Quote:
Originally Posted by Joeyb
Hi,
The best defense against weeds in St Augustine grass is thick, lush, well fed St Augustine grass. Everyone mentions weed killer, but the real answer is feed, feed, feed the St Augustine grass. The grass will smother out most of the weeds. Here’s some
suggestions:
1- I use a combination of Scott’s for Southern lawns and Sunniland organic. For the first year alternate these products EVERY MONTH! Yes, every month.
2- your St Augustine needs 1-1.5” of water EVERY WEEK. The only time I vary from this is when temps drop into the thirties. St Augustine does not go dormant here unless we have freezes. I water twice a week, 1/2 x3/4 “ of water per water cycle. ( set out a dozen tuna cans to measure each irrigation zone)
3- Mow your St Augustine at NO LESS THAN 4”! Always! Then mow so you remove only 1/3rd of the grass blade. Yes, during the warm weather, that means twice a week.
4- I use Scotts weed and feed for Southern lawns in the fall and early spring. I hand-pull the weeds as needed throughout the year. The ONLY time I use a “ weed killer” is to spot-kill stubborn weeds like dollar weed.
The thriving St Augustine will smother a majority of the weeds. Here’s my schedule. I have the thickest, healthiest, deep green lawn in my neighborhood.
February- apply Sunniland at the bag rate + 30% ( Sunniland organic will never burn and is also great for plants and trees.
March- Scotts weed and feed for southern lawns at the suggested bag rate
April- Sunniland organic at the bag rate +30%
May- Scotts fertilizer for Southern lawns at the suggested bag rate
June- Sunniland organic at the bag rate + 30%
July -Scotts fertilizer for southern lawns
August - Sunniland organic bag rate + 30%
August - Scotts fertilizer for southern lawns
September- Sunniland organic bag rate +30%
October scotts weed and feed for southern lawns
November-Sunniland, double the bag rate!
Done feeding the lawn until February. It will take a solid year and aggressive feeding before you see results. All of your hard work will pay off. Your lawn will be thick and lush and mostly weed-free. At this point, you can feed a little less to maintain. Rather than alternating your feedings every month, go to alternating the Scotts and Sunniland every 6 weeks.
I haven’t mentioned fungicides ( scotts disease X or pest control) do your homework on these too.
Right now, December 1st, my St Aug is thick, green, and lush, cut at a minimum height of 4 “, and relatively weed-free. Most people who ask me what I do are not willing to do the work and end up with mediocre lawns with weed problems. Do the work and reap the benefits!
Good Luck
PS: "The poof is in the pudding". You are welcome to private message me and see my lawn if you want. I would be happy to meet you. I live south of 44 in the Village of Linden.
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I do my own yard work also, including mowing, fertilizing, weed management, etc.
One thing that you and others should be aware of is the fertilizer ban from June 1 through September 30. You are not permitted to use fertilizer containing nitrogen or phosphorus during this period.
The reason is to protect the water quality of our freshwater lakes.
This ban is in place for Sumter and Lake counties along with several others.
If you apply a slow release nitrogen fertilizer to your yard in May, it will be fine throughout the summer and you can treat it in October without losing any of the benefits and you’ll be helping to keep our Florida lakes free from pollutants during the rainy season.