# Can I fix this big patch of dirt now or do I need to wait until spring?



## Skenny (Feb 4, 2019)

Central Florida.
St. Augustine grass.

This is my ongoing saga from June when I burned the heck out of my grass. Some of it has come back but I still have thsi terrible dirt patch in which nothing is growing. I am thinking I can go find some sod from Home Depot or whatever and lay it down but I dont have much experience with that. Here is what we are working with:



















I have finally managed to nuke all of the weeds that were growing crazy in that area and now am left with this patch of dirt.

So, where do I start? Just throw some sod down and hope for the best or what? Dig all of it out first and then do something and then sod? Give up let the dirt simply consume the whole backyard?


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## Gilley11 (Nov 3, 2019)

Did you ever try plugging it?


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## erdons (Apr 3, 2018)

Cold weather won't give you much growth, better off waiting for weather to warm up. Does that area get much sun during spring, summer?


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## Skenny (Feb 4, 2019)

I tried pluuged another part of the yard months ago. The plugs are alive and well but had 0 runners, 0 growth, and just sit there looking like plugs in the ground. I thought St. Augustine was supposed to grow like a weed, instead these just sit and do nothing.










The area in the first pictures on the first post gets enough sun in that before I totally wrecked everything with my fertilizer and drought burn of doom the lawn was full and lush. Trying to repair this one section in particular as it's right before you come onto the patio so it causes everyone to bring mud and dirt with them back in.


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## Kicker (Apr 5, 2018)

plugs are very slow to start spreading laterlally. You'd be better off pulling up stolons that haven't tacked down or have barely tacked down. Then using a screw driver or some other tool create a long channel in the bare spot the exact length of the stolon and then cover it back up with a few blades poking up. then water water water and fertilize.

with the small space you have it shouldn't take it long to fill in as long as there is adequate sun exposure and nutrients available.

looking back at your photos, these look like high traffic areas from either pets or people. IF that's the case then you're likely to never have grass grow in those areas.


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## Skenny (Feb 4, 2019)

So I can just try to find some runners and I just cut them? I have some of those in the front I can try this with. It should just grow on its own if planted right?


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## Skenny (Feb 4, 2019)

So one more thing I am noticing now as I am looking out the window as some super thunderstorm is currently rolling through...










The drainage, or lack thereof perfectly matches with the big old pile of dirt I have. At the bottom right of that picture is the end of a gutter downspout from the roof. It fills up during storms but goes away within minutes of the rain being over.

I should figure out how to fix that drainage issue but i am not sure where to put the water.


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## Kicker (Apr 5, 2018)

Skenny said:


> So I can just try to find some runners and I just cut them? I have some of those in the front I can try this with. It should just grow on its own if planted right?


yes, I'd try to get some roots up with the runners if possible. the good thing about st augustine is it'll create new roots at the nodes along the runners if soil contact is good.

Just dig a little trench/slit in the bare dirt the same length as the runner/stolon, put the stolon in it and cover it back up amking sureas many of the leafs/blades of grass are poking through the dirt as possible.


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## erdons (Apr 3, 2018)

As I said before wait for warm weather and that will be your best shot at getting grass to grow there. You'll be fighting a losing battle until things warm up.


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## Skenny (Feb 4, 2019)

Any ideas on what to do about that flooding?


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## RDZed (Jul 13, 2018)

Either build up the soil or add a small drop inlet and slope the drain tile away from the house somewhere.

Looking at where your door threshold is and the busted grade around it, the latter would be best.


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## Skenny (Feb 4, 2019)

What is a drop inlet?


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## RDZed (Jul 13, 2018)

Skenny said:


> What is a drop inlet?


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## Skenny (Feb 4, 2019)

Hm. What if I don't have any kind of outlet point? I don't know where I would run the water.


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## RDZed (Jul 13, 2018)

Call in a Civil Engineer and have him design something for you. Other than that, there is no magical fix. You either raise the grade and divert or lower the grade, collect via a DI and divert.


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## Skenny (Feb 4, 2019)

For raising the grade, do I just buy dirt from Home Depot or something?

Can the grass survive with the occasional flood or do I need to fix all of that before even attempting to plant the runners or new sod?


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## RDZed (Jul 13, 2018)

The problem with raising the current grade is your current grade is already at the level of the threshhold and sill of whatever space is next to the grade. You raise the grade and you push all that water into that space. Raising the grade wont make the water disappear, it will slow its speed and disperse it elsewhere unless you have something to catch it, a DI.

You can use whatever soil you can buy/find. Dont be surprised if that soil ends up entering that doorway though. Water ALWAYS wins.

Good Luck.


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## Gilley11 (Nov 3, 2019)

Is the water mainly coming from a downspout? If so, have your gutters reworked and relocate the downspout or maybe you can just extend it.


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## Skenny (Feb 4, 2019)

Yup, a single downspout diverting a ton of rain away from the pool area. I was thinking as as temporary fix I might just turn it to the left of that picture, put in one of those real long PVC pipes with holes in them, and see if I can get the water more evenly spread across the whole back yard. It could run along the side of the whole house and the water could go everywhere instead of just one spot.


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## Gilley11 (Nov 3, 2019)

BOOM &#128165;


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## FranksATX (May 7, 2018)

https://www.appledrains.com/florida/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bB9y29Wz4rU

DIY if you can or call a pro. Its not terribly hard to do.


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## Skenny (Feb 4, 2019)

Okay so back to the grass. I tried to bury a few of the St. Aug strands in the area. Some regular rain had them pop out so I put them back in again. Is it worth trying sod in a few of the less flood areas to see if it will take?

With the plug picture that I posted, why would they never even shoot out a single runner? The plug pic is in an almost zero traffic area and they have been there for months. They refuse to even expand an inch.


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## erdons (Apr 3, 2018)

Not gonna happen unless you get some consistent temps over 80 degrees.


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