rows.

I purchased about 40-50 sods of st. augustine (2ft X 1ft) and cut it into 8 pieces per sod, about 6×6 inch square. I then laid the pieces about 4-8 inches apart from each other in a brick pattern. After I was done I noticed I had about 8 pieces of sod left, so what i did, was cut some more and shuffle them in wherever there were bigger gaps. And in each corner of the square yard, i put 2 full sods perpendicular to each other, an “L” shape so to speak(why waste it?).

I watered it down again (I had also watered it before i put the plugs in). Then decided to wait for the next day. Next day I sprinkled some topsoil around the top and soaked the lawn again.

My question is, I didn’t dig a ‘trench’ in rows with a hoe for the plugs, a step i missed, so that it would grow sideways at dirt level. I did press it down as much as i could into the wet dirt, and did step on it to push it down a bit. I’m an inch above the dirt level. Will this cause it to die? or should I fill in the rows of dirt a little higher? I dont have much room to get higher because im almost at cement level? Can anyone please help?

Thanks, and your help is appreciated!

Sir SkripPomona, CA

Will-PCB – posted 11 April 2003 21:37

It will be ok.

frenchman – posted 11 April 2003 22:20

You’ll be ok, but instead of putting topsoil on top, put sand.

Sir Skrip – posted 14 April 2003 14:42

thanks Will-PCB, thats good to know.. its almost daily i look at it and say, is it growing? someone told me to wait around 3 weeks and keep watering daily…

frenchman, u serious about sand? like beach sand or desert sand? Never heard of doing that… how does this help?

I’ll try and come back in a few weeks an update ya, especially for those in similar situations…

Here in L.A. it seems like St. Augustine is everyones choice. And they always say, if its too expensive, just do it in plugs, that thing is like a vine and it loves sun.

Will-PCB – posted 14 April 2003 19:46

Yep, he is correct. Plain old beach sand or something similar is ideal for top dressing your grass. Once you have spread the sand, I suggest raking it with a regular ole plastic leaf rake and then water the yard. This will help the sand wash down below the leaf line as so not to smother it. The sand promotes good drainage, but wont turn into a hard concrete like surface such as clay(s).

Good luck!

Will-PCB – posted 14 April 2003 19:51

Yep … St Augustine is funny. You’ll stare and stare at your plugs daily ….

Some days … they’ll look a little under the weather to you … other days … they’ll be all green and pretty. Most of the time, they’ll just sit there and you’ll think … “Where’s the runners? There’s supposed to be an Earth Shattering Runner!” (Thanks Marvin the Martian)….

Then one day, you’ll wake up and you’ll see all these wonderful criss crossing little runners everywhere …. Soon you will be cursing and swearing because you have a nice thick yard of grass that seems to need mowing almost daily.

Have fun!

Sir Skrip – posted 21 May 2003 09:06

Well guys, a little update on my plugs. Its been over a month (6-7 weeks) and they are all growing nicely, very long and very green. I’ve slowly been adding dirt in between the plugs so that it doesn’t create ‘mounds’ of St. Augustine once it spreads. The trick is to not overfill at once, but to do it weekly with little dirt – this is so that it doesnt slow the spread of the grass vines and slowly fills to level with the grass plugs. And of course, water daily. I rotate topsoil one week, and regular yard dirt the other, creating a mix.

Anyways, thank you guys so much for your help and encouragement, it feels great to see it green up and spread.

Regarding the sand, I saw different types, like playsand. Someone told me to use paver sand, because other sands might have certain chemicals or something that might hurt the grass. Any advice on a particular sand type or brand? (This is for the other square of my lawn, which is all sod and no plugs)

Thanks & stay green!

Will-PCB – posted 21 May 2003 13:33

As dumb as it sounds, I just use beach sand.

Washes nicely thru the grass.

No problems.

certified-in-florida – posted 30 May 2003 21:03

Just be a bit careful when mowing that you don’t “scalp” the raised areas until it fills in.

happytime – posted 13 April 2005 15:49

I am looking to buy the st.augustine plugs….Was wondering if it’s the type I would use for almost 2,000 ft^2 lawn …for it to spread and grow…Please get back to me on thisthanksViva

Tungsten – posted 13 April 2005 16:19

which culitvar of SA grass did you plant?