# Patchy St. Aug lawn: Plug or not plug?



## WBrown999 (Apr 3, 2018)

Hey y'all. I have said it in a few posts already, but I am in the process of salvaging a very patchy St. Augustine lawn in my front yard. Already had it aerated to break up compacted soil. However, several of the grass patches are pretty big, but not really big enough for sod patches. Plus, I don't want uneven grading that incomplete sodding could bring.

Would it be smart to harvest some plugs from the back yard and plant in the patchy areas of the front yard? Is this even a viable option? Thanks everyone.

EDIT: Images added to OP.


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

Plug it and then treat the plugged areas as a grow in where my cautions about fertilizing heavily are not applicable. Entire lawns used to be established by plugs in my state when sod was not available in significant quantities.


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## WBrown999 (Apr 3, 2018)

Greendoc said:


> Entire lawns used to be established by plugs in my state when sod was not available in significant quantities.


That's actually really cool! I cannot find any St. Aug seed anywhere... any idea where to source quality plugs? None of the local sod producers carry plugs.


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

Almost all sod producers do not carry plugs. You make them yourself. A plug is nothing more than a 11/2-2" square of grass cut out from a sheet of sod. One of the best cutting tools is a scallop edge bread knife. Flip the sheet root side up and cut your squares out of that.


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## Spammage (Apr 30, 2017)

WBrown999 said:


> Greendoc said:
> 
> 
> > Entire lawns used to be established by plugs in my state when sod was not available in significant quantities.
> ...


St Augustine cannot be grown from seed. Bethel Farms sells a few varieties of plugs, but they are pricey. I would suggest that your local Home Depot or Lowe's probably sells St Augustine sod by the piece on weekends, so pick up what you need and create your own plugs.


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

Spammage said:


> WBrown999 said:
> 
> 
> > Greendoc said:
> ...


That is the other way I have seen entire lawns planted. A few pieces at a time until the entire yard is done. That is for the people that cannot take off time from work and/or do not have the money to have the entire lawn planted. With the price of real estate here, a $750,000 mortgage means you have very little left over for the lawn.


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## WBrown999 (Apr 3, 2018)

Just got back from Home Depot and Lowe's... all the good sod had been picked over and only the broken, brown, dead stuff was left.

HOWEVER! Because of the advice y'all gave me, I looked up some local sod farms that carry some nice Raleigh and Palmetto CHEAPER than the generic St. Aug crap I saw today. I will swing by tomorrow and get some.


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## Spammage (Apr 30, 2017)

:thumbup:


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

Honestly as cheap as sod is, if you're going to dig holes in the dirt for plugs you may as well dig a little bigger and put down whole pieces of sod.

St aug spreads so quick anyway!


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## WBrown999 (Apr 3, 2018)

SCGrassMan said:


> Honestly as cheap as sod is, if you're going to dig holes in the dirt for plugs you may as well dig a little bigger and put down whole pieces of sod.
> 
> St aug spreads so quick anyway!


About how far should I dig out if I am going to lay sod pieces? If there an optimal depth, or just line it up with the existing grading?


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

I'm no expert but I'd say like it up with the existing. Better a little low than a little high as it grows tall and you can add sand, but you don't want the mower grabbing the edges. Water the crap out of it and roll it with a lawn roller if you can get one.


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## WBrown999 (Apr 3, 2018)

SCGrassMan said:


> ...roll it with a lawn roller if you can get one.


Is this still applicable for St. Aug? I know it isn't nearly as resilient to traffic as Bermuda. I won't damage it by rolling?


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

@WBrown999 I think of traffic as repeated foot traffic over the same areas constantly. The roller is to stick the roots and dirt down to the soil underneath and help flatten things. I don't think there would be any reason you'd want to skip that step. And others can chime in here, but I personally like to do a light dose of starter fertilizer when I put sod down since Iran probably traumatized from being cut and moved.


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## Spammage (Apr 30, 2017)

When I've done this in the past, I will place the piece where wanted (cut first if making plugs or cutting sod in half, etc), trace them in the soil with a shovel, then remove soil to the depth of the sod soil, level if needed with a top soil/sand mix, wet the hole, apply a light dusting of peat moss, place the piece and walk/stomp on it for good measure. This is obviously more labor intensive than just dropping the pieces on to the soil surface, but you can end up with a bumpy mess if done that way.

If you are doing a large continuous area like a full or half pallet even, then a roller might be a good idea. The peat isn't necessary, but is cheap and does help to retain moisture where needed for the roots.


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

+1


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## WBrown999 (Apr 3, 2018)

Spammage said:


> When I've done this in the past, I will place the piece where wanted (cut first if making plugs or cutting sod in half, etc), trace them in the soil with a shovel, then remove soil to the depth of the sod soil, level if needed with a top soil/sand mix, wet the hole, apply a light dusting of peat moss, place the piece and walk/stomp on it for good measure. This is obviously more labor intensive than just dropping the pieces on to the soil surface, but you can end up with a bumpy mess if done that way.
> 
> If you are doing a large continuous area like a full or half pallet even, then a roller might be a good idea. The peat isn't necessary, but is cheap and does help to retain moisture where needed for the roots.


This is wonderful advice, thank you. This will have to be my project for the week. Will try to remember to take some pictures!


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## WBrown999 (Apr 3, 2018)

Adding some pictures of the lawn to help with visualization. You can see some tiny little stolons near the tree starting to run into the dirt.


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## Bunnysarefat (May 4, 2017)

Your yard looks good as far as sunlight and your tree canopies pulled up. You'll have a great looking lawn in no time with some time and attention.


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## Bunnysarefat (May 4, 2017)

Not sure exactly where the Bermuda is residing in the yard, but as your trees grow larger the Bermuda will be unable to survive and will only exist in areas that get 10-2 direct sun.


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## WBrown999 (Apr 3, 2018)

Bunnysarefat said:


> Not sure exactly where the Bermuda is residing in the yard, but as your trees grow larger the Bermuda will be unable to survive and will only exist in areas that get 10-2 direct sun.


Bermuda is in the back yard. Glad I got the canopies raised on the trees - way more light now.


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## c0mical (Apr 8, 2018)

WBrown999 said:


> Bermuda is in the back yard. Glad I got the canopies raised on the trees - way more light now.


I had to have my trees trimmed in the front as well. Mine are, however, MUCH bigger than yours. :?


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## WBrown999 (Apr 3, 2018)

c0mical said:


> WBrown999 said:
> 
> 
> > Bermuda is in the back yard. Glad I got the canopies raised on the trees - way more light now.
> ...


Mine aren't huge, but they were way overgrown when we got the house. Couldn't even walk in the yard without ducking. I am glad they were trimmed properly.


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## WBrown999 (Apr 3, 2018)

East side of the lawn is starting to develop some nice color and thickness, especially in comparison to my neighbor's lawn.


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