[RayFinkle]

Hi everyone!

I've heard to much about this place from various Youtubers (Grass Daddy and Lawn Care Nut). Very excited to learn from you all and maybe teach a few what not to does.

First of all, I'm a South Floridian (Region 9) planning a renovation on about 2,000 SQFT (starting with front yard only). I'm currently sporting Centipede grass that doesn't look bad, few bare spots, but I'd like to renovate to Zoysia.

I'm determined to get this right and will be very patient in my planning. Here's what I've learned so far:

1. Order Seed and Soil Test
2. Mow lower around 2 inches
3. Glyphosate without any long term or pre-emergent additives. Also prevent any from getting on neighbors lawn.
4. Wait 7-10 days and then mow on lowest setting. Scalp the yard.
5. Glyphosate anything green
6. Wait 7-10 days and scalp again. Bag clippings
7. Install Irrigation Lines
8. Level out the ground with topsoil or blended mix
9. Seed @ 2lbs per 1,000 SQFT
10. Dust with Peat Moss
11. Irrigate to maintain wetness for 30 days
12. Repeat seeding and irrigation for any bare areas after germination

Am I missing anything here? I'm still not educated on pre-emergence after germination.

Thanks everyone!

 

[Gregau33]

Seeding with zoysia is going to be near to impossible. It's not a grass that establishes well by seed. The time you spend nursing the germination of the seeds is going to be a task. Between fighting weeds and really the main point being zoysia doesn't establish well by seed. If I were you, I would sod your yard. Much easier and if you go by time is money, you will be saving a lot by just sodding your yard. And if you only need 2,000 sq ft of lawn, 4 pallets of zoysia is really all you need.

If I were you I would
1) glysophate the areas you are wanting to sod and wait 5 or so days to see if you missed any spots
2) reapply the glysophate to the areas you might have missed... wait another 5 days or so
3) scalp your "yard" and bag clippings
4) rent a sod cutter for the day and take up the grass... sod cutting after you have scalped will help tremendously with the amount of yard you are removing
5) go around your area to be sodded and level the earth.
6) buy your sod and lay it down. Water it frequently until it roots.

Just my 2 cents

 

[Gregau33]

Also, seeding with cool season grass (like grass daddy does) is a total different proposition than seeding with a warm season grass.

 

[TigerinFL]

i couldn't imagine seeding with zoysia. if you could I would sod it and be done with it. actually its probably cheaper to lay sod. easy for me to spend your money I know, but as someone who sodded a new home with zoysia it's great once it gets established.

devil is in the details so get your soil checked on the front end. if you are needing some lime you can easily put it down before laying sod. level, level and level it again before you lay the sod and you can thank me later.

good luck!

 

[Gregau33]

Yes 1000% to what @TigerinFL stated about making sure the lawn is level. This is crucial if you are planning to mow low.

 

[Colonel K0rn]

Welcome to TLF! Glad to have you here.

Thank you for not wanting to till up your soil as step #1 on your renovation. I'll echo what others have said in that if you want to go with zoysia, sodding is going to be your best bet, and give you the quickest results from a slow-growing warm season grass. You'll be less hindered if you choose to go with sod vs a seeded variety like bermuda. However, I do have to ask if you choose to go with zoysia, do you have a preferred cultivar? Also, why do you prefer zoysia over bermuda? Zoysia does have it's benefits, and it's a tougher grass to maintain (i.e. sharp equipment).

Input I would give is if you have any leveling to perform, use your own soil, or masonry sand, similar to what we use for levelling our lawns once they're established. A drag mat is a very useful tool when it comes to working over your seed bed/sod bed. What are the main weeds that you face in your lawn during the summer and winter? There are some herbicides that are safe to use within a very short time period after germination of your seedlings, so knowledge of the weeds you have will help you in that battle. Do you have a plan for the fertilizer that you're going to use, and frequency after establishment? Are you doing the irrigation yourself?

 

[Tellycoleman]

Welcome
+1 in everything
I couldn't imagine seeding zoysia. Seeding Bermuda is hard enough.

 

[Bunnysarefat]

If you're not doing bermuda then be sure and inspect your current grass closely and be sure you don't have any bermuda in there. It can be very difficult to get rid of, even after hitting it with multiple rounds of glyphosate. So if you have bermuda and want it gone you'll want to pay special attention to it on the front end of your reno because it's hard/impossible to remove in established lawns.

Might want to check for nutsedge too. May not be able to get rid of it before your renovation but knocking it back now will help it not to spread wildly when you're watering new grass. Be sure to check the timing on the label of any nutsedge treatment before planting new grass. It can be a few weeks for big treatment applications I believe.

 

[RayFinkle]

Seeding with zoysia is going to be near to impossible. It's not a grass that establishes well by seed. The time you spend nursing the germination of the seeds is going to be a task. Between fighting weeds and really the main point being zoysia doesn't establish well by seed. If I were you, I would sod your yard. Much easier and if you go by time is money, you will be saving a lot by just sodding your yard. And if you only need 2,000 sq ft of lawn, 4 pallets of zoysia is really all you need.

If I were you I would
1) glysophate the areas you are wanting to sod and wait 5 or so days to see if you missed any spots
2) reapply the glysophate to the areas you might have missed... wait another 5 days or so
3) scalp your "yard" and bag clippings
4) rent a sod cutter for the day and take up the grass... sod cutting after you have scalped will help tremendously with the amount of yard you are removing
5) go around your area to be sodded and level the earth.
6) buy your sod and lay it down. Water it frequently until it roots.

Just my 2 cents

I'll take your 2 cents!

Thank you very much for the tips! I hadn't thought about a sod cutter.

The reason I wanted to seed over sod is just a pride thing. Something I can get over after seeing the amount of support for sod over seeding Zoysia.

 

[RayFinkle]

i couldn't imagine seeding with zoysia. if you could I would sod it and be done with it. actually its probably cheaper to lay sod. easy for me to spend your money I know, but as someone who sodded a new home with zoysia it's great once it gets established.

devil is in the details so get your soil checked on the front end. if you are needing some lime you can easily put it down before laying sod. level, level and level it again before you lay the sod and you can thank me later.

good luck!

Thank you for the tip. I plan on leveling the heck out of the yard. All these youtubers stress it constantly and it's easy to see the overall appeal of having a flat well established lawn.

 

[RayFinkle]

Welcome to TLF! Glad to have you here.

Thank you for not wanting to till up your soil as step #1 on your renovation. I'll echo what others have said in that if you want to go with zoysia, sodding is going to be your best bet, and give you the quickest results from a slow-growing warm season grass. You'll be less hindered if you choose to go with sod vs a seeded variety like bermuda. However, I do have to ask if you choose to go with zoysia, do you have a preferred cultivar? Also, why do you prefer zoysia over bermuda? Zoysia does have it's benefits, and it's a tougher grass to maintain (i.e. sharp equipment).

Input I would give is if you have any leveling to perform, use your own soil, or masonry sand, similar to what we use for levelling our lawns once they're established. A drag mat is a very useful tool when it comes to working over your seed bed/sod bed. What are the main weeds that you face in your lawn during the summer and winter? There are some herbicides that are safe to use within a very short time period after germination of your seedlings, so knowledge of the weeds you have will help you in that battle. Do you have a plan for the fertilizer that you're going to use, and frequency after establishment? Are you doing the irrigation yourself?

This may sound ignorant, but I want Zoysia BECAUSE of the higher maintenance required. I truly enjoy spending time in the yard making things look perfect. Plus, my neighbor across the street dominates the neighborhood and I want to give him someone to compete with.

I'll have to use masonry sand. My yard is bumpy, but no real hills to pull materials from to spread across the yard.

 

[TigerinFL]

i find zoysia is less maintenance than bermuda. its just a tad slower growing.

 

[lrw_3]

As a newbie I am doing the same thing at the moment in south Louisiana. I have about 2000 sq ft I am renovating. I have the zoysia seeds and the peet moss. I am going to level the area this weekend and then put the seeds out. I have successfully seeded zoysia a couple years ago at my old house but it was only an area of about 200 sq ft. I have done a lot of research before deciding to do this renovation. I wish i would have found this post before deciding to go with zoysia. I was thinking about doing bermuda but wasnt sure if I had enough sunlight.

I will be following your post. Good luck.

 

[RayFinkle]

As a newbie I am doing the same thing at the moment in south Louisiana. I have about 2000 sq ft I am renovating. I have the zoysia seeds and the peet moss. I am going to level the area this weekend and then put the seeds out. I have successfully seeded zoysia a couple years ago at my old house but it was only an area of about 200 sq ft. I have done a lot of research before deciding to do this renovation. I wish i would have found this post before deciding to go with zoysia. I was thinking about doing bermuda but wasnt sure if I had enough sunlight.

I will be following your post. Good luck.

You too!

We can make it through this together!