Native sedge lawns really are a great solution to the common lawn but you are right, they can't be planted by seed or sod. They are planted by plugs on 10"-12" centers on the diagonal. Sloat does not have a vendor that supplies native grass plugs but there are 2 local reforestation nurseries that sell to the public. They are Bay natives in San Francisco (
www.baynatives.com) and Elkhorn nursery (
www.elkhornnursery.com). John Greenlee , the grass guru, also sells plugs on on his website www.greenleenursery.com. They are not inexpensive (about $2.00 a piece). John Greenlee also has a new book out about how to plant a native meadow lawn.
The variety best suited for our area is California meadow sedge, Carex pansa. In general preparation for planting plugs is similar to that for seed or sod. Remove weeds and old lawn completely, add organic amendment such as Forest Mulch Plus (found at your local Sloat store) and roto-till, install irrigation (now is the time to do it right), apply a pre-plant fertilizer such as Sure Start, rake smooth. I hope this helps you in your quest. Good Luck!
