# Depth of dirt for centipede leveling



## mwemaxxowner (May 30, 2020)

I realize I was a little late getting it down, but I've just yesterday done some leveling on my centipede lawn. Since there is not much centipede activity here, based on some research I decided not to scalp it, as centipede really has a hard time dealing with being cut super low. I've been mowing it at 2.75" due to some low and high spots, and have found 2.75 is best right now to avoid scalping or cutting the high spots quite low.

As I worked it with my drag, I was judging when I got it low enough by when I started seeing some tips of the grass blades sticking through my leveling dirt.

I got to a point where that was happening, and also really liked how the level looked and flowed with the contours I have going on, so I stopped.

Upon inspection this morning, I'm seeing that some places the dirt is near 1" thick. A lot of it however is more like ½" which I've read should be my maximum.

After my lengthy explanation, my question is, do you folks think I can leave that and the centipede will break through, or will the 1" areas kill it? I have nice thick centipede under here which is growing well, requiring little effort on my part, and mostly keeping weeds away without chemicals. I'd hate to kill it, so if I need to I'll rake it out thinner by hand. We should still have a lot of warm weather left here in SC.











My drag is 8', which does a real nice job of bridging low areas and giving me a flat surface, but I also contributes to having the 1" of dirt I'm sure. I can put together one 3 feet wide or so and I think that would help, but if y'all say I need to get it down at this point I'll probably get in there and work it with my landscaping rake.

Many thanks!


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## Amoo316 (Jul 8, 2021)

I mean it's kind of a double edged sword right? At some point you know you're going to have to bring it up 1" in spots. I'm ASSuming you have a few 1" spots but most areas you mentioned you can see grass tops. Personally I think you should have cut it down to 2" before sanding, but you've already got the dirt down.

If you're happy with the level you have currently I'd personally let it ride. Yes you may have some spots die or take longer to fill in, but that's the nature of sanding in general. Personally I think you'll be fine. You may want to hit it with a heavy fert app if you haven't considering the limited amount of growing season we have left. One last push to get it through the sand as best as possible before it slows down for the year.

EDIT: Stick to the wider drag.


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## mwemaxxowner (May 30, 2020)

That's what I was hoping. Thanks!

I hesitate to push too much with fert, as late fertilizing with centipede results in centipede decline in the spring if you're not careful (dealt with that this spring after fertilizing too much last year.)

I do plan to fertilize it though. In fact, laying that down this afternoon.

I was waiting on the tractor to come in to tackle this project, and I already had the dirt as I anticipated getting the tractor sooner. I didn't want the dirt sitting all winter, which is how I got into this predicament, vs doing it before now or wait until spring.

If it would help I could rent a core aerator to help the grass below get air. All I currently own is a spike aerator (it was here before I bought the place).


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## Automate (Aug 14, 2020)

Do you have a lawn leveling rake? If the grass is 2.75 and you have at most 1" dirt, I would think you could get more of the grass showing. The problem is the grass is matted down by the dirt. The back and forth motion of a level rake can stand up the grass better than a drag.


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## Automate (Aug 14, 2020)

Also, that dirt looks similar to GA dirt with a good amount of clay. If it gets wet and then dries out, it will get very hard and the grass will have a hard time growing through it. So make sure to keep it wet and soft.


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## mwemaxxowner (May 30, 2020)

The soil is actually mostly sand. It gets downright powdery when it's dry. I do have a 3' landscaping rake, which is what I was talking about using if I need to thin this dirt down. I do have grass tips showing through most all of it.

I do plan to keep it wet, as long as everyone agrees I should.


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## mwemaxxowner (May 30, 2020)

It's supposed to rain tomorrow morning about 10. I think I'm going to try to let it dry as long as possible, then if it's nice and dry take my landscaping rake and rake around to see if I can expose more grass tips. Then I'm going to fertilize it, and throw the water to it to keep it wet. Chalk it up to a learning experience either way.

I like the level/slope that is currently set. If it doesn't make it guess I get to lay more sod next year! I didn't have a tractor when I did the sod, I got it ready the best I could with hand tools. Now I have a tractor, and a trailer that I can use to go get a few pallets of sod myself.


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## Amoo316 (Jul 8, 2021)

I really wouldn't be that worried about it. Centipede is surprisingly resilient if you have a dense undermat. Trust me I'm trying to selectively kill it right now, and it's been a pain. As long as you're seeing tips in most spots, grass will start popping up soon. Because you didn't cut lower though, it's going to take longer to get a good base of runners re-established.


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## mwemaxxowner (May 30, 2020)

I'm making some progress. I do think I'll end up with some bare patches, but at this point I feel more sure that it'll just be patches, and it'll be patches I can get to fill in next season. I also have about a 2-300 square foot area with good healthy sod that I have already decided I want to turn into a bed with a Japanese maple in the center. I'll hold off on stripping that and turning it into a bed and start harvesting plugs from that if I need to to help out next year. I'd like to avoid buying more sod, because I have a few other areas I didn't sod that are mostly Bermuda that I want to strip and lay sod on.


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## mwemaxxowner (May 30, 2020)

This was taken today.


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## revitup (Sep 19, 2020)

Good luck. I have a pretty nice centipede lawn here in the SC Grand Strand area. Any bare or thin spots take forever to fill in. It has no problem spreading into my garden or mulched beds but never wants to spread to where I want it. I have a small area I lost to large patch last season and I'm still waiting for that to fill in. To make it worse you can't push it with nitrogen of you could lose the whole thing to centipede decline. Hope you have a lot of patience!


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## GrassAndWater12 (Jan 5, 2019)

It looks great to me! I would definitely be happy with those results. I have centipede as well and I agree their are pros and cons of all types. I've had good success with plugging and sprigging to fill in bare spots.


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## mwemaxxowner (May 30, 2020)

Definitely pros and cons. I made the mistake of pushing it too hard with fertilizer last year, and saw the negative effects this spring at green up. After trying so hard last year, and having some of it struggle this spring, I was frustrated and decided to give up. I gave it a light application of milo shortly after green up, and aside from that have done nothing but water and mow, and only water when I absolutely have to. Lo and behold it has done great this year. I do hate how slow it is to repair itself but it's been better this year and has filled in spots that struggled last year.

I had decided to throw my hands up and try to encourage the Bermuda that around to take over, but this season has changed my mind. I like it, and I like the appearance personally when it's healthy.

I think I'll be able to use a plugger next year to pull some from my healthy patch that I want to remove and get this sanded part to finish filling in. Successive levels in years to come won't have to be nearly as aggressive.

I ran my spike aerator over this a few times since I did this and I think it has helped. I say that because I see grass popping up in patterns where the aerator tines would have been. Just fyi for anybody in the same situation. I also hit it with 10-10-10 on day one and a few days later miracle grow with their hose end feeder.


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## mwemaxxowner (May 30, 2020)

I think next spring when I start back on all this and I have some bare dirt still present, I want to take that opportunity to sew in some tifblair seed.

I know that centipede seed takes a while from seed, but in my head it seems like a good way to get good coverage on bare spots and ensure it eventually fills in nice and thick.

All that said, would I be better off to focus on transplanting stolons and plugs? Would those routes still be the same amount of time to reach a thick sod-like turf? I have several beds that make good sites to harvest stolons, and they occasionally grow onto the edge of the road or the driveway, because I wait too long to edge, and I've just bought a pro plugger.

Another reason I'm considering this is tifblairs supposed benefits over common centipede. It supposedly spreads more quickly, and centipede's slow spreading and repairing nature is probably my biggest gripe.

I am considering having tif seed on hand every time I do some sanding in the future and finish up by sowing some, as that's a good time to have loose dirt on hand to be able to rake it in a bit. It's hard to overseed a dense turf that's already established with centiseed and "rake it in" so it's covered by dirt (which I understand is the proper way to sow centipede).

I miss my fescue lawns where I can just sow some more seed if there is a problem, and have new grass in a jiffy! Fescue won't grow in this sand without a LOOOOOOOT of assistance.

Also, I had a little existing common Bermuda here that the centipede sod was doing a good job of keeping at bay. This process has given it the upper hand in this area for sure, a good bit of it is coming through. I'll have to crack down on it next season to help the centipede push it back. I probably needed to do that anyway, I had begun to just let them duke it out themselves.

So, side note, if anybody ever wants to push centipede out of Bermuda, just dump too much dirt on top of it and you'll probably be good to go &#129315;.


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## Amoo316 (Jul 8, 2021)

TifBlair is awesome. I spread 5 lbs every year we have been here.


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## mwemaxxowner (May 30, 2020)

You broadcast it into the existing grass and let it ride, or do you always cover it with ~¼" of dirt? I can aerate, then broadcast. I have a roller too but I don't feel like it does anything.


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## Amoo316 (Jul 8, 2021)

mwemaxxowner said:


> You broadcast it into the existing grass and let it ride, or do you always cover it with ~¼" of dirt? I can aerate, then broadcast. I have a roller too but I don't feel like it does anything.


I broadcast it into the grass and let it ride.


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## mwemaxxowner (May 30, 2020)

A lot of the progress I thought I was making is just goosegrass coming up. Now that it's maturing I can tell what it is. Oh well, if the centipede isn't going to come up I'll be thankful for some ground cover of some kind on this dirt through the fall and winter.







I'm a little unsure of where it came from, and confused that SO much of it popped up, but it doesn't matter. I don't see any out in my lawn. Some of the dirt came from an excavation project in the back yard. There may have been seeds in that, I'll go back there today and see if I see any goosegrass back there (I've never noticed it but I don't tend back there much. Just mow it.)


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## mwemaxxowner (May 30, 2020)

Amoo316 said:


> mwemaxxowner said:
> 
> 
> > You broadcast it into the existing grass and let it ride, or do you always cover it with ~¼" of dirt? I can aerate, then broadcast. I have a roller too but I don't feel like it does anything.
> ...


I know there are a lot of variables, but how quickly does it germinate and do you see it mature much in one season?


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## Amoo316 (Jul 8, 2021)

10-14 days, but you're helped out with the moisture due to the thickness of the centipede you're usually dropping it into. In the bare areas, you might need a little extra water, but I was always able to get away with 3 waterings a day without rain help.

Hard to tell the difference between new and what was there by the end of the season. That said if you drop tifblair into common it will grow at a faster rate.


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## mwemaxxowner (May 30, 2020)

Awesome. That sounds good!


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## mwemaxxowner (May 30, 2020)

All that progress I thought I was making was definitely just weeds. Mostly goosegrass. I found some in the back yard near where I excavated the dirt pile that some of this came from. No experience with it but that must be some voracious stuff! Also looks nice at first. Lol

So, now, I'm at an impasse. I had some pre-existing common Bermuda when I moved in here, and some pre-existing centipede. I personally prefer centipede so I put down centipede sod. That was before I knew just how Hardy Bermuda is. I have worked out a plan to push the Bermuda put of the centipede, but this is yet another reminder of how Bermuda may be better. The Bermuda is popping up in this leveled area as the goosegrass is. Some centipede too, of course, as well as some plugs I have pulled that are doing okay.

I've never been a fan of Bermuda (laid sod for several years and never liked the Bermuda) but I've also never seen Bermuda firsthand that was really tended to, cut short, and cultivated specifically. When I Google Bermuda lawns, even common Bermuda, on this site I see examples that I do think are attractive.

I like fescue. I grew up where fescue was the grass of choice. That makes it easy. Have problems? No big deal, sow more seed. Centipede isn't like that. It's so slow to repair. I think centipede looks the most like fescue of the cool season grasses.

Bermuda doesn't repair as easily as fescue but it's definitely not slow like centipede.

In the spring I'm sowing SOMETHING. I'm looking for opinions. Bermuda or centipede. I'm going to say 60% of what's here right now before this leveling project is centipede. Maybe 70%. Now, there's not that much Bermuda, but I see a sprig here or there anywhere I look. I doubt it would take much to cater to it and really cultivate it.

All that said, it's only common. I laid 15 pallets or so this past year, but sod is not an option for now. It'll be seed of some sort. Seed and try hard to encourage what's chosen to flourish.

I like centipede, but I think I could learn to like Bermuda. Especially cut low and thriving. I get really frustrated each time I have an issue with centipede knowing it's a long way away from a repair filling back in.

It seems like Bermuda just needs more fertilizer and more water, in all cases. &#129315; Centipede is tricky on giving it enough stuff but not too much. Bermuda won't be the cheapest option but that's not the scope of this discussion. Here in the sand land I have to water often which is probably the biggest expense anyway.

So, anyway, I get long winded. But now that I've explained all that, I'm looking for opinions. Pursue converting to *common* Bermuda over a few seasons, or stay the course with centipede?

I tend to be the type to do too much of a good thing. Fyi too much fert or water or whatever, which obviously Bermuda favors.

I have a tractor, and I am fully willing to continue leveling each year until it's adequate, and willing to look into a gang reel to go behind the tractor.

I understand that this is a long game either way.


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## revitup (Sep 19, 2020)

In the summer of 2018, as I was buying this house, the 8000 sq ft lawn was half bermuda, half centipede, divided front and back. The previous owner had just resodded the entire Bermuda back half because it was destroyed by army worms. By the time we moved in, they were at it again. I called in professionals to no avail. They destroyed it again. It was so strange to see the army worms 'march' right up to the bermuda/centipede line and stop. Dead brown bermuda right up to lush green centipede. I resodded the bermuda half with centipede without a second thought.


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