By B.C. Manion
A project in Ballantrae is giving a whole new meaning to the expression “time is money.”
Instead of laying square blocks of sod, the community is growing Bahai grass in some of its common areas.
“Literally, watching the grass grow, is going to save residents $35,000,” said Jim Flateau, chairman of the Ballantrae Community Development District board.
A crew from the Travis Resmondo Co., based in Dundee, was in Ballantrae last week spreading Argentine Bahai grass seed on some common areas along Ballantrae Boulevard and along the right of way in some of the community’s villages.
The crew spread the seed on freshly mowed areas.
“That way, when you’re laying the seed, you’re laying it as close to the ground as possible,” Flateau said.
After the seed was in place, the crew sprayed a green slurry consisting of mulch created from shredded newspapers and a mixture of fertilizer, along with a green dye pack.
The sprayed coating helps keep the seeds in place, so they won’t be washed away through runoff when it rains, Flateau said. It also helps prevent birds from eating the seeds, he added.
Some companies actually include the grass seed in the sprayed slurry, but this one prefers to spread the seed first and then spray the slurry – in order to ensure better seed coverage, Flateau said.
The seeded areas will be watered twice daily until the seeds germinate and the grass begins to grow, Flateau said.
Ballantrae’s CDD board in April approved spending $18,632 for the hydroseeding project, which involved spreading Argentine Bahai seed on roughly 2.5 acres of common areas and spraying the seed with a mulch slurry.
Additionally, the board approved $5,779 to bring in watering trucks for up to 30 days to stimulate the growth of grass. The watering days may not be consecutive because it obviously would not be needed on rainy days, Flateau said.
The alternative to the hydroseeding project was to pay $54,512 to have the area sodded with St. Augustine, Flateau said.
The advantage to laying sod would be to quickly create a lush-looking lawn, Flateau said. But beyond being less expensive, Bahai has other advantages, Flateau said, crediting Chris Dewey, of Pasco County Extension for helping the CDD come up with its plan.
Dewey said it’s not uncommon to use hydroseeding to plant Bahai along roadsides.
Bahai has a drought avoidance mechanism, said Dewey, the Florida Friendly Landscaping Coordinator for Pasco County Extension.
“If it (Bahai) runs out of water, it will go dormant,” Dewey said. The grass will turn brown, but after it gets water, it’ll turn green again after a couple of days.
Bahai is resistant to pests and disease and requires little fertilizer, Dewey added.
“St. Augustine, in the right location, can be quite drought tolerant,” he said. “But when it runs out of water completely for six days, it’s dead,” Dewey said.
Another advantage is that Bahai reseeds on its own, Flateau said.
“When we start to see it get thin, we’ll just let it grow one summer, cut it and let it reseed itself,” Flateau said.
