Question
I live in Richardson, have a lawn that on one side is healthy St Augustine, and the
other is full of crabgrass, johnson grass, and very thin sickly looking bermuda
because of a large tree shading the area.  I want to lay St Augustine sod, but want
to remove all of the weeds and bermuda first.  I have read that you don't like
Roundup, is there another way to clear the soil before laying sod?  Just read your
articles on sugar and alfalfa, planning on starting that this weekend.  Thanks

Answer
Hi Greg;
Where you are wanting to put the St. Augustine, I would till it up, and till in all the weeds. Let them turn to food for the grass. Some of them may come up, but they organics will soon make them start dieing out.
You need to check the soil and make sure it isn't clay.
We have so much hard clay in North Texas.
If it is clay, you really need to till in a lot of cedar bark mulch to loosen it up. That would save you years of work and trouble.
When you till it up, add the sugar, alfalfa meal, lava sand, horticultural corn meal or anything else you are going to use on it, and just till it all together, and water it to settle it and get the air pockets out, then lay the sod.
Charlotte