Last year, I took about half a dozen sprigs from the overgrown edges of my neighbor's yard and just stuck them in the ground in my back yard. I watered them every day for about a week and they took root. Then weeds took over this spring and I assumed it was all gone. But now the rain has resurrected it. I've got about 4 patches that are 1-3 feet in diameter.

We were planning to resod after installing an irrigation system. But now I'm thinking that the St. Aug will eventually take over and cover the lawn if I can just keep the weeds at bay. My wife says it will never work.

What do the experts say? It's about 1600 square feet of lawn and those patches are all I have. Of course, I can plant more scraps from the edges, too.

My backyard is about that size. I started with just under half of it in St Aug. I bought this neat grass plugging tool from Lowes, it cuts a 2" square plug of sod. I used it for the better part of last fall and this spring and I just about have the yard filled with the grass now. The abundant rain we've had really helped, otherwise my water bill would have been high.

Another thing to consider is bringing in compost for the yard. I spread cottonburr compost over the entire area in late winter-early spring and it seemed to speed the grass coverage. I saved some back and have been putting it on other bare spots around the 3 acres I have. Grass just seems to be drawn to it and covers the spots quickly when I put it down.

With adequate sunlight, fertilization & water (when the rain stops), ST. Augustine will choke out most weeds. Keep it mowed high.