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| Greetings all! I'm having landscapers prep and install about 1200 sqft of Tifgrand. They've just been out and sprayed the Fescue/Weeds mix (that I've been battling with for years) and will be back in 7 days to till, rake, and install. The company comes recommended from the local super-sod and seem to know what they are doing. I'm really just concerned about getting the watering, fertilizing and mowing right. I don't have automatic irrigation so I'm nervous and want to fully prepared and dialed in once the sod goes in. I'm also looking at ordering a Mascot reel mower. I've looked texas-weed's bermuda bible which is awesome, I'm just wondering what changes need to be made for a new sod install. Thanks so much for any help/advice you can offer! |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| I just put in a pallet (500 sq.ft.) last Wednesday. I received great advice on this forum. One thing, I was not watering enough. Give it plenty of water. If you scroll down to my post titled "separated seams in Tifgrand" you'll get alot of good info. I'm sure there will be great advice coming to your post. |
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- Posted by Homechicken 7b/metro-Atlanta (My Page) on Wed, Aug 10, 11 at 13:34
| I can't offer any advice because I'm in the same boat as you. Tired of battling a mix of many grasses and weeds in my yard. Unlike you however, I have to wait until next spring. I just forked out a bunch of money to have a new roof put on and can't afford the lawn renovation just yet. I'm thinking about TifGrand also, so I'm eagerly watching all the threads on this forum that relate to TifGrand. |
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| Yeah, hdog your thread was what motivated me to post! I'm really anxious about getting it right this time as I've had many highs and lows with this yard and it's my first proper home. I really don't want to/can't keep throwing money at it (other than the required amounts for keeping it growing of course) |
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- Posted by Texas_Tifway 8 East Texas (My Page) on Wed, Aug 10, 11 at 23:01
| caseyc3, You will love your new grass. I had 20,000 sqft installed in late May and i can tell you the most important thing is WATER, WATER, WATER I can't emphasize that enough. Water it 2-3 times a day and make sure the water gets the soil under the grass good and wet for about 2-3 weeks. Just follow what texas-weeds says and you will turn out fine. As far as fertilizing I talked to my neighbor which is a superintinendent at a golf course and I talked to him about putting down pre emergent for next year and he said the pre emergent can weaken the root system on new sod and that I should wait 1 year before I apply any. Maybe someone can clear this up for me. |
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| Yes, I am watering every 3 hours starting at 6:30am for 10mins. each time. I read TW's Bermuda Bible and also, his recommendations on this forum. So far, so good. It's been 8 days now, and I'm ready to put down some fertilizer in the next week or so. I did a light mowing yesterday. |
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| If it is hot you may need to water six times a day. And most folks here will say do NOT till. You will have a bumpy lawn in no time. |
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- Posted by texas-weed 7A (My Page) on Thu, Aug 11, 11 at 16:37
| Water is the key to get it going, but tilling makes me cringe and is not needed. Do you know how they will til> Will they use a tractor or walk behind tiller? Better method is to use a tractor and box blade to regrade the area, and then rolled. If they are using a tractor to till, that is OK, but walk behind I would pass. That will keep you busy for the next few years resolving bumpy surface and scalping. |
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| Thanks everyone, you guys rock. I believe he said he uses something like a bobcat for the tilling and that they will rake and grade where needed for drainage. A little lawn history... Last fall I had another company remove and till the remnants of the builder's sod fescue, which lasted for a few years but always got really stressed, due in large part to my bad/lack of watering practices. I believe they used a walk behind tiller and you're right t-w, I was definitely not happy with the bumpy result. I had them seed and straw a mix of fescue/kbg/prg which came in nicely but never seemed to grow very much. My plan was to get something down for the meantime until I could put Bermuda down, which I'm doing now (better late than never I guess) Now, the soil on the top 2" is very dry and sandy (turns to dust when you knead it in your hand) with lots of tiny granite looking rocks and below that is a moist clay like soil. The landscaper said it's not bad but super low PH so he will lime (which he said he doesn't usually do). Most of the grass and weeds are brown since he sprayed, he said he uses two types Diquat (sp?) and RoundUp. So I was thinking this weekend I would mow on lowest setting and bag it all up, he said I didn't have to worry about it and they would till it in, but I feel uneasy about that... Sorry for the long post, one more question on watering... should I do it in the first half of the day or do a watering or two in the afternoon as well? Thanks everyone, really appreciate the advice! Here's part of the lawn in it's current state...
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- Posted by Texas_Tifway 8 East Texas (My Page) on Fri, Aug 12, 11 at 2:24
| I would water morning, afternoon, and evening the more the marrier. You might need to water longer than 10mins because depending on what sprinkler you are using it may not be putting down enough water. Its not about how long you water its how much you water, you absolutly must get the soil wet under the sod to get the roots to go after the water. Water is the key |
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| Do you have significant shade issues to warrant using TifGrand? If not I would use 419. I put down 500 sq. ft. of TifGrand a few months ago where I had shade. It is struggling even with irrigation and fert. I couldn't begin to use my Mascot in that area. It is way too bumpy now. OTOH my 419 continues to look fantastic. If you don't have shade, I would definitely go with 419, and here it is half the price of TG. |
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