Picking The Best Grass For Sandy Soil
If you wish to have a lush green backyard in which you can have both book reading times under the sun as well as fun play sessions with family but the sandy soil is not letting your dream come to reality, then it’s time that you get the best grass for sandy soil and have space with the perfect turf.
However, choosing and growing the right turf for this soil requires a strategy and we are going to help you with that as we present the guide to buying the pasture grass.
Read on for the best tips:
Table of Contents
Picking The Right Pasture Grass For Sandy Soil
Sandy soil is a challenge when the matter is about growing a lawn with grass as the qualities of them go typically against the conditions that favor grass growth.
However, with a little strategically approach, you can get a green garden even with sandy soil, and here are the key factors that you will need to focus upon:
- Consider your location and its weather while picking the grass for your ground.
- Check if the target area has any shade as that can affect the grass growth.
- Get a soil test done for having the correct information about its texture, organic, and nutrient composition.
The Best Grass For Sandy Soil- 5 Great Options
It is very important to know about the difference in grasses that are good for sandy soils as all of them have different maintenance requirements.
Here are the 5 major types of grasses that grow well on sandy turfs:
| Image | Product | Features | More Info |
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Scotts Bermudagrass |
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Scotts Centipede Grass |
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Scotts Turf Zoysia Grass Seed |
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Scotts Turf Pensacola Bahiagrass Seed |
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Pennington Kentucky 31 Tall Fescue Grass Seed, |
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Scotts Turf Builder Grass Seed Tall Fescue Mix |
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1. Bermuda Grass
The best thing about this grass is that it grows well in good drainage soils and this sits well with the water holding capacity of sandy soils.
This versatile grass grows well only under the good sun and can grow into being thick, green, and lustrous turf very quickly when given the right conditions.
The Scotts EZ Seed Patch and Repair Bermuda grass can be a good option to choose if you are planning to grow Bermuda grass on your lawn.
These seeds by Scotts promise to be the best-performing ones when it comes to giving a garden with lush green grass.
This seed mix contains good proportions of mulch matter and fertilizer too that gives a good start to the growth even in high sun, slope, and dry or high movement areas.
The trackifier makes these seeds wash-proof and safe from diseases too.
2. Centipede Grass
This is another great grass for the sandy grounds as it has a very coarse texture and sticks well into the bigger pores of them.
It can spread wide and thick on sandy grounds via its stolons that are horizontal stems that spread and creep on the lawn by branching through and seep roots on the contact point with soil.
The seeds in the pack of Scotts 17544 EZ Seed Patch and Repair Centipede Grass can be great to sow in your lawn if it has partially shady conditions.
These seeds have been mixed with high-quality mulching matter and fertilizers that give the grass growth a great kick start and make them moisture retentive in the longer run by providing them with a moisture lockshield.
The protectant and trackifier elements present in this seed mix make the seeds wash and disease resistant.
3. Zoysia Grass
This hardy grass grows well in sandy soils due to their deep root system that sticks well even when water drains out fast from the soil.
It grows fast when fed properly with richly nutritious fertilizers but can do without much watering.
The resilient grass browns after frost but can bounce back with luster soon too.
The Scotts Turf Builder Grass Seed Zoysia and Mulch is a unique mixture of grass seeds and mulch matter that promises to give a luxurious thick green coat to your lawn which can thrive both in sunny as well as partially shady conditions.
These grass seeds also have the capability to repel up to 99% weeds and grow into a durable, tough, and low maintenance turf.
The Zoysia grass that will grow from these seeds will also be drought resistant and can go on without irrigation too.
We have another great product for Zoysia grass seeds from the Florida Foliage manufacturers known as the Zoysia Sod Plugs.
These dormant grass plugs will turn into a thick and plush grass coat that can boost the looks of any backyard into becoming the perfect picnic and outing spot.
This grass also claims to be low maintenance, weed resistant, able to absorb wear and tear and thriving in scorching weather too.
This Zoysia grass will only go dormant in the frost and gain color soon once the sunlight is shining over it.
4. Bahiagrass
This grass can be the perfect option to grow if you want a fast-growing and spreading turf on your sandy ground.
The roots of Bahia grass grow deep into the ground and with regular mowing, the seeds spread across the area naturally and effectively.
This grass also does well even without much fertilizing and watering.
The Scotts Turf Builder Seed Pensacola Bahia grass is easily the best grass seed for sandy soil in florida and will give you a great turf for your lawn that receives sunlight for an ample amount of time.
The seeds have been coated with a water absorption shield to make them two times more water absorbents and grow super quick into becoming a rich turf coat for the grounds that will do well with the least maintenance even.
The resultant turf will have deeper roots along with high resistance to heat damage, drought, and any other stress from the external elements.
5. Fescue Grass
This is the most versatile grass of all and can grow in a sandy turf with adverse conditions even.
Their deep root system promotes good grass growth even in less water and shady conditions.
Fescue grass is hardy enough to sustain in any condition due to their high adaptability and drought resilience.
These qualities make it easily the best grass.
The grass seeds by Pennington Kentucky 31 promise to give the most luscious turf in the fastest time as these seeds have a germination time of only 14 days.
This grass can grow well in all the conditions like high sun, partial shade, dry soil, etc because of its advanced qualities like durability and low maintenance.
The turf will be coarse enough to resist hurdles in growth like heavy movement in the plantation area.
The unique Penkoted technology puts a shield on these seeds to make them fungus proof so that they can flourish into light green and widespread turf.
The Scotts 18242 Turf Builder Grass Seed Tall Fescue Mix is another great option to pick while planning to cover your poor soil ground with tall and lush grass.
The four-in-one WaterSmart PLUS coating of these seeds makes them capable of better water absorption and retention, better absorption of the nutrients from the applied fertilizers, and disease resistance.
These seeds promise to grow into a thick and green turf quickly, covering up to 5000 sq.ft of area, and be able at drought and shade resistance.
Steps Of Going About Growing Grass In Sandy Soil
We have understood that it takes a little hard work and a plan to grow turf in sandy grounds but the whole process isn’t that tricky too.
We are going to present all the mandatory steps that you will be required to follow rightly.
Let’s begin.
- Begin with selecting the suitable grass for your garden area based on the factors that we discussed above.
- Choose between seeds or sod for starting your garden.
- If choosing seed, they will need to be germinated separately and that will take time as per the variety you have chosen.
- Follow the instruction given on their packet for prepping them.
- The sod can be directly sown.
- Prepare the topsoil before seeding.
- Till the soil up to four inches deep for loosening it and remove all the debris.
- Mix some compost into the soil followed by applying the required proportions of fertilizers.
- Once the soil prepping and treatment is done, start with spreading the grass seeds either manually or with the help of any distributer tool.
- Now, cover the seeds with a layer of soil enough to give them good coverage from all the sides as well as get air and water.
- Additionally, you can mulch to promote better germination depending upon the conditions.
- Watering newly planted seeds is mandatory.
- Start with even watering of the seeds and make sure that the ground is always damp.
- Don’t overwater.
- Composting once every year, preferably during fall or over-seeding, is going to go a long way in shaping the health of your turf and keep it lustrously, shiny, and colorful.
That was it.
The start is a little difficult but once the turf gains ground, you need to give it a little maintenance and keep enjoying the lush green view in your backyard.
Maintaining Tips
Even though the maintenance requirement of sandy soil turfs is very low, you still need to take care of some essential things which mostly include careful watering and mowing of the grass.
Watering is a very important aspect because sandy soil drains very quickly.
You must water the lawn up to 6-8 inches deep and make sure to keep it infrequent so that the grass stays healthy and doesn’t rot.
About cutting the grass, make sure to not cut beyond 3 inches length of the grass blades as that can affect the root system and render them weaker at moisture retention.
Make small cuts from time to time.
Some Issues
The first and major problem that occurs while trying to grow grass on sandy ground is posed by the soil itself.
Sandy soil isn’t just good for grass innately and can only hold turf when modified.
The sand particles are big and round that lead to the creation of air pockets between them and thus, surface runoff is a very common problem.
This makes the soil incapable of holding nutrients and water fed to it and even more vulnerable to droughts in certain weather conditions.
Shade can also turn out to be a major problem for the turf growing in sandy soil because most of the suitable turfs prefer sunlight to process the nutrients given to them and grow.
Thus, it becomes very important to pick a shade-tolerant grass variety if you have any level of shade to sunlight in your area.
FAQs
Here are some of the common queries that concern people.
Q. How do you get grass better in sandy soil?
A. The secret to growing great grass in this soil has 5 key factors:
- Good soil prep
- Proper fertilization
- Suitable grass
- Right plantation
- Proper watering
Q. Can I plant grass seed in sand?
A. Yes, you can plant a grass seed directly into the sand lawn with the help of any mechanical spreader.
Q. What is the best grass seed for poor soil?
A. Pick the seeds of Fescue grass for good grass in even poor soil.
Q. What can I add to sandy soil?
A. You can add various organic matters like finished compost, well-rotted manure, etc,…
Q. What grass grows in sandy soil and shade?
A. Fescue grass can grow well in these soil and shady conditions.
Q. How much compost do I add to sandy soil?
A. Generally, sandy soils do well with the mixing of around 3-4 inches of compost.
Q. Can sandy soil hold water?
A. They don’t have very good water retention capacity.
Q. Can I mix sand with topsoil?
A. Yes, you can mix sand with topsoil.
A mixture of 1 part sand and 2 parts topsoil is very good for vegetable cultivation.
Q. What month is best to put grass seed down?
A. Months of late summers till mid-autumn have warm and damp soils that are apt for sowing grass seeds.
Q. Will Kentucky bluegrass grow in sandy soil?
A. Yes, Kentucky bluegrass grows well in sandy soils under the good sun.
Q. Will grass grow on hard soil?
A. Grass can grow on hard soil if it is prepared well enough to make it a suitable growing medium for grass.
Q. Should you add sand to garden soil?
A. Sand can be added to garden soil for improving its texture into becoming lighter.
Conclusion
To have the best turf on sandy soil, it is totally possible to not have the soil itself standing in your way.
This can be made possible by picking the grass seed and following the right procedure in prepping and amending the soil.
We suggest you plant all the low-maintenance shrub plants along with your grass to make the whole set-up complimenting in every part of it.
Pick from our recommended grass seeds for the perfect kick start as a good foundation will go a long way in giving you your dream garden with a lush grass cover.
