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grass vs sod


Parsnip Totin Jack

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We will soon have roughly 10,000 square feet of red clay in the backyard. To transform that clay into something more useful and pleasing to the eye, we can sod or seed. We received two quotes for sod today. Quote one: 10,000 square feet of sod delivered but not installed is $5,074.00. Quote two included the type of sod. Tall fescue, picked up, is $203 per pallet. Price includes sod, pallets, and tax. (Pallets are returnable). Each pallet is 630 sq feet; we would need 16 pallets. They deliver for $350. Total cost including delivery is $3,598 with $298 in returnable pallets. Net cost, $3,298. I think we will buy some bags of grass seed and pray for rain.

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2 hours ago, Old No. 7 said:

We will soon have roughly 10,000 square feet of red clay in the backyard. To transform that clay into something more useful and pleasing to the eye, we can sod or seed. We received two quotes for sod today. Quote one: 10,000 square feet of sod delivered but not installed is $5,074.00. Quote two included the type of sod. Tall fescue, picked up, is $203 per pallet. Price includes sod, pallets, and tax. (Pallets are returnable). Each pallet is 630 sq feet; we would need 16 pallets. They deliver for $350. Total cost including delivery is $3,598 with $298 in returnable pallets. Net cost, $3,298. I think we will buy some bags of grass seed and pray for rain.

My home's neighborhood is very much red clay.  It can be a bitch to dig, but holds stuff very stable.  The posts for my new mailbox were driven down into that clay - no cement - and they'll be stable for a long time.

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7 minutes ago, Philander Seabury said:

How aboot hydro seed?

Great idea. Hydro seed averages $0.18 per square foot. $1,800 for our 10,000 square feet. It's cheaper than sod and seed options. I wonder if it comes with an optional clover mix. I'm not paying for dandelions when I can get them for free.

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At least you can choose seed. In Florida, fescue doesn't work. It is St Augustine...sod or plug. Seed options are Bermuda or worse...Bahia. Another seed option is Centipede, but germination is slow and at least a year for coverage. I think I had about 20 pallets of the Seville variety. It was an entire flatbed semi. Time is not on your side so get plenty of help. You have about 3 days to lay it before grass in the underlayers start turning yellow. Looks rather sickly and you hope with special care that it recovers as back in light and watered.

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When I landscaped a new medical clinic they wanted sod out front where everyone would see it and just seed the rest. By the end of one month you couldn’t tell the difference. It’s a lot of money to pay for less than a month of nicer looking grass. Not to mention a lot more work.

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9 hours ago, denniS said:

How about a nice astroturf? It would be low maintenance. 

Have you priced Astroturf? The new stuff is ridiculously expensive. I don't have thousands of college alumni to fund a new field. Maybe I'll set up a go fund me called Grass or Ass. Send money or I'll text you butt pictures until you do.

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12 hours ago, Old No. 7 said:

Great idea. Hydro seed averages $0.18 per square foot. $1,800 for our 10,000 square feet. It's cheaper than sod and seed options. I wonder if it comes with an optional clover mix. I'm not paying for dandelions when I can get them for free.

Probably so!  Maybe there is a crown vetch version too. 

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33 minutes ago, Philander Seabury said:

Probably so!  Maybe there is a crown vetch version too. 

I had a lot of crown vetch growing in my yard. Not so much anymore, the grass must have choked it out. My yard is almost all volunteer except for one patch my brother in law drove his truck in and got stuck. He made such a mess I had to rototill that section to get rid of the ruts. I planted store bought seed there.

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41 minutes ago, Philander Seabury said:

Probably so!  Maybe there is a crown vetch version too. 

 

3 minutes ago, Longjohn said:

I had a lot of crown vetch growing in my yard.

My dad always talked about vetch.  I never knew WTF he was talking about.  He loved keeping the lawn and gardens in top shape, so I assume he knew what worked well in his yard since it always looked sharp.

I'm wondering how much sun the new grass in @Old No. 7 yard will get?  Grass loves the sun, clover is more shade friendly.  I know they removed some large trees, but is it now sunny or is it still shaded by the remaining trees?

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6 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

 

My dad always talked about vetch.  I never knew WTF he was talking about.  He loved keeping the lawn and gardens in top shape, so I assume he knew what worked well in his yard since it always looked sharp.

I'm wondering how much sun the new grass in @Old No. 7 yard will get?  Grass loves the sun, clover is more shade friendly.  I know they removed some large trees, but is it now sunny or is it still shaded by the remaining trees?

The backyard is mostly full sun exposure now. The front yard is shady and the clover is loving it. I need to mow the front tomorrow. I plan on building raised garden beds in the backyard to take advantage of the sun there. 

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