COnverting lawn from bermuda to St. Augustine

[2K2 LS1]

What all would be involved? I hate Bermuda grass!!! I was thinking I would need to rent a sod cutter to remove the Bermuda and then til the dirt/soil. Then lay the St Augustine sod in a checkered pattern with 3" spaces in between the pieces of sod with a sandy loam mixture in the spaces/cracks for it to creep together. Does this sound about right? How many pallets does you average size corner lot yard take would you guess?

[sdun]

It takes a lot of shade and/or a lot of water to live in the summer.

[2K2 LS1]

It takes a lot of shade and/or a lot of water to live in the summer.

St. Augustine can actually thrive in minimal shade, and you don't have to drown it either. Their are hybrid St. Augustine grasses that are developed just for the Texas heat and non shade.

Info on grass:

http://www.american-lawns.com/grasses/augustine.html

[Fst86gt]

I went to St. Augustine a few years ago from a Fescue. I just sprayed and killed it all, raked it, then tilled it. Called some buddies over and laid the sod. No checkerboard pattern, just make sure the lines look right. The last step is to rent the roller to roll it. Plenty of water and everything looks great. I have the best lawn on my block. I can't remember how much I used, just take measurements of your lawn and the grass place will know.

[2K2 LS1]

Any idea on what a pallet of St Augustine is running these days?

[bcoop]

I did the opposite last year. Cut up the St Augustine, tilled, leveled (3-4 weeks worth of dirt work, yard had high/low spots that I wanted to correct), and spread Bermuda seed around. Watered heavily, and I put more seed out 2-3 more times over the summer.


Make sure you use a starter fertilizer. Be careful on the tilling. If you have a nutgrass/nutsedge problem, it's only going to get worse when you till. I could be wrong, but I want to say a pallet of St. Augustine was around $180 last year?

[zemog]

just thought id clear up alittle misunderstanding about st.aug., it is not a shade grass, it is shade tolerant, but requires 4 to 6 hours of sun light daily to thrive, where bermuda requires 6-8daily, example, if you have ever been down to the coast and all the st.augustine it is in full sun right by the coast and doing great.

[unkoricky]

just thought id clear up alittle misunderstanding about st.aug., it is not a shade grass, it is shade tolerant, but requires 4 to 6 hours of sun light daily to thrive, where bermuda requires 6-8daily, example, if you have ever been down to the coast and all the st.augustine it is in full sun right by the coast and doing great.

You need to just come to my house and tell me what to do.. you confused me with all this grass talk, but i know you know what your talking about.

[bonfire]

I used the St Augustin plugs. better root system on the plugs than the sod. It takes a while but it grows in nicely. do a little more each spring as budget allows

[2K2 LS1]

Will St. Augustine eventually take over the bermuda?

[Roscoe]

Will St. Augustine eventually take over the bermuda?

YES!

I had Bermuda in a neighborhood that was primarily St. Augustine... my neighbor on each side of my had St. Aug.

Within 3 years, there was not a trace of Bermuda in my yard at all. StA will take over with a quickness whether you want it to or not!!

[Raskal]

I pulled the sod into parts and placed them apart. It looked funny for one season but grew together and by the next one it was full blown.