***THE FARMERS CHED***

[supercharged turbo]

New to the agriculture scene.How do you transplant savannah grass?

[Hamtonic]

@ supercharged turbo from your pics it looks like the soil might be too compacted to allow for the easy establishment of lawn grasses. If when it rains the ground tends to become soft with water pooling then there is most likely a compaction as indicated by the surface water not being able to permeate the soil and infiltrate down to the water table . Due to this it becomes difficult for the grass roots to establish and so allow for the rhizomes to run and establish/spread the plant.

There are 2 ways you can get the savannah/carpet grass to establish itself on the land you showed. The first is the ideal way and will yield the fastest and best results. The second is the easier way but will take much longer and the results can vary.

Ideally you want to break up the soil across the space you want grass to a fine granular consistency (you can use a gas tiller or do it by hand using a fork, hoe and rake) and treat it for any pest, namely mole crickets (these buggers will destroy a lawn, I've seen it and can testify to it). Then test the soil for nutrient content, working in whatever nutrients it lacks into the broken up soil. Once this is done you can start planting the grass using plugs (these are basically clumps of already established grass, soil in tact). Grid out your space and plant the plugs no more then 1 foot apart, covering the entire space. Then water daily and watch the grass grown. You're also going to need to remove weeds that will start to grown in the spaces between the plugs while he grass is spreading out until the entire area is covered with grass. Let the grass blades reach a vertical height of 2-3" then do your first mowing/cutting. Traditionally trinis like a maintain a really low lawn, however this allows for the easier establishment of weeds if you keep the grass at a height of 2" the matting becomes thick enough to discourage the establishment of the weeds.

The easy method would be to grid out the space into 1-1.5 foot squares then in the middle of each square break up the soil using a fork and work some manure (and sharp sand if the soil is most clay/dut) into the broken up soil. Plant one grass plug (approx 3" sq) into the broken up soil and repeat for each grid square. The water daily. The grass will grown from the plugs relatively fast however their spread will be slowed by the compacted surrounding soil. You're essentially trying to use the established grass itself to break up the soil with it's spreading roots. This is slow and as I said before results can vary.

[supercharged turbo]

Thanks very much Hamtonic.Seeing as its me alone in that big area, I would go for the easier option.If it was for home use I would of gone for the ideal option.Will post pics to show progress

[Hamtonic]

Again this is up to you supercharged turbo. Based on the results and time frame you're willing to accept you don't have to do the entire space in one go. You can sub divide the space into test plots that are within your workable limit and test both methods, one per plot (each plot could be 10'x10'). Monitor the results and see which works for you. A 10x10 plot could easily be done in one day. If your weekends are free gather your supplies on the Saturday and then do the work on the Sunday. Over a few weekends you'll have knocked the entire space.

I used this 10x10 per day work method a few years back on my yard and it worked for me. Then about 2 years ago I got a bad mole cricket infestation which I ignored until it was too late. Tried using the easy method to plant zoysia grass last year that worked with sparse results a fail in my book. So I'm going back again at it this year with zoysia again using method 1 using a mixture of plugs and seeds hopefully for better & faster results.

[Hamtonic]

@ DVSTT overburden sand back fill is one of the worst things you can use to fill your land especially for the surface layer. If the over burden was scraped at the top of the sand pit/quarry it usually comes loaded with a host of weed seeds such as nutsege/nutgrass, crab grass, etc.

As the link another posted replied with there are a number of natural ways to add nutrients to the top layer of back fill you have. As well as unnatural methods to. In my opinion best results will be obtained using a combination which will allow for faster and more sightly results.

The easiest and most natural method would be to leave the land fallow and do nothing, let nature do the work of fertilizing the land. With time enough weeds, scrub etc will develop on the land and naturally bring up the fertility through the natural cycle of growth, death and decay. This however is very slow and unsightly. The fastest and most expensive method would be to take off the top 4" of soil and replace with good quality top soil. Then plant whatever you want.

In my opinion your best bet would be to work well cured manure or compost into the top 3-4" of soil. There's an actual formula that my soil lecturer from UWI once told me about to determine the ratio and volume of manure needed for sand however I'll need to go digging in my notes to find that. However the unscientific method would be to work enough manure into the soil to give a uniform appearance of both constituents when a random handful is examined. You can do a small test plot o figure out the ratio and then apply it to the rest of the space. There was another poster in the group from the east who has bags of uncured chicken manure to give away. Try reading back a few pages you may find his contact. That might be a cheap option collect the manure and cure it yourself then use it.

Once the soil has been worked plant a fast growing area covering grass like savannah/carpet grass and and allow this to establish itself to hold down the soil, help to control the establishment of weeds, add aesthetics and help add fertility to the soil via the death and decay cycle of the roots when you cut the grass.

[DVSTT]

@ DVSTT overburden sand back fill is one of the worst things you can use to fill your land especially for the surface layer. If the over burden was scraped at the top of the sand pit/quarry it usually comes loaded with a host of weed seeds such as nutsege/nutgrass, crab grass, etc.

As the link another posted replied with there are a number of natural ways to add nutrients to the top layer of back fill you have. As well as unnatural methods to. In my opinion best results will be obtained using a combination which will allow for faster and more sightly results.

The easiest and most natural method would be to leave the land fallow and do nothing, let nature do the work of fertilizing the land. With time enough weeds, scrub etc will develop on the land and naturally bring up the fertility through the natural cycle of growth, death and decay. This however is very slow and unsightly. The fastest and most expensive method would be to take off the top 4" of soil and replace with good quality top soil. Then plant whatever you want.

In my opinion your best bet would be to work well cured manure or compost into the top 3-4" of soil. There's an actual formula that my soil lecturer from UWI once told me about to determine the ratio and volume of manure needed for sand however I'll need to go digging in my notes to find that. However the unscientific method would be to work enough manure into the soil to give a uniform appearance of both constituents when a random handful is examined. You can do a small test plot o figure out the ratio and then apply it to the rest of the space. There was another poster in the group from the east who has bags of uncured chicken manure to give away. Try reading back a few pages you may find his contact. That might be a cheap option collect the manure and cure it yourself then use it.

Once the soil has been worked plant a fast growing area covering grass like savannah/carpet grass and and allow this to establish itself to hold down the soil, help to control the establishment of weeds, add aesthetics and help add fertility to the soil via the death and decay cycle of the roots when you cut the grass.

Wow,thanks for the thorough explanation bro. I've resolved to just let nature take its course as grass has already started to grow all along the backyard. I've been digging out the nut grass as they shot up too. Still wish I had a jar of lawn grass seeds I could just scatter in the yard .

[Chimera]

Boy just go in a savannah and dig out a few clumps of grass. I bought a "sod plugger" for when I plant zoysia grass. Rainy season finally start so nw gonna plant grass I bought 4 months ago

[Hamtonic]

@ DVSTT, if you mean zoysia when you mention lawn grass seeds. Then the simple sprinkle method isn't going to work. Trust me I've tried. Zoysia is a bit of a drama queen when it trying to germinate from seed. The germination rate for unprocessed seeds is low and for processed seeds while germination rate is higher they only have a one year life span....post this they will generally not germinate. Birds love the seeds and the require a fair amount of water to germinate while at the same time not being washed away.

For my project next month I'm intending to plant zoysia plugs on a prepared plot with a 12" spacing then sprinkle fresh zoysia seeds in the spaces in between the plugs and cover those spaces with a 0.25 - 0.33 inch layer of peat moss. Then water daily and hopefully in a few months the pot will be well established and begin to spread.

If you meant bermuda grass when you said lawn grass...then it might work....I don't have any experience with that grass. However as ABA said you could just try establishing a few savannah/carpet grass plugs and see how that works.

If you get fed up of the nut grass weeding here's an option. There's a selective herbicide called Basagran made by BASF. It's a bit pricey but it works and it's safe to use on turf. Just use a surfactant when mixing then apply via spray to nut grass when they've grown a bit but don't allow the nutgrass to develop seed heads. It'll take a a week or for for the grass to die. You'll see the deep green leaves turning yellowish as the toxin does it work systematically killing the plant and even the annoying tuber/nut down in the ground. Or you you could just use paraquat and kill everything on the plot and start afresh.

[shake d livin wake d dead]

good info and write up hamtonic...keep it coming

[Hamtonic]

Hey guys does anyone in here have any experience grafting trees? Particularly citrus trees especially with different species onto a single root stock.

I've got a portugal and mayer lemon trees germinated from seed growing in my back yard. I'm getting a bit tired of waiting for both trees to bear fruit. I would like to utilize the root stocks to bear other fruit while I wait for them to bear their own respective fruit.

For the portugal I'm thinking of grafting onto it ortinque, pink grapefruit and tangerine.
For the mayer lemon I'm thinking of grafting onto it key lime, rough skin lemon and coco lime.

So back to my original question anyone with grafting experience willing to chime in and tell me if this is a good idea, possible at all and if so any advice on how to proceed.

BTW does anyone know of any place selling grafted blood orange plants/trees?

[Chimera]

Is grafted/air layering the same thing?

[DVSTT]

Is grafted/air layering the same thing?

I don't believe so.

Is there a pommerac tree that doesn't get too tall? Looking to put one in the back yard but I don't want it to get too tall. Fed up get sting by wasp when I climb those trees.

[Hamtonic]

@ DVSTT there's wax apple which looks similar to pommerac as someone posted about on the previous page. It's sometimes refered to as chinese pommerac. The tree for which with pruning doesn't get as big as a normal pommerac tree. However as for a true pommerc cultivar with dwarf/miniature tree I know of none.

[Hamtonic]

Anyone in here has any experience using talstar insecticide particularly the granules either the PL or EZ. If so what were the results like and is it easy to find the granules in most agro shops and prices.

[Chimera]

having a problem with my julie mango fruit this year

almost all the mangoes have a soft sour spot in them, mangoes ive picked from tree so its not that they fall and got bruised

any ideas?

[DVSTT]

having a problem with my julie mango fruit this year

almost all the mangoes have a soft sour spot in them, mangoes ive picked from tree so its not that they fall and got bruised

any ideas?

Happened with a relatives starch mango tree last year. I'm not sure what causes it but this year the fruits aren't afflicted by it.

[NR8]

Went LA Vega yesterday. $250.00 for an orange plant, $100.00 for a lime, no west Indian cherry. Got a lime and orange this morning at our local agricultural shop for $50.00 each. Also got a west Indian cherry tree in another agricultural shop for $69.00, guy said it should bear from next year.

That's weird. Most of the citrus I've seen at the San'do branch were around $70. Their West Indian cherry was $69 too but it really sells out quick. Ended up getting it slightly cheaper elsewhere.

[NR8]

I've got a portugal and mayer lemon trees germinated from seed growing in my back yard.

Did you get the meyer lemon seeds locally? I've been looking to get a plant for some time now.

BTW does anyone know of any place selling grafted blood orange plants/trees?

Would also like to know this.

[Hamtonic]

@NR8 Peppercorns or one of the other gourmet food shop had some mayer lemons at one point. I bought a few and extracted the seeds from them, germinated the seeds and planted the seedlings.

[NR8]

Thanks man

[DVSTT]

Anyone here ever grew Canadian sweet corn?

[lipstick war]

@hamtonic wonder where can i buy me some granular 20-20-20 fertilizer nt the water soluble ones

[Chimera]

Isn't that what they call nutrex?

[X_Factor]

it have so much variations of nutrex and fertilizers selling these days eh
Any blue water soluble fertilizer they call it nutrex...lol

I have never really seen a triple 20 granular....if u find it lemme know

[Chimera]

ive bought 20-20-20 locally but i rly cant remember if it was granular or powder

will check the bag i have home

i usually buy from rohit in aranguez or southern chemicals/bob on ramsaran street in chaguanas

[X_Factor]

yeah, its available in powder/ water soluble /even liquid
around 100 a bag

but i think the guy wanted the type like blaukorn / urea and i have never seen those selling
u know nah in the rainy/wet conditons when u side dress/broadcast them it breaks down slower

[lipstick war]

Yes x factor you got it,i prefer sidedressing my plants & citrus trees.tried a couple places but they only supply the water soluble ones.

[X_Factor]

u could use a 13-13-21 with some cal-nitro/ nitrabor/ epsom salts
since most of the time those perennials lack the trace/micro nutrients like the calcium, boron and magnesium which affect fruiting and fruit quality

[lipstick war]

I'm looking for a one shot urea based balanced nutrition,nitrate fertilizers e.g calnitro/nitrobor leaches where urea does not.

[DVSTT]

Pricesmart has the worx wg119 trimmer for $320.00 if anyone interested. Works good so far, way better than the black and decker nonsense that I had before.