Grass Growers Step Inside (No, Adog....not that kinda grass)

[DJ_Critterus]

So, I'm trying to get my lawn to fill in. It's St. Augustine grass and coming along slowly, but the parts that get a lot of direct sun are either bare or have little to no grass. I wish I had the time to till the front yard and replace with Bermuda Grass because it looks more betterer, but then the neighbors weeds would encroach and kill that, too.

I've put down weed and feed fertilizer, waited a few weeks to put down grass seed (40% mix), and I water it every other day.

It's just not looking baller enough for my liking. Where can I go to find out what's best for fertilizer, seed, and proper watering in my area? Any tips and tricks?

[Big bob]

Get rid of that land yacht and let the sun shine in.

[DJ_Critterus]

Originally Posted by Big bob

Get rid of that land yacht and let the sun shine in.

I think it has more to do with the small forest to the south that is my back yard.

[Big bob]

Originally Posted by DJ_Critterus

I think it has more to do with the small forest to the south that is my back yard.

Google says


What is the most shade-tolerant St. Augustine grass?
Palmetto
The most shade tolerant variety is Palmetto, which only requires 3-4 hours of direct sunlight. Don't make the mistake of assuming that all St. Augustines are the same. Make a good assessment of how much sunlight your lawn is getting, and choose your variety accordingly!

[DJ_Critterus]

I've been reading what the county extension office puts out every year.

https://sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/clay/lawn--garden/

[Bill]

The growing season should be getting into full swing in your tropical climate, and St. Augustine will shoot runners that should eventually fill in bare spots. All you need to do is make sure that you're preventing weeds from propagating in the bare areas while you wait. You could also sod or plug the areas with St. Augustine.

[DJ_Critterus]

Originally Posted by Bill

The growing season should be getting into full swing in your tropical climate, and St. Augustine will shoot runners that should eventually fill in bare spots. All you need to do is make sure that you're preventing weeds from propagating in the bare areas while you wait. You could also sod or plug the areas with St. Augustine.

I'm wondering how well throwing down a bunch of seed in the bare spots, covering with hay or the black mesh, and watering will work. Wouldn't cost as much as sod, either.

[Bill]

Originally Posted by DJ_Critterus

I'm wondering how well throwing down a bunch of seed in the bare spots, covering with hay or the black mesh, and watering will work. Wouldn't cost as much as sod, either.

There's no St. Augustine seed that I am aware of. You can toss out bermuda seed, which will fill in the areas, then let nature battle as the St. Augustine and bermuda fight it out for dominance.

Either way, I think you're overthinking this. The adjacent St. Augustine WANTS to spread, that's what it does. You just need patience, grasshopper. You've already put down fertilizer and you're watering.....that's more than enough.

Putting straw, visqueen, etc. down is just going to inhibit the adjacent St. Augustine from doing its thing.

My postage stamp size front yard suffered horribly from our extended drought last year, and I actually lost some St. Augustine because I refused to water. So I've got bare spots. I simply sprayed to kill the Winter annual weeds that started coming up, bringing those spots back to bare, and the St. Augustine is starting to fill them in, no help whatsoever from me. I'm both patient, and lazy.


Edit: If you want to draw the St. Augustine to the bare areas, concentrate your watering on that edge, where the St. Augustine stops and the bare spots begin. Those runners will enjoy heading towards area where they can get a drink along the way.

[Aerovette]

I have had a huge bare spot in my yard for two or three years now. I have put Bermuda seed and it died. I have put down sod, it died. More sod, it died.

I assume there is Uranium underground that is killing any living thing around.

[DJ_Critterus]

Originally Posted by Bill

There's no St. Augustine seed that I am aware of. You can toss out bermuda seed, which will fill in the areas, then let nature battle as the St. Augustine and bermuda fight it out for dominance.

Either way, I think you're overthinking this. The adjacent St. Augustine WANTS to spread, that's what it does. You just need patience, grasshopper. You've already put down fertilizer and you're watering.....that's more than enough.

Putting straw, visqueen, etc. down is just going to inhibit the adjacent St. Augustine from doing its thing.

My postage stamp size front yard suffered horribly from our extended drought last year, and I actually lost some St. Augustine because I refused to water. So I've got bare spots. I simply sprayed to kill the Winter annual weeds that started coming up, bringing those spots back to bare, and the St. Augustine is starting to fill them in, no help whatsoever from me. I'm both patient, and lazy.


Edit: If you want to draw the St. Augustine to the bare areas, concentrate your watering on that edge, where the St. Augustine stops and the bare spots begin. Those runners will enjoy heading towards area where they can get a drink along the way.

That's got to be the best explanation I've seen on the interwebs so far

[DJ_Critterus]

Originally Posted by Aerovette

I have had a huge bare spot in my yard for two or three years now. I have put Bermuda seed and it died. I have put down sod, it died. More sod, it died.

I assume there is Uranium underground that is killing any living thing around.

Stop planting the dead hookers in your yard

[jw38]

Originally Posted by Bill

There's no St. Augustine seed that I am aware of. You can toss out bermuda seed, which will fill in the areas, then let nature battle as the St. Augustine and bermuda fight it out for dominance.

Either way, I think you're overthinking this. The adjacent St. Augustine WANTS to spread, that's what it does. You just need patience, grasshopper. You've already put down fertilizer and you're watering.....that's more than enough.

Putting straw, visqueen, etc. down is just going to inhibit the adjacent St. Augustine from doing its thing.

My postage stamp size front yard suffered horribly from our extended drought last year, and I actually lost some St. Augustine because I refused to water. So I've got bare spots. I simply sprayed to kill the Winter annual weeds that started coming up, bringing those spots back to bare, and the St. Augustine is starting to fill them in, no help whatsoever from me. I'm both patient, and lazy.


Edit: If you want to draw the St. Augustine to the bare areas, concentrate your watering on that edge, where the St. Augustine stops and the bare spots begin. Those runners will enjoy heading towards area where they can get a drink along the way.

This is good advice. Regarding Bermuda, the hybrid varieties that are shade and drought tolerant, don't produce seed. They can only be purchased as sod. You can buy "hybrid looking" seed but it won't look or grow nearly as well as a hybrid Bermuda. The most drought, shade and wear tolerant Bermuda is Tiff-Tuff, but it requires A LOT of water. I have a Tiff-Tuff Bermuda lawn and it was absolutely decimated by last year's drought. We weren't allowed to water our lawns last year so my yard went from lush green to burnt brown. It's just beginning to recover now.

If you spread common Bermuda seed on top of your St Augustine, it most likely won't grow, as it needs to be planted into the ground at least 1/8". Some of it might germinate but because St Augustine is cut at a much higher cutting height than Bermuda, what Bermuda does grow will look like weeds in your St Augustine. The only way to establish a full Bermuda lawn is to kill of the existing lawn and then lay Bermuda sod.

Bermuda grass is actually a weed, so you must be very careful with weed killers and pre emergents. Also, for Bermuda to really flourish, it needs to be mowed very low...like 3/4" to 1". The best way to mow a Bermuda lawn is with a reel mower. I have two of them and good ones aren't cheap. When the grass goes dormant, it needs to be scalped, which means it needs to be cut down to the dirt level. It's a lot of work, but ifbit's maintained correctly, I think it's the best looking grass.

[Aerovette]

Originally Posted by DJ_Critterus

Stop planting the dead hookers in your yard

They weren't dead when I planted them.

[Bill]

Originally Posted by Aerovette

I have had a huge bare spot in my yard for two or three years now. I have put Bermuda seed and it died. I have put down sod, it died. More sod, it died.

I assume there is Uranium underground that is killing any living thing around.

Is it particularly shady there? St. Augustine just won't grow well if it's constantly shaded, like under a live oak tree. My neighbors thinned out their trees, brought in topsoil, and sodded an area underneath a live oak and the St. Augustine lived for a while, but eventually just disappeared as the tree's canopy filled in.

[Tikiman]

Just pave paradise and put up a parking lot.

With a pink hotel, a boutique, and a swingin' hot spot.

[DJ_Critterus]

Originally Posted by Bill

Is it particularly shady there? St. Augustine just won't grow well if it's constantly shaded, like under a live oak tree. My neighbors thinned out their trees, brought in topsoil, and sodded an area underneath a live oak and the St. Augustine lived for a while, but eventually just disappeared as the tree's canopy filled in.

My parts of the lawn that are always in the shade have the best, and thickest st. augustine grass on the entire lawn.

[DJ_Critterus]

Originally Posted by Tikiman

Just pave paradise and put up a parking lot.

With a pink hotel, a boutique, and a swingin' hot spot.

We kinda did this in Italy when I was a kid. Dad was making a joke to the land lord about having to mow a tiny patch of grass in the front yard. We came home one day and the entire thing was covered in cement. A couple weeks later, he laid down tile. that was awesome but slippery as hell when it rained.

[DJ_Critterus]

And this might be the coolest way to put down fertilizer and seed.

Youtube Shorts

[Trapper Sean]

I've been getting a little smarter about St Augustine. It's taken me only 10 years to figure things out. But I still don't keep up with the frequent work input required, so mine is still not all good.

Step One: start with good sod. Trying revive or wait on stunted existing grass can take a while. The sod farms are allowed to use chemicals not labeled for residential, such as Asulox, which kills southern crabgrass and spares St. Augustine. Because StA and crabgrass are physiologically similar, there aren't many crabgrass remedies. then the .gov takes them away.

No water? No grass. You must have sprinkler systems than run frequently. Based on your water bill and price of municipal water, you may need a well.

Watering your StA frequently? Then you will have fungus. Gaeumannomyces graminis var. graminis, or Take All Root Rot will move in. The only antifungals sold at Lowes/Homey Depot that will put a dent in it are Scotts DiseaseX with Azoxystrobin, and BioAdvanced Disease Control with Tebuconazole. Infuriatingly maybe, the ones labeled Fungus control for lawns use old antifungal agents that are useless against TARR. Not sure why Morgan and Morgan hasnt sued Lowes and Homey Depot for continuing to rip people off with these. Next you need to understand how these work and dont work. They are systemics, which means the healthy grass takes it up into the xylem and phloem of the plant. With this, the grass is then resistant to catching the TARR bug. The azoxystrobin or tebuconazole does NOT directly kill fungus, does no good on bare spots of dirt, and cannot revive browning grass. You must put the antifungal on healthy grass BEFORE any sign of distress and re-apply AT LEAST every 2 months, Label says every month. Of course you can do your own personal research and seek out products labeled for golf courses etc and violate EPA regs as you wish - I cant endorse that on a public forum. See also Asulox.

Other miscellaneous tips .... use Black Kow brand cow manure to easily add organic matter to otherwise sandy Florida soil sand. On bare spots or directly on top of grass. Dont mow too short. StA likes to be tall. RoundUp for the Lawn will kill dollarweed and other pests without yellowing StA too much. Use BioAdvanced concentrate at your own risk - yellows or kills StA if too strong. Bayer Celsius is a pro product that works pretty well and even kills some species of "crabgrass" (there are at least 5 species of "crabgrass" in Florida.") Soil grubs can become a significant hidden pest. Put down some kind of longer lasting soil insecticide once in a while. Iron is more bioavailable in an acid pH soil, and a lot of Florida sandy soils tend to lean basic pH. Plan A: put down something to acidify the soil. Haha good luck with trying to shift the pH of an entire lawn with a little bag of something. Forget plan A. Plan B: put down a sh!tload of iron. The brand names and sunniland offer these. You can put down a lot without risk. Also Scotts Max Green is maximum green because it has about twice as much iron as their other products. Lawn fertilizers often (always?) have a Zero 0 as the middle number for phosphorus. Its my belief this is for eco- EPA purposes of minimizing phosphorus runoff from lawns into bodies of water. Garden fertilizers will have a middle number and some phosphorus. At your own discretion you could occasionally put down some garden fertilizer to supply phosphorus. Go light because the first number Nitrogen in garden fertilizer is not slow-release like lawn fertilizer. Garden fertilizer is Release-now nitrogen that will burn StA if you put out too much. Ask me how I know.

Sidebar: I think Magnolia trees also get this fungus, but it just yellows, stunts, spots leaves, does not kill. If you're spraying your StA with tebuconazole, spray the magnolias also.

Some of my neighbors just bend over and call The Man, but even this is no guarantee of success. The Man just has everything premixed into one spray at EPA-approved (low) concentration and cheapest chemicals they can get.