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Texas Gardening

Has anyone heard of dillo(sp)?

15 years ago

I was told it would help in filling in/leveling my lawn, and that it also works as a fertilizer. It's bought in bulk from a landscape business and usually whatever amount you need is brought in and 'dumped' on your driveway.

Sign me, new to Texas and know nothing about plant/lawn care.

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Comments (8)

trsinc
15 years ago
Are you in the Austin area? If so then I think you are asking about dillo dirt. It's treated sewage sludge and yard waste. See link below.

A lot of people love the stuff. My buffalo grass lawn did not appreciate it, though.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dillo Dirt
marlingardener
15 years ago
Patty Cakes,

Dillo dirt is great stuff for flower beds or mixing with soil when planting trees and shrubs, but it seems like overkill to use it to fill in low spots in the lawn. See if you can get a source of decent dirt (avoid the red stuff known as "Red Death"). After you get a level area, you can decide where to put flower beds and other plantings, and then use dillo dirt for specific spots.
If you are new to Texas, contact the Travis County Master Gardener Association and ask as many questions as you like. These MGs know their stuff.
Contact is Travis County Cooperative Extension, 1600-B Smith Road, Austin, Texas 78721, phone 512-854-9600.
Welcome to Texas, where gardening is never dull!
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patty_cakes
Original Author
15 years ago
Trsinc, thank you~that is exactly what I had heard it was. I've come to the conclusion that nothing goes to waste in Austin. LOL By the way, what is Buffalo grass? I have a yard full of what would be called crab grass back in CA or IL. It's like walking on plastic bags. I'm thinking of renting a tiller and digging it all up and putting in Bermuda. How would that fare in Austin? LOTS of water I suspect.

Marlin, thank you so much for the info re:the TCMGA. Dillo sounds like it's more of a fertilizer~is it expensive? I'll definitely be checking in with them and get a few questions answered. I'll find out what grasses WILL grow and which ones won't. I cannot stand this crabgrass stuff. LOL
lou_spicewood_tx
15 years ago
patty cakes,

Bermuda and gardens do not mix too good. Bermuda is very invasive. You will hate it with all your passion when it takes over garden beds as they spread underground. I would recommend Floratam st augustine grass which is very hardy drought tolerant but I'm not sure if it's sold in Austin. They can only spread above ground so they are easy to remove. Check around. Do not go for Raleigh variety. Poor drought and disease resistance. St augustine lawn can be very nice lawn as long as you mow high and water deeply and infrequently.
trsinc
15 years ago
patty, buffalo grass is a native grass that is used for lawns. It's touted as super drought tolerant, doesn't need or even want fertilizer, etc., but that's not true and I've been disappointed with it. Definitely do your research before you buy grass. I did, but was mislead, I suppose.

I should say, also, that I'm on the side of a rocky hill so I doubt if any grass would look good here.
marlingardener
15 years ago
Patty,
I second trsinc's opinion of buffalo grass. I volunteered at a local college that had Buffalo grass planted in front of one of the buildings, and that grass never saw a weed it didn't want to adopt! Everything moved in on it.
My take on Buffalo grass is that is a prairie grass and was never meant to be a monoculture. It naturally mixes with other grasses and forbs. A natural prairie is a beautiful thing, but usually not in your front yard! We have had luck with St. Augustine. We also have bermuda, which pops up in the most unlikely places with GREAT tenacity.
roselee z8b S.W. Texas
15 years ago
There is still a LOT of controversy about the safety of using products from human waste as fertilizer from a health stand point. Before using these products one might want to do a google search on 'safety of using human waste as fertilizer' and read several of the articles as I just did.
maden_theshade
15 years ago
your 'crab grass' may just be one of our little native forbs that get real active in the spring. Does it have a seed head yet? That could help you identify it. It may not be worth your time to till it up. These kinds of grass just reappear again next year. I'd just go over the yard with a good variety of St. Augustine. Yes, it can use more water...but I don't like a lot of grass anyway and if you have lots of flower beds you will definitely not want the Bermuda!

The Dillo Dirt is a type of compost. And compost is a type of fertilizer. The beauty is compost is a slow release fertilizer...which means it continues to feed the soil for months and months. Commercial fertilizer is a flash feed and is gone very quickly.

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