For anyone in the Austin area, I am looking for any suggestions on where to get sod for my backyard, about to move into a new home, and curious if any of you guys in the Austin area have done this yourself, and where you got your grass, any info would be great. Thanks in advance CAK
We planted sod in our backyard... it died. We also noticed after that, that most folks start with a thick layer of sand, for drainage I guess... and their grass seems to grow. So, look in to what is need before throwing down sod on top of dirt... or it might just die?!?
Speaking of grass.... I just had a guy in the Maurice Taylor thread tell me that lifting weights while high actually helps.....
He said it helps some people. Who are you to say it doesn't? I've seen my friend play ball both high and sober and he's better when he's high.
"Look, I haf addressed dees rhumors. Dees is desperate shmeear politics. When I was young, yes, I did crazy things when lifting irons, you know. But now I am devohting my ehnargies to Cahl-ee-farn-i-uh."
When you lay sod, make sure you water it in everyday for a week...then you must keep watering it pretty regularly until it catches on.
Instead of us hijacking this thread why don't you join in over in the original thread. I shouldn't have posted here. My bad.
I just threw down some grass seed instead of laying sod. It took a little while to catch on, but it eventually did.
If I had a yard, I'd lay down Field Turf...the fake stuff that looks and feels like grass that several college and pro stadiums use. Of course, it would be ruined by peoples' dogs.
The Grass Patch in Austin should have everything you need. There are places that will deliver a truckload of dirt to your house as well. We just had this done. The Grass Patch can probably help you with that as well. You also might ask your builder who they got to do your front yard. It really is a lot of work to do all this yourself (took us an entire day just to do part of our frontyard), so if you can afford it, try to get someone to do it for you. As was stated previously, you need about 10 days of water on it when it starts out. Not sure how this will work with the cold weather coming up, but you have to water it.
Some suggestions for laying sod: Before you lay down the sod, use a heavy rake to roughen up the earth. Then, lay down a thin layer of potting soil. hose down the soil until it's mushy and muddy. Then lay down your sod squares. Afterwards, hose down the sod until it's mushy and then briefly walk all over it. This helps the wet sod roots take to the wet ground, and the potting soil gives a boost of nutrients to the hungry sod roots. Water every day for at least a week. Probably longer. It's difficult to over-water it (I think). Shop around for good sod - don't just buy any old sod. The sod you should get should be solid green, and not yellowed at all. -- droxford
I appreciate all the info, we were planning to do it ourselves, but, I have heard from more than one person that it looks and grows better if you allow someone to come in and professionally do it, and that seems like the consensus here as well. Do any of you guys remember what you paid per palate (sp) of grass ?? And how much area that coverd ? Per the Deed restrictions, we have to use Bermuda grass, so... Thanks again for all the help CAK
Don't remember how much it was. It was whatever the Grass Patch was charging at the time. At the time we used St. Augustine, so it would've been a different price I guess. What area of Austin, btw? Our subdivision also requires Bermuda, just curious.
Its Dessau close to Howard, the name of the neighborhood is Brookfield crossing Again, thanks for all the input CAK
Stuck with Bermuda? Too bad, El Toro Zoysia is awesome. Definitely go with one of the improved hybrids, maybe Tiff? Else, you could end up with a thin lawn. Here are the best folks to ask: http://www.texasturf.com/discussion/index.htm (Aggies) I would also recommend getting a load of dillo dirt or something similar, and till it in to the top of the dirt. The more good stuff you add the healthier your turf will be and the less you'll need to water(!) Also, consider installing that automatic sprinkler system before laying your turf.