The problem with growing grass in the Villages and many other developments is that the soil is poor and offers the newly planted grass very little nutrition. The sod looks beautiful when it is first planted but over time the soil that the sod came with becomes depleted and the grass stops growing, turns yellow, etc. So people and the lawn companies hit it with chemical fertilizers, herbicides and insecticides. A chemical bloodbath that kills many microorganisms that make soil healthy. The soil food web is what our forests depend on. Do you ever see anyone fertilizing a forest. The rotting leaves and fallen logs, etc, rot and add food for the fungus, beneficial nematodes and bacteria that are fed nutrients from the roots of trees and other plants and then these soil organisms bring nutrients to the trees roots. This symbiotic relationship is the key to the healthy growth of plants. The “soil” in many Villages lots is dead and devoid of the life that provides for a healthy bio system. So the lawn companies hammer away with chemicals which actually kill many of these helpful organisms. What will improve your soil if you can’t put down better soil under the sod is to top dress with a great amount of manure, compost, or topsoil. Make sure the grass blades still show through when you rake it in. Water it in. After that try to use only organic lawn fertilizers that will feed soil organisms. Products such as Restore, Milorganite, and chicken lawn fertilizers are examples of some good choices. You will find over the years that you will have a beautiful green lawn and less need for insecticides and fungicides. Copious amounts of organic matter can solve many lawn issues. Feed the soil food web and give life to your dead, lifeless soil.
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