Budget grass for larger yard?

[hks003]

Hi,
My wife and I bought 8 acres to build on, and the loggers are finishing up this week. I had about 2 acres cleared clean for a yard, and an acre for a food plot. I plan to plant perennial seed in the food plot, but what type of grass should I plant in the yard area? I've always heard St augustine or centipede grass for my area (south east arkansas, just west of the delta), but holy crap are those expensive to do for large areas. A 1 lb bag of centipede grass covers 1,000 Sq ft and costs $30. I'm looking at around 150,000 Sq ft, so I'd need about 150 pounds. That's $4,500 for grass, and I don't even like to mow. St augustine only seems to come as plugs or sod, and that's crazy expensive to do 2 acres. Bermuda is a little better, at 2 lb per 1,000 square feet, I'd need 300 lbs, but $60 gets 15 lbs, so $1,200 or so.

I'm looking for something to prevent erosion mostly. Slow growing and weed choking would be nice, but not needed.

Thanks for any input!

 

[herm0016]

find a local, commercial / municipal seed and whatnot supplier. they will have a great, commercial, low maintenance seed mix for your area at a good price. i get a rye and Kentucky grass mix great for our area at a few bucks a pound for a 25 lb sack. i also recommend a straw mat, at least for around the higher traffic areas. we did used them on half our yard which was totally dug up last year for a new septic, and the grass in that section did worlds better than the seed with out the mat in the rest of the yard. did not effect mowing much and was not a problem driving on it or for our dogs. has a thin green plastic net with straw woven in it. the mats are less than $50 each for 8 ft x 300 foot rolls at the same supplier i use.

 

[ovrszd]

I seeded around an acre for my new house project last Fall. I used a mix called "Quick Green" that I got from a local supplier. I expect a lush yard next Summer. I paid $2 p/lb. I don't think I could pay $30 p/lb.

 

[Diggin It]

I used to buy a 'contractor's mix' for a buck a pound or so. You don't want fancy grass that you may be tearing up during building. You just want something green-ish.

 

[Norm W]

If you want something green in a hurry then seed it. However, some of the hardiest "Lawns" are the ones that the owner just mowed what came up. If there was grass there before it will grow back. Weeds don't like being mowed. Grass seem to thrive. My "lawn" stays green all summer, I try to kill it by mowing close (I hate mowing). The neighbor pampers his lawn, it goes brown about the third week in July. Maybe my lawn is just trying to spite me. I park cars and trucks on it, run tractors and dozers across it and it just keeps growing.

 

[hks003]

I spray mine with msma every year, and it turns brown for a couple weeks then comes back full force. I'm currently on 4 acres, all of which I have to mow. At the new place, I'm not mowing more than 2 acres. I'll definitely look for the contractor mix! Thanks!

 

[hks003]

If you want something green in a hurry then seed it. However, some of the hardiest "Lawns" are the ones that the owner just mowed what came up. If there was grass there before it will grow back. Weeds don't like being mowed. Grass seem to thrive. My "lawn" stays green all summer, I try to kill it by mowing close (I hate mowing). The neighbor pampers his lawn, it goes brown about the third week in July. Maybe my lawn is just trying to spite me. I park cars and trucks on it, run tractors and dozers across it and it just keeps growing.

Also, it was a pine thicket last Monday, so no grass to grow back.

 

[Diggin It]

Also, it was a pine thicket last Monday, so no grass to grow back.

You might be surprised. I eliminated a large area of blackberry, honeysuckle and miscellaneous other undesirable junk. For the next couple of years, I just mowed it regularly to keep the junk from coming back. It's now one of my better areas of grass and has never seen grass seed or fertilizer.

 

[RickB]

Hi,
My wife and I bought 8 acres to build on, and the loggers are finishing up this week. I had about 2 acres cleared clean for a yard, and an acre for a food plot. I plan to plant perennial seed in the food plot, but what type of grass should I plant in the yard area? I've always heard St augustine or centipede grass for my area (south east arkansas, just west of the delta), but holy crap are those expensive to do for large areas. A 1 lb bag of centipede grass covers 1,000 Sq ft and costs $30. I'm looking at around 150,000 Sq ft, so I'd need about 150 pounds. That's $4,500 for grass, and I don't even like to mow. St augustine only seems to come as plugs or sod, and that's crazy expensive to do 2 acres. Bermuda is a little better, at 2 lb per 1,000 square feet, I'd need 300 lbs, but $60 gets 15 lbs, so $1,200 or so.

I'm looking for something to prevent erosion mostly. Slow growing and weed choking would be nice, but not needed.

Thanks for any input!

First thing you致e gotta do is start pricing 30-50 pound bags. Only a chump buys grass seed a pound at a time.

 

[Gem99ultra]

I've found that Centipede grass is more durable than San Augustine. Both are equally durable but the centipede does better with less watering.

Plugging about 1 plug every 6"-8" apart really cuts down on your initial cost. It'll take about 2 years for it to cover over solid, but it much easier on the pocket book. A couple of pallets of squares should be enough to get a good start on your lawn.