fill in st augustine grass with other varieties?

Discussion in 'Horn Depot' started by Sasquatch69, Jul 1, 2007.

  1. Sasquatch69

    Sasquatch69 100+ Posts

    My yard is 100% Saint Augustine grass. I lost about 1/4 of the yard last year thanks to two years of drought, so this spring I ripped out most of the dead grass and put in sod squares. The wet spring/summer has helped the sod do well, but I now have some small gaps here and there where the sod squares didn't totally cover the formerly-dead area.

    Since you can't seed St. Augustine, can I get some seed for bermuda or another variety to spread in the gaps to fill them in, or is it a bad idea to mix grasses? If it's not advisable, what's my best alternative?
     
  2. mishatx

    mishatx 1,000+ Posts

    Bermuda will work. It will compete with the St. Aug, but if the area gets a lot of water and/or is shady, the St. Aug will push it out. The bermuda will find a way to invade your garden though.


    At lot of "contractors' mix" sod is Bermuda/St. Aug mix.
     
  3. Luke Duke

    Luke Duke 1,000+ Posts

    Why would you want different types of grass? Just put some more sod down or wait for the grass to fill in naturally.
     
  4. Friday

    Friday 500+ Posts

    Don't mix in Bermuda. Fill in the spaces with some dillo dirt or compost.
     
  5. suttree

    suttree 500+ Posts

    If you aerate the soil you are going to sod, and maybe mix in enough actual dirt to get it so you aren't sodding right onto clay, you can basically just let your existing St. Augustine fill it in over the season. Have your lawn guy cut the lawn really high, and it will help it grow faster and keep down the diseases.

    I had the exact same situation, and it is working with me.
     
  6. Sasquatch69

    Sasquatch69 100+ Posts

    I cleared out a ton of surface dirt, semi-aerated it with a hoe and then laid some fertilizer-enriched topsoil before putting down the sod, which seemed to make the difference (there was one spot where I did not do this and the sod died after a month). I don't have a yard guy (I do everything myself), so I'll mow it high the rest of this year and see if that helps it infill. Thanks for the advice.
     
  7. midtown

    midtown 1,000+ Posts


     
  8. gsoda3

    gsoda3 250+ Posts

    other than bermuda's ability to invade flowerbeds why don't people like it? i like how it's softer than st augustine, feels better to walk on and it seems my st aug yard has a lot more stinging / biting insects living in the topsoil than my bermuda yard did. also my st aug yard grows much much faster (about 4-5 inches every 2 weeks) than my bermuda ever did.
     

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