[Bonanza]

Originally Posted by Ozzello

I failed to mention, the biggest reason St. Augustine beats Zoysia in this area ( there are so many small reasons ) ... pH. Our avg pH is 7.2, and uncomfortable for zoysia causing iron (and other micro nutrients) to become deficient as it attempts to grow roots into your soil. St. Augustine will do fine up to a blistering 8.5.
This factor alone (plus growing in quickly for the sod farms) is why St. Augustine is the grass of choice for this area, in spite of the lawn connoisseur's from up north seeing it's similarities to crab grass, being healthy and resilient with minimal chemical investments is pretty important.

Seems to be a trend towards this new Round Up ready GMO ST Augustine. THIS I DO NOT ENDORSE!! I hope TV is giving a choice in the new homes to use non-GMO varieties, but I doubt it. If you follow the money, I am sure there is a LOT of money behind this new variety.

I sadly await the future of Mother Nature ( and our ground water, ponds and lakes) where all these lawn spraying companies convince tens of thousands of people to pay them to spray unchecked amounts of herbicide on their lawns...

Ozello, I know you are well aware of this but it isn't only the spraying of everyone's lawn. It's the spraying of everyone's home, as well. Everything that's sprayed in a house eventually leaches into the ground and then to the groundwater. These chemicals do not dissipate; they are forever in the ground, furniture, walls, etc.

I have preached about this problem many times, and all the spraying is a problem! People move to Florida and think they must have a service contract with a pest company. The pest companies put the fear of God in you and your neighbors tell you that you must have yearly service. Nothing could be further from the truth!

I originally moved to Florida in 1983 and have NEVER had a contract with a pest control company. The two times I had an issue I treated the problem then, but never on an ongoing basis. You will always see an occasional bug, but a few bugs is not a reason to have a company routinely come in and spray.

I encourage homeowners to cancel their service with their pest company and see what happens. I guarantee that if you have a clean house you will hardly see any bugs and you will be helping to save the environment.