re: Is it time for pre emergent in South LA?

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Any advice on how to get 6 month old sod (centipede) to start growing thicker? New construction home in P-ville, laid sod in Sept. Little to no weeds, but grass is thin and looks like shite.

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I have centipede as well (front and side yards) and it will never have that thickness that you see with St Augustine. But yours was laid at the start of fall so I don’t think it would be unexpected to be somewhat thin, and it hasn’t broken dormancy yet - mine hasn’t and I’m not far from you.

My suggestion is to fertilize it at the beginning of April with 1/2 pound of nitrogen lawn fertilizer per 1000 sq ft, and a second application at the same rate in June. LA Nursery in Prairieville probably sells a Fertilome 15-0-15 centipede fertilizer you can use or drive to BR to the Site One Landscape Supply on Exchequer in the Industrialplex off Siegen and purchase LESCO 15-5-15. With either you’ll apply 3 1/3 pounds per 1,000 sq ft to equal 1/2 pound N per 1000 sq ft.

Lastly get some soil samples from the lawn and have analyzed by the LSU AgCenter (LA Nursery will have the mail in soil sample boxes). Centipede thrives in more acidic soil than what we usually have in our area, and should the soil need to be acidified with sulfur, the analysis will show this and provide the recommendation on how much to add. No rush on that as it a longer term issue that you might need to consider.