Planting or re-sod yard

[W-O]

Is it too late to plant Bermuda grass in yard or put out St Augustine sod. My front yard is a wreck with weeds taking over and I am looking at taking it out and starting over. Should I just plan on taking it out over the winter and starting up again in the spring? I know there are some yard experts on the green screen.

[TXcazador91]

I’ve had good luck planting sod in the spring, but I know a lot of people prefer to do it in the fall. I wouldn’t do it right now, but you should be good by early October.

[Greenheadless]

I see load of yards re-sodded, only to fail because they don’t tackle the root problem (no pun intended). I would focus on the soil and doing what is needed to get the existing grass to start expanding. If it is healthy, it will take over and choke out the weeds.

If you have a local nursery, go talk to them about ideas and a plan.

[RMW]

Never to late to plant Sod it just goes dormant, we sell grass all year long all over the state

[RMW]

Also if you want a nice yard, drainage is key where water pools in low areas the sod will die and weeds and common bermuda will take over

[TXcazador91]

Like RMW and Greenhead mentioned, preparation is key. I’ve seen too many people just throw down sod on top of whatever was there before, expecting it to grow. The front yard at my old house was awful. I sprayed herbicide to kill all the weeds, rented a tiller from Home Depot to till everything up, then brought in a load of topsoil. I smoothed everything out and then laid my sod. I had the best looking yard in the neighborhood for a long time, unfortunately the new owners have let it go.

[TXcazador91]

^ I did this in March/April. I put down some starter fertilizer initially then used Milorganite every few months to keep it looking good (Milorganite is high in nitrogen and it reallly makes the grass green).

[GA Bowhunter]

I've planted Bermuda sod in North Georgia year around. When you are a builder, you lay it when you have to. If you need green, overseed it with annual rye. If you get it down in the next month or so, it will root.

[W-O]

Thanks for the replies.

[Chase4556]

I would tackle your weed problem first. Get it handled and see what the grass is looking like. Push it heavy with fertilizer, plenty of water and bio stimulants. Thin areas will thicken up and start to fill in bare areas. If you have really big bare areas, then yes look at seeding/sod. But putting sod or seed down on half your yard is a better option than doing the entire yard over and still having weeds to deal with.

What type of grass do you predominantly have? If you have a St Augustine yard and you throw down Bermuda…. You will end up with Bermuda slowly chocking out your st aug in the coming years. In my experience, Bermuda will overtake St Aug.

[friscopaint]

Never to late to plant Sod it just goes dormant, we sell grass all year long all over the state

I used to work at Miller Grass in Dallas and was going to say the same thing, remember if you plant sod, water, water, water.....and I'm not talking sprinkler system I'm talking hand water heavy soakings, that would be only reason I wouldn't plant now. I've had my St Augustine take over the bermuda in neighbors yard when I had house in Frisco. I got all my sod free, bermuda and St. Augustine and it was a good mix but 90% St. Augustine and problem with St. Augustine is people over water, they actually do on all lawns, once established roots. Over watering causes shallow root system that is subject to freeze, North Texas. In my past I installed a whole lot of yards in Dallas and 90% St. Augustine due to mature trees.

[Greenheadless]

St. Augustine and problem with St. Augustine is people over water, they actually do on all lawns, once established roots. Over watering causes shallow root system that is subject to freeze,

I see this as well. People are confused when I tell them I NEVER water my grass. It has to get really bad before I will start watering, but, my grass is acclimated and has a very deep root system.

If you do water, it is recommended to water deep (like 45 min to an hour), and do it in the mornings on two back to back days. Then don’t water again for at least two weeks.

[TXcazador91]

I see this as well. People are confused when I tell them I NEVER water my grass. It has to get really bad before I will start watering, but, my grass is acclimated and has a very deep root system.

If you do water, it is recommended to water deep (like 45 min to an hour), and do it in the mornings on two back to back days. Then don’t water again for at least two weeks.

Is this just for St Aug, or would watering like this be beneficial to Bermuda?

[RMW]

Is this just for St Aug, or would watering like this be beneficial to Bermuda?

If you want your yard to look great you’d better water atleast a couple times per week during summer, .5 per watering. Zoysia grasses need double that. This year I haven’t watered my yard at all with so much rainfall this summer. I’ve got 3.5 acres of St Augustine that I planted 18 years ago.

[friscopaint]

Is this just for St Aug, or would watering like this be beneficial to Bermuda?

You only need to water when your grass shows signs of stress then deep water 2 consecutive days just as greenheadless said. I had beautiful St. Augustine bermuda mix and only watered every couple weeks. Frisco/DFW area. This is exactly what we advised every customer. I installed my own sprinkler system with mechanical, not computer, controller and never had it on automatic.