# 2k SQFT plug job?



## Alex_18 (Mar 9, 2019)

Has anyone here ever done a plug job of this size or saw one be successful? I have a St Aug back yard that is about 2k sqft and it is weak. Got hit hard with large patch late last year and its taken ahold again this year. Plus i already have a lot of common Bermuda coming up in it

Also ive been managing a neutral ground olin our subdivision for the past year where i spray my leftover herbicides, pre m, bio stims, etc. basically anything that i have left over when im done in my yard goes down on it. Needless to say, its become a pretty nice patch of common Bermuda so i have a source for nice, healthy plugs which if i did the math right, ill need a little over 1,100 plugs to do my entire back yard.

Just curious if this would be easy enough to tackle. Any other suggestions on how to get the Bermuda in the back yard to take over the st aug quickly?


----------



## Swampfox (Jun 12, 2019)

I covered 3500 sq ft last year with Tif Tuff plugs. Started with 100sq ft of Tif Tuff sod in May and had full coverage by October. Pushed it with a lot of water and weekly feedings of 46-0-0. I am located in Eastern NC. Not sure about the sequence of my pics but you get the idea. Nuked my Centipede yard and put plugs right into dead centipede. You can see the 100sq ft of mother sod in the pics.


----------



## southernbuckeye (Sep 29, 2019)

Very nice! Curious what your mowing strategy is after putting down new plugs. Same as normal sod?


----------



## Gilley11 (Nov 3, 2019)

When they're ready I'll be picking up about 1k plugs from @A to Zoysia to spread throughout my 2k sq ft front. Hoping to have it filled in pretty well by the end of next season.


----------



## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

@Swampfox 

That's incredible! That really has me thinking of nuking my SA/Centipede mix in my front yard and plugging away. I'm so sick of it being so susceptible to disease/insects/weeds when compared to Bermuda. I've hemmed and hawed about doing it for a few seasons but just can't imagine reel mowing and additional 8K sf. I guess PGR would be a must.


----------



## Swampfox (Jun 12, 2019)

Southern Buckeye, 
I used a string trimmer and gave the plugs a haircut as needed to force lateral growth. Takes about a month or so for the plugs to get established. Once things were growing well, I used my push mower at the lowest setting and mowed as needed.


----------



## Alex_18 (Mar 9, 2019)

Redtwin said:


> @Swampfox
> 
> That's incredible! That really has me thinking of nuking my SA/Centipede mix in my front yard and plugging away. I'm so sick of it being so susceptible to disease/insects/weeds when compared to Bermuda. I've hemmed and hawed about doing it for a few seasons but just can't imagine reel mowing and additional 8K sf. I guess PGR would be a must.


Same here @Redtwin. Im just tired of having to worry about the SA. Ive been putting it off for a while now too. After a full reno on the front yard last year the last thing i wanted to do was a full reno on the back. But i guess ill just bite the bullet and roll with it


----------



## southernbuckeye (Sep 29, 2019)

Swampfox said:


> Southern Buckeye,
> I used a string trimmer and gave the plugs a haircut as needed to force lateral growth. Takes about a month or so for the plugs to get established. Once things were growing well, I used my push mower at the lowest setting and mowed as needed.


Awesome, thinking of doing this myself. We did about 8000 sq ft of tiff tuff last season and I'd like to use some of it to get other parts of the yard converted from fescue.

How low do you go to force the lateral growth? 1/2"-1"?


----------



## Swampfox (Jun 12, 2019)

With my push mower low as I could go was about an inch. With the string trimmer I would trim the main plug down to the dirt almost. This would cause a massive amount of runners. A few more pics.


----------



## ENC_Lawn (Sep 9, 2018)

@Swampfox Very Impressive!

That's pretty cool you did that with 100 square feet of TifTfuf!

Awesome Job!


----------



## lucas287 (Jun 3, 2018)

Alex_18 said:


> Has anyone here ever done a plug job of this size or saw one be successful? I have a St Aug back yard that is about 2k sqft and it is weak. Got hit hard with large patch late last year and its taken ahold again this year. Plus i already have a lot of common Bermuda coming up in it
> 
> Also ive been managing a neutral ground olin our subdivision for the past year where i spray my leftover herbicides, pre m, bio stims, etc. basically anything that i have left over when im done in my yard goes down on it. Needless to say, its become a pretty nice patch of common Bermuda so i have a source for nice, healthy plugs which if i did the math right, ill need a little over 1,100 plugs to do my entire back yard.
> 
> Just curious if this would be easy enough to tackle. Any other suggestions on how to get the Bermuda in the back yard to take over the st aug quickly?


Sprig it? @Movingshrub has a great thread about his sprigging/stolonizing success. Not as easy as plugs for it requires a very diligent watering schedule but it fills in much quicker and doesn't leave a lot of leveling to be done. It's pretty much how every golf course does it. Their roughs, fairways, and even greens are all sprigged.

I'm currently experimenting with it myself as I did a reno on a flowerbed making it smaller leaving a big gap for the grass to fill in.


----------



## Movingshrub (Jun 12, 2017)

To OP, I'm happy to discuss broadcast stolonizing/sprigging with anyone. I've done three different iterations. It's significantly cheaper than sod, you don't have to deal with the seams of sod, it self levels as it grows in, and you don't have to physically install the sod. The downside is, you gotta stay on top of the water for about three or four weeks and it takes about eight weeks to have a full lawn.


----------



## Bermuda_Newbie (Jun 15, 2018)

Has anyone on here done a large sprigging experiment? I just had 2500sq of sod laid but I have another 3500 sq ft of bare dirt and I go back and forth on whether to plug or sprig with my existing sod.


----------



## Movingshrub (Jun 12, 2017)

Bermuda_Newbie said:


> Has anyone on here done a large sprigging experiment? I just had 2500sq of sod laid but I have another 3500 sq ft of bare dirt and I go back and forth on whether to plug or sprig with my existing sod.


See the post two posts above yours.


----------



## Bermuda_Newbie (Jun 15, 2018)

@Movingshrub in your opinion, is one easier than another? What are the pros and cons of the sprigging vs plugging. I see that you compare it to sod but I'm curious about them compared to each other. I have a verticutter which I can harvest sprigs with and a pro plugger. My only hesitation when it comes to sprigging is that I'd need to get some sand delivered to put on top of the sprigs whereas the pro plugger would require sand eventually. I'm interested in whatever fills in the fastest.


----------



## Movingshrub (Jun 12, 2017)

My opinion is that sprigging is faster with less work. @HungrySoutherner helped me by using his verticutter to harvest sprigs from my existing stand of bermuda, which I then transplanted to a different part of my lawn. I grew in 4k sqft. You don't have to use sand. You can opt for nothing at all for top dressing and roll it in with a sod roller or make shift cultipacker. Also, you could use compost in lieu of sand. It doesn't take much; 1/4th or an 1/8th of an inch. The downside is spreading it by hand without any kind of top dressing machine. The easiest way would be to spread the sprigs and then use a sod roller. However, using a cultipacker and/or topdressing significantly helps with promoting good soil to sprig contact.

Plugs just feel like SO much work to me. I recall doing the math to plug a 300 sqft area where I was going to need 170 plugs. That just didn't sound appealing.

This guys did a 300sqft area with plugs if you want to compare. 
https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=248903#p248903


----------



## Bermuda_Newbie (Jun 15, 2018)

So you think my roller on the back of my swardman would work for a makeshift sod roller?


----------



## Movingshrub (Jun 12, 2017)

Bermuda_Newbie said:


> So you think my roller on the back of my swardman would work for a makeshift sod roller?


I'm not familiar with the weight of the swardman, but I don't see why not. The objective is good sprig to soil contact.


----------



## erdons (Apr 3, 2018)

Bermuda_Newbie said:


> So you think my roller on the back of my swardman would work for a makeshift sod roller?


I recommend sprigging over plugging, much easier work. You can use your roller, that should work, I took a 4x4 piece of plywood and just stamped all the sprigs section by section then lightly top dressed with compost only so it could hold moisture.


----------



## DuncanMcDonuts (May 5, 2019)

Reading this thread has me reconsidering my current renovation project. I've spread 8 yards of chocolate loam over existing 1000 sq ft of Tifway 419 to regrade with another 4 yards put on hold due to rain. I was going to plug from other parts of my yard, but I'm thinking I'll lay sprigs and cover it with the rest of my chocolate loam, then roll over it with my greensmower.

I called my local Tiftuf supplier and they don't carry sprigs, but they do sell by the piece. I figure I could break up the pieces into sprigs after watering off the dirt. It's a bit more work and more expensive, but I'm not sure where else to get sprigs in my area.


----------



## cglarsen (Dec 28, 2018)

I plan to sprig 10k sf this year in a couple phases. Last year I laid sod and plugged like a crazy person and I don't want to do that again. I'll know by the end of the season how the three methods compare.

2k sf is easy whichever method you choose.


----------



## acegator (May 31, 2018)

How long did you wait after plugging to trim them up with the string trimmer? Thanks



Swampfox said:


> Southern Buckeye,
> I used a string trimmer and gave the plugs a haircut as needed to force lateral growth. Takes about a month or so for the plugs to get established. Once things were growing well, I used my push mower at the lowest setting and mowed as needed.


----------



## Kicker (Apr 5, 2018)

DuncanMcDonuts said:


> Reading this thread has me reconsidering my current renovation project. I've spread 8 yards of chocolate loam over existing 1000 sq ft of Tifway 419 to regrade with another 4 yards put on hold due to rain. I was going to plug from other parts of my yard, but I'm thinking I'll lay sprigs and cover it with the rest of my chocolate loam, then roll over it with my greensmower.
> 
> I called my local Tiftuf supplier and they don't carry sprigs, but they do sell by the piece. I figure I could break up the pieces into sprigs after watering off the dirt. It's a bit more work and more expensive, but I'm not sure where else to get sprigs in my area.


do you have access to a wood chiper? or can you rent a small sized one from either HD or another rental place?

I'm not sure anyone here has actually done it but there have been conversations about sending sod pieces through a wood chipper (dirt and all) to create sprigs.


----------



## Movingshrub (Jun 12, 2017)

Kicker said:


> do you have access to a wood chiper? or can you rent a small sized one from either HD or another rental place?
> 
> I'm not sure anyone here has actually done it but there have been conversations about sending sod pieces through a wood chipper (dirt and all) to create sprigs.


Absolutely been done; I've seen photographic evidence and talked to others that have used a chipper.


----------



## cglarsen (Dec 28, 2018)

Movingshrub said:


> Kicker said:
> 
> 
> > do you have access to a wood chiper? or can you rent a small sized one from either HD or another rental place?
> ...


How long are the sprigs produced this way though? I would think it cuts them shorter than pulling with a power rake.


----------



## DuncanMcDonuts (May 5, 2019)

Kicker said:


> do you have access to a wood chiper? or can you rent a small sized one from either HD or another rental place?
> 
> I'm not sure anyone here has actually done it but there have been conversations about sending sod pieces through a wood chipper (dirt and all) to create sprigs.


I don't, but I've been researching it. Some who have done it said the sprigs get torn up too small and don't grow as well. I'm contemplating running my Sunjoe verticutter over the pieces, or even turning the verticutter upside down and throwing the sod on there like how turning a circular saw upside down can convert to a table saw. We'll see how either of those bright ideas work. :mrgreen:


----------



## A to Zoysia (Apr 4, 2020)

Gilley11 said:


> When they're ready I'll be picking up about 1k plugs from @A to Zoysia to spread throughout my 2k sq ft front. Hoping to have it filled in pretty well by the end of next season.


It won't be long before I'll have plugs ready!


----------



## daganh62 (May 4, 2018)

Swampfox said:


> I covered 3500 sq ft last year with Tif Tuff plugs. Started with 100sq ft of Tif Tuff sod in May and had full coverage by October. Pushed it with a lot of water and weekly feedings of 46-0-0.


How much 46 0 0 were you putting down each week?


----------



## Swampfox (Jun 12, 2019)

I was using 46-0-0 at a rate of 1/2 lb N/k a week in the early stages and once things got growing well around the first week of July, 1 lb N /k a week. Hand watered dawn, noon, dusk...didn't measure...just soaked the plugs and runners. Nutsedge became and issue and I applied Sedgehammer.


----------



## daganh62 (May 4, 2018)

Swampfox said:


> I was using 46-0-0 at a rate of 1/2 lb N/k a week in the early stages and once things got growing well around the first week of July, 1 lb N /k a week. Hand watered dawn, noon, dusk...didn't measure...just soaked the plugs and runners. Nutsedge became and issue and I applied Sedgehammer.


Wow so at peak you were putting down 4 lb/k a month?


----------



## Swampfox (Jun 12, 2019)

Yes, in July, August and September. 
First Pic is August 3 and Second Pic is September 4. 
My soil is almost pure sand.


----------



## lucas287 (Jun 3, 2018)

Damn @Swampfox !! Urea for the win!


----------



## Swampfox (Jun 12, 2019)

SuperSod quoted me $3300 for 8 pallets of sod (enough to cover 4k sqft)and 4 pallets of their compost. They would not deliver without the compost because they had a 12 pallet minimum. I didn't want the compost. So I bought $70 bucks worth of sod from a SuperSod location in Raleigh, 4 bags of 46-0-0 from Site One. Could not tell you what my water bill was but not bad. Watered plugs by hand morning, noon, and night until they had grown enough to use a sprinkler. Kept the grass fed and well watered.


----------



## daganh62 (May 4, 2018)

Swampfox said:


> Yes, in July, August and September.
> First Pic is August 3 and Second Pic is September 4.


Wow! Thats impressive!


----------



## daganh62 (May 4, 2018)

Swampfox said:


> SuperSod quoted me $3300 for 8 pallets of sod (enough to cover 4k sqft)and 4 pallets of their compost. They would not deliver without the compost because they had a 12 pallet minimum. I didn't want the compost. So I bought $70 bucks worth of sod from a SuperSod location in Raleigh, 4 bags of 46-0-0 from Site One. Could not tell you what my water bill was but not bad. Watered plugs by hand morning, noon, and night until they had grown enough to use a sprinkler. Kept the grass fed and well watered.


A 12 pallet minimum that's robbery. Looks like you made the right call.


----------



## Gilley11 (Nov 3, 2019)

That's crazy because they'll delivery 1 bag of Soil^3. Maybe they don't do that there?


----------

