I am using St. Augustine grass for my lawn. The bare soil in the lawn looks terrible, and people want to fill the depressions to make the lawn grass even and attractive.
How to Make St. Augustine Grass Plugs? You can make St. Augustine grass plugs by cutting the pieces from sod or making the plugs from existing St. Augustine grass lawns from areas where thicker grass is present. Planting the plugs can repair the bare soil or eroded areas, is more budget-friendly, and is a better option when no seed and ready-made plugs are available.
You can quickly fix these landscaping issues using different techniques and fertilizers to spread and grow the grass again in the holes. Planting plugs is one of the cheapest and easiest methods to solve this problem, and gardeners frequently use this technique to make the lawn surface even and regular.
How can you make St. Augustine grass plugs?
St. Augustine grass is a thick textured and quickly grown grass type, and people prefer to plant it in their lawns and yards, as it can withstand heavy traffic and changing weather conditions if appropriately maintained.
You can make plugs using sod, which is the soil surface covered by grass, and soil and grass are held together in the form of a carpet.
Professional gardeners recommend cutting the required pieces of plugs from sod and making your own plugs if you do not find them separately from the plant nursery.
Select the St. Augustine sod grass from a nearby shop and cut the pieces according to the holes you dig in the lawn soil to plant these.
You can also make these from the grass in your garden and plant them in plain or bare areas using gardening tools.
It is better to make the plugs from the thick grassy areas or the hidden location in the yard so that the grass in the garden or yard does not look uneven or unpleasant.
You can consult a professional gardener if you do not know about making the plugs and planting them accurately in the garden.
Why would you make St. Augustine grass plugs?
Making plugs to fill the holes and bare soil areas in the lawn is one of the most common techniques gardeners use. You can make them for the following reasons.
When no ready-made plugs and seeds are available
When there are no seeds available for this grass, you can only use the sod or plugs from this grass to make the existing St. Augustine grass lawns in your house.
usually, it is available in the plant nurseries, or you can consult the gardeners to get an idea about where to buy the sod.
Making plugs from sod is the only option to plant it in the lawn if the nurseries near your house or town do not have the ready-made grass plugs and you have to make them from the sod.
Budget-friendly
Making it yourself is a more budget-friendly way to plant it on your lawn because the ready-made plugs from nurseries and shops are expensive.
Sods pieces are more expensive and can cost thousands of dollars if you have a spacious lawn and want to plant St. Augustine grass in the whole area.
The plugs are the cheapest way to plant it but take more time to grow into a lush and even grass, while the sod makes it spread and grow in less time.
Sod can range from $300-$400 per pallet; an average garden requires approximately 2-3 pallets to cover the total area, depending on the garden’s square footage.
Repairing the damaged or eroded area
Plugging is easy to establish and plant, as they are grown in separate trays and fill the holes and depressions in the lawn.
You can repair the damaged or eroded soil areas using plugs and compost the decayed or eroded soil before planting them in the lawn.
I have many bare ground spots on my lawn, and these bare soil spots disturb the overall appearance of my garden. I love gardening, and plugging the grass in the bare ground was easy.
I covered all bare soil spots with plugs, and now after a few months, my lawn looks even and grassy from all sides, as there are no bare soil patches in my garden.
How can you plant St. Augustine grass plugs?
Following these steps, you can plant the St. Augustine grass plugs in their season.
Check the soil quality
Checking the soil quality before planting is one of the significant steps because the soil quality affects its growth. The correct soil pH helps the fertilizer nutrients to absorb well and provide the essential mineral to the brass.
You can send the soil to a laboratory to check its pH because the highly acidic soil can cause the whole hard work and money to waste, as it plays a central role in their growth.
Sending the soil to a laboratory and ensuring its pH and quality is not expensive, but it can take several days. You can send the lawn soil to a certified laboratory and ask them to make the checking process fast so that you can proceed further.
Measure the total square footage area
You can measure the square footage before making the plugs or selecting the sod because the number of grass plugs can vary with the lawn’s square footage.
According to professional gardeners, you need approximately 150-200 St. Augustine plugs for a 200 square feet lawn, and it can vary with the distance between each hole, trees, sidewalks, and other landscaping in the yard.
For example, I measured the square footage of my garden, and it turned out to be 75 square feet. It took approximately 68 plugs, as I planted them 6-10 inches apart.
Prepare the soil before planting plugs
The next step is to prepare the soil to plant the plugs because dry and decaying soil cannot grow the grass. Remove the existing damaged grass, lawn soil, and weeds from the lawn before installing the new grass.
Apply the herbicide 12-14 days before planting it and wait 4-5 days for the second application. Water the soil before installing it because the roots will grow better and suck water from the lawn soil.
St. Augustine grass cannot grow if the soil is not suitable and prepared well, as some people apply fertilizers to the lawn soil to provide it with the necessary nutrients.
Drill holes using a yard butler
A yard butler is a gardening tool that gardeners use to install new plants in the yard. You can use a yard butler to drill holes in the soil and cut the plugs from the sod pieces.
Place the yard butler on the soil and press it with the foot to dig it in the ground and remove it. Repeat the same procedure throughout the square feet where you want to install the grass.
You can cut the sod pieces the same way and make the plugs by placing the yard butler on the turf and applying force to cut it.
Plant the grass plugs
Now you can plant the St. Augustine grass plugs in the holes by pressing them firmly in the soil and making sure they are level with the ground surface.
The irregular planting can cause it to grow similarly and look unattractive. Do not plant it too deep in the soil because the roots can decay due to microorganisms.
The fertilizers cannot penetrate deep in the soil, and it causes the grass to grow slowly or not grow at all. You can call a professional to help you if you do not know how to plant it accurately.
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