Sodding the backyard

O

OrangeChipper

1,000+ Posts
I will be closing on a new home around November 1st. I will have to sod the back yard. My questions...

#1 - Will ST. Augustine even survive that close to winter?

#2 - Are there alternatives that are cheaper and more likely to flourish?

Any advice or direction greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
 
So the rye grass won't screw things up come spring-time? Also, I have a pretty big back yard.. almost 1/4 acre. Does this change anything?

Cheap sounds good. Also, any considerations knowing that I have a pet dog?
 
Yeah, throw out tons of rye grass seed. Watch the birds, though. They'll eat a good portion. St. Aug. sod will survive, there's still plenty of warm days until "winter" comes here in Houston. I would toss down rye seeds then sod over it. The rye will grow some and the St. Aug will grow as the rye starts to die off. Make sure you do not fertilize when the sod is down. Pre-treat it with some weed & feed, maybe two or three days before you lay down sod. After you've got the sod down make sure you treat it with some root stimulator. Sod responds well to it. Get an liquid fert. sprayer for your garden hose and put the concentrate of root stimulator in there, have it dilute the root stim. to the proper strength and do this once every 7 to 10 days for a month, water it a little before you put this down. Just don't over water it. The sod should be able to take off on it's own from there. Around mid-December, as long as we haven't had a freeze (I don't think we will) give it a winterizer. It should be good to go in the spring.
 
Go ahead and sodd that sucker now. It's a do it now or do it later scenario anyhow. The main thing is to prevent weeds from getting a foothold in your yard, whcih sodding will help do. In Houston it's not like your sod is going to have a long period of sub zero ground temps anyhow. The St. Augustine will of course go dormant and will lose it's green luster. But if you want green just toss out some winter rye on top of the sod. In fact i would reccoment that as I think the winter rye helps prevent weeds from creeping in and provides additional "fertilizer" as it dies off in the Spring.

I will give you two good tips. Water the hell out of the sod the first two weeks after you lay it down. In summer I would say three weeks.

Secondly once you have it all laid and pretty moist, go and step on every seam. I do it barefooted so I can "feel" the uneveness between the peices of sod, but in novement you might prefer old tennis shoes. This does two things first it makes the surface MUCH, MUCH more even and will make it a lot easeir to cut later and will make it look better immediately. the "new" patchy look will be gone in no time. Also this "seals" the seams and will also prevent weeds from cropping up. It will take a while, especially if you ahve a large backyard. However in the Spring you will be both glad you sodded and walked the seams as you yard will look as if it has been in place for years....

I would definitely put winter rye on the sod, it dies in the Spring but it's nice to ahve a green lawn in the Winter... though you will have to cut it a couple of times.

Good luck!
 
It's an annual and will die on its own with no residual effect. You will have to use your mower in winter though which negates one of the perks of winter.

One of the keys to St. Augustine is to get a good root system and I wouldn't think you could do that planting in November. Especially with a dawg. I'd think you'd be resodding in the spring anyway.
 
When I plant St. Aug, I will stand on it and water my feet until it gets soft. I do the whole sodded area that way every few days for a few weeks. I've only used a roller once, but seemed to work fairly well.
 
Remember if you put out that Winter Rye you're going to have to mow it, and that sucks in the winter. Don't do it. I resodded my yard with Cavalier Zoysia 2 years ago and it is awesome. It grows fairly slowly and stays green most of the winter. A great grass.
 
My experience with Emerald Zoysia was unsatisfactory. It would stay green until January or February, but wouldn't come back until June. It required a ton of water. I hope yours is more accommodating.
 
Mine is very tolerant of draught. I have been very pleased. I don't have to mow every week though I generally do, it chokes out the weeds, is nice to walk on, and looks good. I am not a green thumb kind of person so I know if I can keep this thing looking good them it must be a pretty stout grass. This is my 3rd resod job. 2 St. Augustine, and 1 Cavalier Zoysia.
 
Thanks for all the advice guys.

I'm also curious on the prices for all the suggestions.

What are good prices for Rye seed, St. Augustine, and Zoysia?

I'll probably need around 6-8 pallets of grass. (BIG back yard)

Thanks
 
OrangeChipper,

It just so happens that I moved into Windrose in September of 2002. I put down some St. Augustine at that time and it did fine. I'm afraid I don't remember how much I paid or from whom I bought since it has been awhile. Good luck, neighbor.
 
"Its a small world afterall."

That's good to know. Thanks, neighbor.

So what section are you in, anyway? I'm in section 9 towards 2920. (Auburn Point) There are a bunch of horns in our neighborhood apparently.
 
i think the non-contractor rate for St. Augustine is $60 a pallet if you put it down yourself - but you can probably get it cheaper if you are buying 6-8 pallets. (closer to $100 per pallet if you get someone to do it - it's worth it.)

and as others have said, unless you want to mow A LOT, don't throw down the rye... i made this mistake about 4 years ago in a house i had then. i had a big back yard and needed to mow every 5-7 days from october to mid-april. i didn't mind the rye in the front yard, because i had a nice green yard in front of a new house in a new subdivision... the next year, the builder did the same thing for the front of the model...

yes, the rye will keep the weeds out. rye drinks up a lot of water - - or so it seems when you mow it and grass seems 'wet'.
 
Could you direct me to someone who will lay it out for 100 per pallet? That sounds like a great deal. We've been priceing grass and the cheapest we've found is 75$ a pallet and thats at a reduced rate for buying so many pallets.

Thanks!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Weekly Prediction Contest

* Predict HORNS-AGGIES *
Sat, Nov 30 • 6:30 PM on ABC

Recent Threads

Prediction Results Threads

2024 Schedules

Back
Top