Where to buy sod (or contract to lay a lawn) in Khon Kaen area?

[Ahnsahn]

Are there many sod farm / contractors in the Khon Kaen area that a local home owner can contact to lay a lawn?

[nev]

Just up from BigC going towards Central shopping center there is a garden center they sell sod there.

[Ahnsahn]

Just up from Big C going towards Central shopping center there is a garden center they sell sod there.

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction!

Besides price, are there any other important factors to consider when deciding to use seeds or sod?

[Denim]

Grass seed is often very hard to find so most people go for the sod. This is mostly laid on a sand bed but you can also try bags of potting compost although this will tend to dry out quicker than the sand. It's going to be very hot and dry this year so be prepared to give your new sod a lot of watering if you don't want it to die quickly.

[bankruatsteve]

^Yup. If your land is the normal isaan clay, you definitely should put down at least 3-4 cm of sand (I used construction sand). Try to lay before the rainy season goes full bore (or this year maybe not to worry?) as too much water can kill new grass. And don't worry about sod that is torn or in pieces - they fill out amazingly fast.

[Ahnsahn]

Grass seed is often very hard to find so most people go for the sod. This is mostly laid on a sand bed but you can also try bags of potting compost although this will tend to dry out quicker than the sand. It's going to be very hot and dry this year so be prepared to give your new sod a lot of watering if you don't want it to die quickly.

^Yup. If your land is the normal Isaan clay, you definitely should put down at least 3-4 cm of sand (I used construction sand). Try to lay before the rainy season goes full bore (or this year maybe not to worry?) as too much water can kill new grass. And don't worry about sod that is torn or in pieces - they fill out amazingly fast.

Before laying the sod and before (or just after) the rainy season, I will first put down a 3 - 4 cm bed of sand.

Thanks guys!

[CGW]

A point to note! the grass you buy here has no "sod" or very, very little, once you have laid it you need to keep it wet, water at least twice a day for the first two weeks else it will wither, dry out and die! as there is so little sod, when we laid ours (+400 m2) we put some of the black soil that comes in bags for food, helps till the grass becomes established.

Good luck...

[Ahnsahn]

A point to note! the grass you buy here has no "sod" or very, very little, once you have laid it you need to keep it wet, water at least twice a day for the first two weeks else it will wither, dry out and die! as there is so little sod, when we laid ours (+400 m2) we put some of the black soil that comes in bags for food, helps till the grass becomes established.

Good luck...

Noted!

Being TIT, peoples experience usually trumps in my judgement. What was your estimated cost for your +400 m2 of sod and can you explain more about how much (and how) you applied black soil? I don't understand your, '...black soil that comes in bags for food' statement....do you mean plastic shopping bags? Did you first put down a bed of 'sand' or (red?) dirt before laying your sod? After the sod 'takes', does it survive well through all the Thai seasons?

[CGW]

Sod is the earth that the turf/grass grows into, when you buy in Europe you tend to get a healthy chunk of "sod" with your turf.

Here you get only grass with little to no sod attached so the grass needs a medium to root into, we used a layer of "compost" the black soil that comes in bags, I believe they are around 20 Baht a bag? though if you buy in bulk you can get cheaper.

First you need to prepare the ground for the grass, you if you have good quality soil the grass will grow with no problems!

Personally I wouldn't put any sand down, there are generally 2 types of grass available here, Malay grass which is broad and leafy and grows well in shaded areas and the more usual fine type of grass.

If I remember correctly the grass was around 35 Baht m2, the most important thing we found was to keep the grass wet at all times, as it has no "sod" if it is in the sun it dries and shrinks & then dies!

Given the current "drought" situation in Thailand do you have enough water to keep the grass well watered?

[kamalabob2]

Black soil is sometimes sold in large white bags that previously held a different product such as animal feed. I bought a truck load from a company that sold much smaller bags in a typical garden center. Funny sales tax on such a product in a non regulation bag. I'd favor Malaysia Grass for my next home based on my experience with traditional thin blade grass and wide blade Malaysia grass.

[bankruatsteve]

I think what's best depends on the soil you have. KK right? If your soil is anything like I have in Udon Thani, sand is best IMO. Why not take a bucket of dirt to the nursery and ask them?

Yes, once the grass roots it does fine through a rainy season but needs plenty of water during dry. I water 15 minutes per sprinkler area every 3 days and that is probably minimum but works for me. It will also invade areas you may not want it so let it go if you do otherwise put up a good edge.

Edited March 5, 2016 by bankruatsteve

[Ahnsahn]

Thanks again CGW and all!

Given the current "drought" situation here, I am going to wait to lay the sod until after I can see what this upcoming rainy season (and end of the drought?) will be like. I believe my land to already have a high sand content so those bags of 'black soil' compost sound to be just the nourishment that the roots ln the sods need. Once the grass is growing, how and what kind of (granular?) lawn fertilizer would you recommend? Back home, we use Scotts Turfbuilder 32-0-4 (N-P-K). And I will take a sample of my soil with me.

[CGW]

I'm not an experienced gardener! started to learn the hard way when I retired. We had to get some grass down before the rainy season last year else the garden would have washed away with the rains! as built on quite a good slope. The grass worked well, now we have to keep it alive through the "hot" season which appears to have arrived!

From what I have been told 15/15/15 is good for Thai grass, from my experience not all fertilizers are the same, some - the cheaper ones seem to do very little.

[chiang mai]

Things to consider:

There's two main types of grass, farang grass and Malay, the former is what you're used to in the West but Malay is more common in this part of the world, it needs shade and lots of water.

It's really really worthwhile to sort out your soil situation first, small bags of black soil are expensive but if you look around you will be able to find good quality top soil by the square metre, should cost 300 per. Mix that with manure and you've got a decent base for grass. Also, if your house is fairly newly built chances are the existing soil quality is very poor, consider removing the top eighteen inches and replacing it - if you have lots of sand in your ground, get it taken out, all of it, all the way down else you'll be watering every day.

Also consider using Bermuda grass which does very very well in tropical climates and in direct sun, slightly more expensive but well worth it.

[bankruatsteve]

The other kind of grass (and pretty much the only kind available in Udon) is usually called Japanese grass but there may be other names for it. That kind does not do well in shade and needs to be cut very short else it creates a thick thatch that will eventually choke it. I fertilize every 3 months with something like 11-8-5 (too lazy to check for sure) something like that. My lawn looking great for 5 years now but it does like the water as it will brown fast. But, when that does happen it comes back just fine.

Oh, the other thing that is a MUST... if your lawn gets infected with the weed that does stringers along the ground you HAVE to spend the time to get rid of it roots and all. Actually, any type of weed but that's the bad one. That will eventually displace the grass and your lawn looks like shit.

Edited March 7, 2016 by bankruatsteve

[Ahnsahn]

The other kind of grass (and pretty much the only kind available in Udon) is usually called Japanese grass but there may be other names for it. That kind does not do well in shade and needs to be cut very short else it creates a thick thatch that will eventually choke it. I fertilize every 3 months with something like 11-8-5 (too lazy to check for sure) something like that. My lawn looking great for 5 years now but it does like the water as it will brown fast. But, when that does happen it comes back just fine.

Oh, the other thing that is a MUST... if your lawn gets infected with the weed that does stringers along the ground you HAVE to spend the time to get rid of it roots and all. Actually, any type of weed but that's the bad one. That will eventually displace the grass and your lawn looks like shit.

Thanks for posting your experience with the Japanese (fine blade) grass! I can second every point you made about how this grass grows! What method do you use to fertilize your lawn? Is there an effective weed preventive that can be applied to the lawn?

Can you post a picture of a batch of Malaysian type grass? Is is this grass just as susceptible to the weed infestation as the Japanese grass is?

[chiang mai]

Malay is a broad leaf grass, it sends out runners horizontally to start new growth, it doesn't look so much like grass as it does a series of small plants. As said, likes shade, needs water:

[CGW]

One thing I can say with some certainty is that there is no effective/selective weedkiller for grass in Thailand, I spent some time looking before starting to remove the weeds manually!

About a third of our garden is Malay grass, I agree with chaing mai it likes shade and plenty of water, which keeps it looking good, but it is very resilient to the heat, our grass is in direct sun and we dont give it a lot of water it doesnt look great but as soon as it rains it quickly recovers and greens up. Any areas where the fine fine blade grass doesn't grow or dies off we just buy a few m2 off Malay grass and lay it with some compost, it seems to take quickly and blends in well with the fine grass and fills in the "bald" spots.

[chiang mai]

Yes, and if you use roundup and try to paint the weeds by hand, the weedkiller travels through the root system and kills everything within a ten inch radius so you end up with large brown patches everywhere which take time to recover, a long time.