when to plant bermuda sod grass in Upstate South Carolina

8 years ago

When should bermuda sod grass be done in Upstate (Oconee County) of South Carolina?

We paid someone to put it down first of September & it's not done yet? Will it live if it's put down this late in September or even October? Help! we've already used weed killer on the grass/weeds that were growing! So, we've got a big, ugly & brown front yard---at least an acre of very dead grass right now. Help, please. Our moneys already spent & now we're just playing "the waiting" game with the landscaper it seems. FYI--it's supposed to be COMPLETED September 2015 & today's the 23rd.

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darktower00844

8 years ago

You can still put it down but normally you plant with the type of grass.. So warm season in summer cool season in fall. II'd tell the landscaper either get out there by next week or give u back ur money and get some else to do it.

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Comments (12)

reeljake
8 years ago
Depends on the excuse--If it's too wet the farms won't be cutting sod, so that wouldn't be the contractors fault, but a quick call to super sod would get you that answer. As far as timing, you can sod Bermuda now & it just may stay dormant thru winter. If he's out fishing or pushing your job back in favor of others, I'd definitely want a discount at minimum. If he's genuinely trying & just can't get product thats another story.
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Hi dchall_san_antonio, thanks for the follow-up post. You are spot on with regards to the unevenness of sod. I did my front yard last season and was instantly dissatisfied with the results with regard to the undulations. So I had to spend more time and more effort to get a result that I wanted from the outset. Hence my obsession was born with having a perfectly level yard. I searched the internet determined to get a better result. I read about sprigging, but found almost zero info on how the regular Joe could do it at home. I took bits of info from golf green construction, sport fields, bowling greens and then applied this to what would work at home for me using everyday tools and non-specialized products. The cost was also significantly less than buying sod for the entire project which is quite expensive in Australia (around A$9.00m2) I will try by best to answer the questions that you have put forth; My patio area faces roughly east, so the sun passes directly over the yard in summer. In winter it moves to the north (the left hand side looking from patio). Long shadows do cast to the south, however more so in winter as the sun is lower in sky. I cultivated the soil using a rotary hoe or a gas powered tiller to till the soil to a depth of around 6 inches. I then made a contraption of 4 x 6 foot pieces of timber set parallel with 4 x braces running perpendicular to the long pieces. I attached a rope to this and then spent the next few days dragging this contraption back and forth, round and round, up and down until it was as level as I could make it. I let it settle for about 2 weeks, then spent another weekend with my new wooden friend. I got the idea from this video; Leveling yard After this I brought in around 2 cubic meters of builders sand for final grade. I built a smaller version of the wood , this time using aluminum and a handle that you use like a rake to move the soil around. I then watered this to the point of runoff and let it dry. I used the lawn level again to level out any minor undulations and watered it again. Finally I used a long piece of timber to check for grade and undulations. At this point I was satisfied. The high tech tools used to cut up the sod was a pair of garden shears and a pair of HD sissors! No wonder my hands were dead after about 6 hours. I put the cut sprigs into a big container of water for about an hour, then put them in a old wet sheet in the shade until I was ready to broadcast them. I made sure I had enough to cover one irrigation zone before I spread them such that i could irrigate immediately after planting. Once I realised that this method was not going to work I borrowed a leaf shredder and put smaller pieces of sod through the hopper. At first I was concerned that I cut them too small and they would not root, but they did take, however at a slower rate than compared with the larger pieces. I did this in October, which is mid-spring here. Funnily enough we had a really mild spring which didn't really help with the grow-in. When temps got above 25C you could literally watch it grow! This is not common practise for establishing home lawns in Australia. Some turf suppliers do offer what they call 'shredded turf' but these companies are not in my state. The methods these companies advocate could not be translated the method I used. Next time I would try and actually source the sprigs, rather than cutting up sod. It is so time consuming and very messy. Other than that I am really happy with how it has come up. I said to my wifey that if I ever plant another lawn I will be stolonizing it. The real reason I wanted to spend the time doing this post is purely for the fact that I have learned so much from this forum (even as a lurker) and I wanted to take the time and give something back to other forum members who have taken the time with their experiences. In particular David's thread which I used to level my front yard. Here are some pics of that project if anyone is interested; Front This is disc roller below; PS I will work on my photography skills This post was edited by SimonR on Mon, Jan 27, 14 at 0:35
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Assuming the builder graded the property for drainage, that is the perfect installation for bermuda. You should be watering briefly (5-15 minutes) three times per day, for the next two to three weeks until the roots are knit into the underlying soil. Do not let the underlying soil get soggy. Watch the grass carefully for signs of drying out. Give those areas just a little more moisture (longer, not more frequent). Fertilize with organics for now. After the roots are in, then you can start with chemical ferts if you want to. Find the Bermuda Bible online and memorize that. It's short. Here is a summary Weekly Mow low between 1 to 1.5 inches (lowest setting on your rotary mower) Water deeply once Monthly Fertilize heavily while the grass is growing That's about it. If you do those three things, you should never need herbicide. Never mind the problems and issues your neighbors have. They are likely not doing the three things I listed. For bermuda if you water too frequently and you get weeds. Mow too high and you get weeds. Don't fertilize every month and you get weeds. The program is simple to understand but a lot of work. The builder can guarantee bermuda because it is dead simple to establish. The only issue is if you do it wrong, in addition to getting bermuda, then you get weeds along with it. If the neighbors have weeds, it is only the fault of the owner. I don't care if you lay sod over a blanket of weed seeds, once the turf is established (weeds and all), it is much more likely to be the owner's fault for continuing to have weeds. Improper watering is almost always the reason. This is an interesting time of year to establish bermuda. You will also be sprouting spring weeds. These are also known as wildflowers because although the seeds germinate now, the plants remain dormant and below the canopy of the grass. Then in the spring all these flowering plants will pop up. Try to remember what I'm saying and not over react. All you have to do is mow them down. Most will go away after the first mowing. For those that don't go away, simply spot spray with Weed-B-Gone. At the end of the establishment period (3 weeks of daily watering) you may have some weeds come up. The reason for these weeds is the daily watering. If the weeds are broadleaf weeds like clover or dandelions, then spot spray with Weed-B-Gone Clover, Chickweed, and Oxalis spray. If they are grassy weeds, you'll have to take a tough love approach and spot spray with a grass killer or RoundUp. These will kill the bermuda in that spot, but the bermuda will return. The weed will not. The Bermuda Bible talks about deep watering. Deep means one inch all at one time. Measure one inch by placing several cat food or tuna cans in the yard and turning on the sprinkler. Time how long it takes to fill all the cans. That time will be anywhere from 20 minutes (high flow in-ground system) to 8 hours (oscillator on a hose). Your water pressure, sprinklers, and hose are different, so you have to measure your own time. During the hottest part of summer, watering once per week should be plenty (remember to IGNORE what your neighbors do on this subject). When the temps drop into the 80s, you should be able to water once every 2 weeks. With temps in the 70s, you should go once every 3 weeks. Lower than that an you can water once per month. This watering regimen is not a secret, but it is key to keeping weeds out of the lawn. Weeds need much more frequent moisture to germinate. They need the same watering you're about to give your new sod, but that can't be helped. Suffer through some early weeds, take care of them once the lawn is established, and then if you follow the rules, you should be done with weeds. Always water the full one inch unless Mother Nature has helped you along. You don't need any water for awhile if you just got an inch of rain.
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sharon29841
8 years ago
I'm in upstate South Carolina too. I had my bermuda sod installed dormant in the winter, just before the big ice storm and it was fine.
Sodbusted thanked sharon29841
Sodbusted
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Well, it appears (per Facebook) he's "out fishing, golfing, footballing,etc..."--I'n not being judgemental, but a picture is worth a thousand words! Sends text "will be there tomorrow" time & time again--didn't show up, didn't call--but sends a text --after I call & leave voice mail and/or send a text (nicely) to find out when someone will be @ my house (and I hate texting--why not just pick up the phone & call!) Didn't call the "dig" number until homeowner called the "dig" number about a week after I was told it was done & discovered he hadn't even called them yet(seems he actually called the week we thought he was to install sod, not week he said he was calling) & then I texted him to see if he called the "dig" number--he called the same day I called him & AFTER I sent text--I called the "dig" number again! Then kept on texting on at least 3 of our different personal phone numbers we used to call him--saying one thing or another--- so, then he's waiting to get lines marked--but I already knew he didn't call when he said he did! (So, I was smart enough to get my own "dig" number as a back-up plan so we could seed the already "dead grass" zone ourselves with fescue and/or winter rye if he's a "no show!) The guy should have been truthful up front because we're business owners, too. Heck, my family was & is willing to get out there & help out! So, he told us who he was getting sod from--they had & have it in stock--but won't be cutting it after next Wed (Sept 30) & since some other sod farmers are out of Bernuda, they're actually selling their sod to other sod farmers as far away as Greenville so those sod farmers can supply sod to their landscapers. So, he can't get sod from that sod farmer because of owing them $$$ for several years (??)--so, he might have a hard time getting it from another sod farmer this late in Sept! (again, he didn't know I was talking to sod farmers until I told him I was). I pleaded with the sod farmer & if he's a "no show" I can get a price break--for whatever they have left in stock in Oct-if they have any! Landscapers--BE HONEST UP FRONT! The sod farmer may take cash from him,but I don't know or really care how or where he gets that sod--just that it's installed, per contract!

Some honest landscapers told us they couldn't get to our yard in Sept--one said he'd plug it 3rd week of Sept, but said he'd say 80% chance of Bermuda coming back next spring. Another honest landscaper said he'd get to it by last week of Sept & he'd had about 60% success of it coming back in the spring--both of those guys said they could go ahead & schedule us for April 2016 & we'd pay them a down payment in March. Another landscaper said our yard "was too big of a project" for him, didn't own the right equipment). So, landscapers keep in mind--be honest up front & don't take a huge down payment, tell the homeowner you ordered sod two weeks before you did, then "forget" to call the dig number--because the homeowner might get frustrated & have to "gently" remind you that it's "breach of contract" if the contract states the job "will be completed by Sept. 30 2015" & it's not!

Now that Sept is almost up, don't blame it on the rain--today, 9/24--is the 1st time it's rained @ my yard since we signed that contract! Don't blame it on the sod farmers--because it was readily available when we signed that contract! Now, maybe I should have waited until Oct 1st to post anything, but if I hadn't complained--I think we'd be waiting all winter long that work to get done! Maybe not, but that landscaper already frustrated us too much. Those text messages were getting on my nerves & hubbys, too! If you promise to show up, then text-call-do something if you aren't going to show up. "NO SHOW JONES" showed up for more concerts I attended in years gone by than the days the landscaper promised to!

We still have thousands of dollars more we need to spend on landscaping, but we will be a lot more cautious of who we choose--we chose a person raised in our county & thought we were helping out a small business owner. Might get a larger out-of-county landscaper for the rest of the 3+acres that need landscaped--we need a huge 40' long retaining wall & more underground sprinklers & a extended pathway to our boat dock & 30' of aluminum "safety fencing" above an existing retaining wall.

So, this is my "dream retirement home" we purchased "already built" for when we retire in about 15 years--but the landscaping issue has become a nightmare we've been trying to fix for about 4 years now--that's why we resorted to getting a section of sod! Next time, we will only give 50% down payment instead of paying about 80% up front! Heck, we now owe the guy less that what it'll cost to purchase the sod! Lesson learned: we'll be more careful & get sod done in the spring. Our sod is supposed to be installed next week & I really hope it is! But I really don't expect it to come back next spring--we'll have to start all over again next spring if it dies out for good over the winter months!

We're not difficult homeowners to deal with--I read an on-line review a homeowner gave another local landscaper--because a worker left empty water bottles in the front yard! Another on-line review a homeowner gave was really nasty & said really ugly things--all because a worker broke a few solar lights already in the yard. All we want is the work done properly & completed by the date it was promised to be done! Heck, we've given extra cash as a bonus for work we've got done in the past @ all of the homes we've built for ourselves & owned! We're not wealthy either--just a blue-collar family who spends their vacation money & time fixing up their house & yard instead of throwing away that money on expensive trips & vacations! Looking out our back yard & seeing the lake, ducks, geese, fox, deer,etc--- is more enjoyable that blowing thousands of dollars on a short-lived trip!

Next, I guess I need an outdoor kitchen--so we can have more family gatherings! Guess that will be on my birthday & Christmas wish list for 2016--may even bump it to the top of the list before any more landscaping ventures! Hope to have less frustrations with that venture! But I guess the sod is getting put down next week--because of my complaining! And I really hate to complain about local small business owners--because, like I said--we're in that self-employment boat, too!

I probably won't give this guy a bad on-line review--unless he turns into a "no show Jones"!
darktower00844
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
That sucks. Call him and tell him he's fired you've seen he's not busy by his Facebook postings. Unless he's there the next day with full crew. How big is your yard? If it's not huge you can have the sod delivered to your house. Hire some day labors to lay it or pay friends. I once called a guy who did my roof. He's Mexican and a hard worker. I needed help laying sod he sent 4 guys The next day and I paid them $15 and hour we got it done in 3 hours.

if you still have no luck. You can just over seed the remaining area if bare with rye. Next spring late. Kill it all and set up another landscaper to lay it then.

good luck.
Sodbusted thanked darktower00844
darktower00844
8 years ago
Oh one more thing. In the future never pay any amnoumt upfront. If they can't swing the cost they're amateurs get someone else. I've been there and done that.. Got screwed over bad.
Sodbusted thanked darktower00844
Sodbusted
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Thanks--yard is over 4 acres--just doing a small area right now.
reeljake
8 years ago
Yeah I'd fire that Jackwagon & get scheduled with a contractor recommended by the sod farm. Believe me, they know who gets the job done.
Sodbusted thanked reeljake
Sodbusted
Original Author
8 years ago
So--the guy showed up over 2 weeks ago & graded the front yard & was supposed to come back with the sod from "way down state" with sod--hasn't shown up with the sod! He waited too late to get "Local sod"-because they've quit digging it until next spring! Now, South Carolina is flooding & our yard is one really big, muddy "red mud" mess! We have run-off everywhere & it appears lots of soil is washing away, too! We're going to have huge ruts in that area when the rain ends. I'll take another pic when the rain ends. The "professional" landscaper breached his contract--he didn't install the sod in the time frame of his contract-and he can't blame the rain-it was supposed to be installed before the rain started. This pic was take week before the rain started & he wasn't even finished with the grading-- and so far, hasn't come back to finish it either!

Any suggestions for the winter? My husband planted some grass (seed) in the back yard 2 weeks ago-day after this grading was done & day sod was supposed to be installed in the front yard--and that grass is already coming up! Should we just plant winter rye over this front yard or wait to see if the sod ever shows up? FYI--the town he told my hubby he's now getting sod from--their rain total so far @ 5:00 pm on 10/3/15 only--is 2.20 inches! (per www.weather.gov)--and it's supposed to rain for another day over the entire state of SC!
darktower00844
8 years ago
Wow! Well yes in the short term after the rain stops.. Lol and it's not a mud pit but moist put 10 lbs of rye down and some starter fertilizer down. I hope you didn't already pay him. If you didn't pay him for his time and wait till next April or May to sod. If you did I would ask for a refund on the sod and still do it next spring. If it was me I'd phone my lawyer and let him know what's up.. A little letter is pretty scary for breach of contract. What he's prob gonna try to do is since it's getting colder work is drying up and he's gonna try to do yours in a hurry. good luck
Sodbusted
Original Author
8 years ago
all the landscapers we found in the upstate of SC wanted at least 50% before they'd even put you on their schedule--we paid about 75% upfront so he'd get it done this Sept. He couldn't get sod @ the place he told us it was coming from--found out later--because he owes thousands from past jobs--called the owner myself & every other sod farmer in the upstate trying to get "wholesale" sod delivered ourselves & finish the work ourselves. Well, the job was supposed to be done 3rd week of Sept via tons of text messages--contract was breached after last day of Sept--now, town he said last week the sod was coming from in the "midlands" of SC-judging from The Weather Channel on TV--is underwater! But hey, it's Oct, so he missed his deadline anyway & has our money. Don't know why he tried to get sod a 3 hr. drive away anyways--guess it's because the ones in upstate SC don't "cut" it again until next spring. Hey, SC's got bigger issues than my sod-less front yard--we're about to wash away even in the upstate! But those poor guys from an hour upstate from Columbia down to the beach--they've got cars & houses underwater & the rainwater from the upstate hasn't even made it to them yet! :( Even the Interstate (I-26) was underwater earlier today! Hwy 76--the main road from Clemson Univ. to I-85 towards Charlotte & Atlanta--was underwater earlier this morning, too. So, I guess lots of Clemson/Notre Dame fans got "stranded" in the upstate if they stayed too long after the game last night! We're waterlogged from one end of the state to the other right now!
darktower00844
8 years ago
Well that sucks! Keep calling but I would seek legal council on your grievances. Line it up before it gets too late!

when to plant bermuda sod grass in Upstate South Carolina

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when to plant bermuda sod grass in Upstate South Carolina

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