Sunday, May 01, 2011

Snake In The Grass

And not just any grass--this is Raliegh St. Augustine, the finest grass known to man.

This is the second checkered garter snake I have caught this Spring. Compared their markings, and it's clearly a different individual of the same size, so they are possible litter-mates.

Getting back to the grass...dude...I finally understand why Hank Hill got all emotional over his Raliegh St. Augustine lawn.
I have around 25 square feet ($1.59/12x18" sod) next to the front porch and it blows our regular St. Augustine all to hell.
THICK carpets of grass with wider blades that lean towards the blue end of the green spectrum rather than the yellow--just beautiful stuff!
Even the saddest 2 pieces of sod that I bought a week later, from the bottom of the pallet at Home Depot, have come back to life nicely and are already impressive.

If we ever win the Lottery, you can bet your ass a crew would be here within days to re-do the whole lawn with Raliegh.
Grass so good, it's endorsed by Luann Platter®

2 comments:

Dave said...

We haven't figured out our sod situation yet. Too much space to sod the entire lot unless when you win the lottery you'll send your crew to my place next. I was sort of shying away from St Augustine variants becasue they allegedly need to much water.

Thoughts?

Keith Alan K said...

I've seen others cut their St. Augustine sods into smaller pieces, then set them out in a checkerboard pattern. Eventually they fill-in the gaps on their own, given enough care (water).
You end up paying half as much as you originally thought.
I have done this in a small area and it worked well enough.
Personally, I would go with full sod around the borders so all edges are nice and crisp, then half-sod the interior.

I've never heard that St. Audustine was any more thirsty than the turf types, and I think it survives drought better. But it would be best to consult a local expert in your area. Soil type, rainfall averages, local pests, etc are all things that you'll want to know.