Re-Starting St. Augustine

[joetopper]

The fungus and drought of last year has left me with a rather large area of dead grass. Rather than re-sodding, I am considering plugging the area. What size plugs should be used and at what distance between plugs?

[LovetoLearn]

I realize this forum is pretty slow but I will throw my two cents in here.

First, I would suggest that you try and make sure of what the cause was whether it be fungal or grubs, etc.

Then try and correct or start correcting the problem with the recommended treatments.

Most of the plugs that I have seen are about 2"x2" but I am sure you get any size grass and cut it into the size plugs that you want.

It depends on how quickly that you want to fill the bare spots. As far as here on the gulf coast, grass grows pretty darn quickly, so many people seperate the plugs by a foot or more.

[Health Helper]

Yes, make sure you do something to improve your soil health before resodding.

We bought St. Augustine sod from a little store on the east side of Plano a couple year ago, cut each piece into 8'ths (so we had pieces about 6" x 8") and placed them on a 2' grid. We dug a little hole for each to fit in the existing bermuda/bare soil ground so their dirt sides were not exposed and so it would be a smooth surface when it filled in. It only took a month or two to completely fill in, but we started on healthy soil that had been maintained organically for over 10 years. Good luck!

[Dchall_San_Antonio]

Agreed. If you don't correct the problem all the new sod will die immediately. Apply corn meal at 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet over the entire yard and give it 21 days to work. Then resod/plug.