Question
I live in Northwest Arkansas, zone 6.  My turf grass is in sad condition.  I have been reading about Zoysia grass and have seen some fine lawns in my area.  Do you feel it is all it is cracked up to be?  I know planting plugs will take 2 to 3 seasons to fill in.  When would be the best time to plant them.  Also my ground is a rocky, clay, gravel mix.  Should I put sand around the plugs to make it easier for the roots to spread out and perhaps fill in quicker.  I await your answer eagerly.  Thank you J.L.

Answer
Hi Joan;
Thanks for the nice rating.
I don't always check my ratings, so if you have a follow up question, I will see it sooner if you jst use the follow up on the questions page.
Yes.
That is plain old table sugar.
Whn I first read about this, it was recommended to use dry molasses.
It said if you couldn't find that, plain table sugar would do.
Not all the nurseries carried much organic products then, and I couldn't find the dry molasses.
I used sugar, and in a couple of years, they carried the dry molasses.
I tried that, but I liked the results I got from the sugar better, and since you use about half as much, and it costs about the same per pound, the cost is less.
Also, when I go to the nursery, I always come back with a car full of stuff to plant.
I pick up the sugar when I grocery shop, so I save even more. LOL
I only use Imperial brand sugar for cooking, but I buy the brand that costs less for the lawn.
Those beneficial microbes don't have gourmet taste.LOL
Charlotte


Hi Joan;
I have never had Zoysia, so I just don't have any personal knowledge of it.
Your best bet would be to talk to some of the people who have the nice Zoysia yards and get their opinion of it.
Your biggest problem is your soil.
The rocks and gravel aren't so bad. Roots will go around them, but it is very hard for them to go through that clay.
The best soil loosener I ever found, besides tilling in a lot of bark mulch to loosen it right away, was granualted gypsum.
You can put down about an inch of that and water it in, and each time you water, it carries it down a little further. You want to water deeply, to a depth of at least 6 inches to get a good deep root system anyway.
It does take some time,because it has to disoklve and seep down into the soil.
Putting down an inch, watering it in in the fall, will loosen up a couple inches by spring.
I pout it down several times one year, and it really loosened the soil up.
I live in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, and we have so many different soils around here.
On my side of town ( Irving) we have old hard pan clay. A couple miles to the north, they have so much sand they are constantly repeiring foundations.
If you don't have too much rocks and gravel to till without tearing up the tiller, adding some cedar bark mulch would be the best way to go, and ave you years of frustration.
Starting out with better soil is the best way to go. You get better results sooner, with les work and frustration.
In our soil, I put 4 inches of bark mulch, and about 1 inch humus and peat moss( that really wasn't necessary, the bark mulchg alone would have been enough, had I been on organics then.)  and I tilled 6 inches deep.
That started the loosening enough to grow a lwan until everything else caught up.
If I were to do it now, after what I have learned about organics, I would put down 3or 4 inches of cedar bark mulch, about 1/2 to 1 inch lava sane, and till that in about 6 to 8 inches.
them when I put in my plugs, I would put down 4 pounds sugar per 1000 sq.ft, and about the same volumn of alfalfa meal.
The afalfa meal is lighter weight than the sugar, so enough to sprinkle the same amount as you do of the sugar, will probably weigh less.
I looked on the bag,and there is no weight on it.
It is about the same sixe as a 20 pound bag of fertilizer.
I use about half of it and put it all over my front and back yard, and added some to all my potted plants, inside and out.
So that bag would cover 3000 ft, about.
You will probably need to go to a feed store to get the alfalfa meal, but it is so full of nutrients, it is well worth an extra trip.
Lava sand is also full of nutrients.
After a volcano erupts, and that lave cools, that is why those Pacific islands have so many gorgeous flowers.
So, here is my suggestions for you.
If you can till it, till in about 4 inches cedar bark mulch. Till to a depoth of at least 8 inches.
Put in the plugs, and sctter about 4 pounds sugar, and a half bag of alfalfa meal, and half a 40 pound bag of lava sand, per 1000 st. ft.
Water that in well, and kep the soil moist until the plugs get a root systen started.
Then water to a depth of at least 6 inches to encourage a deep root system.
when you water deeply, the roots go further down, and when they top 3 or 4 inches of soil are dry, there is still moisture down where the roots are.
In the summer, I water only once a week, except when the temp stays wellinto the 100s for several days.
I have St. augustine grass, so when the roots need water, the blades fold up to expose less area to evaporation.
When I go out and my grass blades look reedy, I water again.
A dep root system also prevents thatch.
Thatch happens when the roots come to the surface to get water, die and trap other lawn debris.
That pack into a thick pad that won';t let water get through to the roots, and the whole lawn dies oput.
I had to dethatch when we bought this house, and have watered deeply all the time, and have never had to dethatch again. We have been here 42 years.
Dethatching is a HARD job!
I leave the grass clippings to compost and add nourishment to the soil.
Each spring, I apply sugar at the rate of 4 pounds per 1000 sq.ft, and water it in well, and do that again in the fall.
That keeps my soil very rich, and weeds won't even come up in it.
BUT!!!! Last spring I learned about the alfalfa meal and lava sand, and I used them.
My grass did some better, but for the last 8 years the sugar has kept it about as nice as you can ever get. Dark green, thick, and weed free.
But the lava sand and alfalfa meal made a big difference in my shrubs, especially my roses.
The alfalfa meal encourages more and bigger blooms.
So, starting this spring, sugar, alfalfa meal and lava sand will be put dpown and watered in, and again the same in the fall.
Other than that, mowing, edging and watering is all we will do, except planting more stuff.
If you can't till, I would say add some cdar bark mulch in with the soil where you put the plugs, then try to find the granulated gypsum and put that down and water it in, and also use the alfalfa meal and lava sand.
Using an organic program will over the years, loosen up and emend clay soil.
Tilling in some bark to loosen it just speeds it up a few years.
the rason I use cedar bark mulch is for the insect repelling properties.
Cedar repels a ton of insects.
I put down cedar bark mulch, enough for a good covering , but not enough to cover up the grass.
Not a half inch deep, all over my yard, in early spring, when it is time for termites to swarm, and I put a trail of it about 3 inches wide and an inch or two deep all around the foundation of the house and out buildings, to kep the termites out.
It has worked for all these years.
My other neighbirs have to call the termite services, but we never do.
I say if you like the looks of the Zoysia, then go for it.
I have never seen a Zoysia lawn, except in pictures.
Whatever type of grass you decide on, it will do better, look better, and with a lot less work, if you are on an organic program.
You can't go partly organic though.
If you use any chemicals on your lawn, it will undo your organic program.
Weed killers, chemical insecticides etc will kill of the critters, and you will be back to square one with the insects and problems.
I use NO chemicals.
Well, none that are man made.
Sugar is a chemical, really, and so is the baking soda I use for fungus, but I don't buy any lawn chemicals.
Besides cutting down on the work, and getting better results, the organics save me a tom of money.
Write anytime, if you need answers about an organic program.
Charlotte