# Plugging into hard clay - advice



## cglarsen (Dec 28, 2018)

I've not been overly impressed with my Tiftuf plugs so my buddy who is a soil scientist came over and looked at my baked clay and said that was the problem - it needs to be amended with calcium sulfate or organic matter. He suggested at least putting straw down to hold some moisiture and provide OM.

I thought bermuda would tack into concrete but is he right? Would putting down some compost/sand loam mix speed up their establishment? I can't incorportate at this point but I can lay down a yard per 1000sf if necessary. I aerated and ripped the soil just over a month ago and it has compacted right back down.

Nitrogen is not limiting, I'm spraying foliar and granular regularly.

Clay hardpan


4 week plugs zoomed out


4 week plugs zoomed in


3 week plugs


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Don't throw calcium sulfate without a soil test. It could make things worst.

To me the soil needs water. Bermuda should spread, but that is too dry. You can place some peat moss on top to help retain moisture, but it needs a more water. What is your current irrigation strategy?


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## ktgrok (May 25, 2019)

agreed it looks too dry...if it is dry enough to crack it is too dry for the grass right now. Established grass can go deep for water but when you are looking at little runners trying to spread their roots are going to be shallow.


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## cglarsen (Dec 28, 2018)

g-man said:


> Don't throw calcium sulfate without a soil test. It could make things worst.
> 
> To me the soil needs water. Bermuda should spread, but that is too dry. You can place some peat moss on top to help retain moisture, but it needs a more water. What is your current irrigation strategy?





ktgrok said:


> agreed it looks too dry...if it is dry enough to crack it is too dry for the grass right now. Established grass can go deep for water but when you are looking at little runners trying to spread their roots are going to be shallow.


I water about every other day enough to give the plugs some moisture. About 1/4" or so. It has been 90s and hot for quite a while. This soil is either wet or dry, theres no in between at least on the surface. So, throw down some thing to hold moisture and irrigate more often?


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

I don't know much about Bermuda, but I think you want it constantly moist. That will be daily irrigation and maybe 3 times a day at low quantity.

I think @Movingshrub did a Bermuda plug last year. Maybe he can help with the frequency.

Like ktgrok said, the soil should not crack.


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## Movingshrub (Jun 12, 2017)

I haven't done plugging large scale. I've done sprigging. I do have Tiftuf, and plugged some small high traffic areas for repair. For those areas, I basically drench the plugs with water once a day or every other day to simulate rain. My mindset is, there are roots so I don't need to apply regular doses of water like I would seeds or sprigs.


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## Jgolf67 (Apr 27, 2018)

Water is your biggest issue. I have yet to see soil hard enough to deter Bermuda growth/ spread and we have high clay content soils in Oklahoma. Sure aerating helps and it's never a bad thing. Looser soil is easier for the roots to spread but It's a minimal return in the investment. The big ROI items are water and fertilizer. If you aerate and don't keep up with watering it could actually dry your soil out even more.


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## cglarsen (Dec 28, 2018)

@Movingshrub That was my thought as well on water frequency but I have not been drenching it like you did. I'll try that.

@Jgolf67 Thanks for that explanation. I'll crank up the water schedule. My new rain train is set to arrive today actually which will help me get more water down efficiently and evenly.


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## krusej23 (May 8, 2018)

You could use a dethatcher or an aerator that doesn't pull plugs but just cuts lines in the surface to rough up the top .25" of soil and then lay some peat moss on top. You wouldn't even need to lay peat moss on top because I think if you were to just break that surface open, it would soak up water much better.


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## Crimson2v (Jun 25, 2017)

I used a garden weasel to break up my clay when I did my transfer plugs. They took off and the areas I plugged look way better than the areas I seeded from last summer.


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## cglarsen (Dec 28, 2018)

Crimson2v said:


> I used a garden weasel to break up my clay when I did my transfer plugs. They took off and the areas I plugged look way better than the areas I seeded from last summer.


Good call. I started doing this as well as topdressing with a sandy loam / compost mix. I just need to keep some moisture on it now.


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