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You may want to look through these. The trend, and recommendation, now is to landscape with natives, which may not necessarily be grass.
Even better, plant edibles that are suited to the area. I decided a few years ago, if I was going to invest all that time and money in my yard, it needed to pay me back in something better than looks. Over half my yard is now strawberries, thornless blackberries, blueberries, figs, mulberries, and grape vines. They look good, taste great, and require probably less than a quarter as much maintenance as my existing lawn.
I'm going to be planting some goji berries in some shadier spots this fall, loquats and Pindo palms in the sunnier areas. If I can't eat it, I don't plant it.
I hadn't heard about Ground Pearl, though I don't doubt it, but I grew up with Centipede and St Aug and like them both. I played outside barefoot all summer. I prefer a broad bladed grass to a narrow blade. Never liked Zoysia or Bermuda. Neither one of them felt as soft on my bare feet in the summer. They were too prickly. It's all what you're used to I guess.
This is what I like about CD. I try to be smart, and funny at times, and usually fall short on both counts as is often pointed out. Then the really smart and funny people come along and I learn something.
Status:
"48 years in MD, 18 in NC"
(set 23 days ago)
Location: Greenville, NC
2,309 posts, read 6,111,036 times
Reputation: 1430
Quote:
Originally Posted by ajbergman
I wouldn't dare to walk on my "grass" barefoot, or let out daughter play on it. It grows at a rate beyond belief.
We are from Ohio and remember grass being soft and something that could be laid on and enjoyed. Are we not able to get this type of yard here?
It sounds like you have a lot of Bahia. The seed stems grow really fast and can easily be 12" tall in a week.
I have no experience with St Augustine grass but if it's anything like Centipede, I wouldn't bother trying to get a decent lawn out of it. The problem with Centipede is it requires a lot of water to get a decent yard. If you have one of those years where it doesn't rain much (like this year), Centipede will decline and generally look nasty (I hate brown grass) and be replaced by weeds or Bahia.
Fortunately there is a type of grass that does well here and you probably saw some of it in Ohio. It's called Bermuda. Common Bermuda spreads fast and is drought tolerant. It is soft underfoot and doesn't grow vertically like Bahia. In Ohio you probably knew it as Wire Grass. It is invasive and will spread into landscaping. Fortunately there is a herbicide that targets Bermuda but won't injure ornamentals like Indian Hawthorn or Azalea. It's called Gordon's Ornamec Over The Top. I have used it and it works well.
It is too late in the year to get any Southern grass established. Southern grasses are best seeded in the early Spring before the heat sets in for the Summer. Late March or very early April is a good time to seed Bermuda.
What you can do now is start getting rid of what is in your yard now. Your biggest issue is getting the Bahia killed. I use Image from AMBRANDS. It can be found at places like Lowes and The Home Depot. Follow the directions on the bottle. It is very easy to use. You just screw the bottle onto a garden hose and water your grass. Do 2 applications, 2 to 3 weeks apart.
Thank you everyone for so many replies! It sounds like planting a Bermuda is going to be the route to go.
When we move into our new home in October, it'll be too late in the season to plant any seed right?
Here is what we plan on doing from what I've gathered reading the post on this thread. To obtain a barefoot friendly, green yard, stay away from centipede grass, which seems to be a local standard. Sod vs Seed is a convenience and time thing, however, only centipede sod is available, so that means I'll need to elect to save some money and learn to be patient.
When we move, I am going to have a few large loads of top soil dumped and rack it, keeping grade with the drive and walk ways. Plant a Bermuda grass seed and make watering it my new religion.
Next step, start a nice compost pile in the back of the property and spread compost every fall.
Treat with a proper fertilizer and insecticide.
Here's the question:
The best time to plant seed here is spring...However, the new place will be finished in October. So, that means that it'll be not so awesome sandy soil until grass will grow, since grass will not be very inclined to grow, I am going to have a yard that will want to erode when it rains. Is there any solution to this? Should I plant seed this fall or wait until spring?
You're in North Carolina? I'd seed it then, you may just get a growth started. You might want to throw down straw (not hay) to help the erosion problem.
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