Soil Preparation for St Augustine Sod
Let’s face it; soil preparation is the most important step in building a good lawn. Good soil makes healthy, deep rooted lawns that need less water. Soil is the foundation that is laid for building your dream lawn from the ground up.
For the sake of this article, you have decided to go with laying St Augustine sod because it provides an instant lawn, most often weed free, and it’s great for slopes where seed washes away.
The first step to take is get your soil tested. This will take the guess work out of preparation. You can contact your local extension office to find out about getting your soil tested professionally. Professional soil testing is the recommended route to take and usually only costs a minimal fee.
Rough Graded Site
Soil consists of four basic ingredients: minerals, organic matter, water and air. Our goal is to achieve a good balance of these ingredients and produce what is called a healthy loam in our soil. The testing phase will help us achieve this result.
The next step is to rough grade your site. During this phase you need to remove unwanted debris such as stones and wood. Keep in mind the level that you desire your lawn to be while rough grading. Soil should be higher at the base of your house foundation and gradually slope down away from the house for proper drainage.
The next step is to add amendments to your soil based upon the test results you received. This is really where you save time, money and create less work for future lawn care.
St Augustine grass is sensitive to iron deficiency and readily develops chlorotic symptoms in alkaline or iron deficient soils. This deficiency can be corrected with foliar applications, iron sulfate or iron chelate.
Newly planted St Augustine sod will respond to phosphorous fertilizers in terms of an increased rate of spread. Potassium has been shown to increase root growth, cold tolerance and drought tolerance in St Augustine grass.
So long as fertility and drainage are adequate, St Augustine grass tolerates a wide range of soil types. St Augustine grass grows satisfactorily at a pH range from 5.0 to 8.5, but develops a chlorotic appearance in highly alkaline soils (above pH 7.5). It does not tolerate compacted or waterlogged soil conditions.
The next step is to cultivate your soil. It’s important that you cultivate the soil deep and develop soil that has desired drainage properties. It is recommended that you cultivate a depth of 6 to 12 inches.
St. Augustine grass is highly tolerant of soil salinity, producing satisfactory growth at salt levels as high as 16 mmhos. This means it’s a great grass for coastal lawns.
If you are planning on installing any sort of underground irrigation system, a great time to complete this step would be after the cultivation of your soil.
Final Grading
Final Grading
Final grading is the last step before planting. Rake the area and make sure it is free of rocks and leveled out as much as possible. You should aim for a smooth surface to lay the sod. Sod requires the final grade to be lower than a seeded lawn so that the sod will fit flush with sprinklers and sidewalks.
Because St. Augustine grass is sensitive to the cold, it is imperative that installation – when the sod needs to catch on to your soil – not take place when temperatures risk getting low. Now, plant your grass!
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I have Bermuda grass in my yard. My neighbor has failed to take care of their yard and now I’m facing the issue of either crabgrass or Dallas grass in my yard. I’ve tried pulling it up but to no avail. I thinking about cutting the grass down to the bare minimal and planting St. Augustine. Can I plant over the Bermuda with tilling it all up.
Mike,
It depends on whether or not you mind Bermuda grass sneaking back in to mix with the new St. Augustine. If you just till the Bermuda up, then it will inevitably come back.
If you don’t want anymore Bermuda, then I recommend getting rid of it now because it’s nearly impossible after you have your new grass established. You could try a selective herbicide such as Ornamec to kill the grass or nuke the area several times with Round Up.
Make sure you do proper soil preparation before you lay the sod as it will make it much easier to get it established.
why does my st augustine grass thin out long after i’ve sodded,i water and have tru green lawn care?
Wes,
Make sure your sod is getting plenty of water while it gets established. Sometimes grass thins out if it’s in heavy shade or near another tree/plant which competes for the water/root space.
I have St. Augustine on my yard. I have sprayed insect killer for chinch bugs that seem to have cause dead spots in my lawn. How long do i wait before resodding? Should i apply a slow release fertilizer before or after resodding? Being in the month of August in Texas, what other factors should be taken into consideration? Thank you.
imee,
You could lay the sod in August, but I would recommend waiting a little bit – at least until the drought has broken. For more information about the details of sodding please check out our other article – How to install sod. Good luck!
Is topsoil required before I lay my St Augustine sod? San Antonio Texas
Chris,
It’s recommended to put a good topsoil base down before laying sod on top. Good luck!