You got some good info here. Especially the link from the agricultural office at the Univ of FL.
Read that twice to fully understand what they are saying.
Key points to make grass grow are water, food (fertilizer), light (sun) and mowing height. Either too much or too little of those and you will have issues.
If you’re in a new area and want a good lawn, you really need to care for it yourself. Lawn care companies can only put down 2 lbs of nitrogen by law. In the poor soil we have, in a new area, your grass could use 3-4 lbs to thrive. Sandy soil leaches nutrients quickly, a liquid fertilizer has no chance of staying in the soil a long time. Pellets are the way to go. Using a low nitrogen fertilizer like Millorganite in between “big” feedings will help your lawn stay healthy.
Mowing height is critical for success, low cut heights open up the area for weeds to take hold. In thick turf, they (the weed) will be challenged to put down a good root system. I do a weekly walk about to either hand pull or spray the weeds during the growing season.
While you’re doing your research on line for turf, start looking at irrigation system maintenance. It’s inevitable that you will need to raise a head or make an adjustment to it sooner or later, if not already. I’d look at You Tube for some tutorials.
If you’re interested in water conservation, evaluate your irrigation controller to see if it fits your needs. We have a newer “Hunter” controller. I bought the module that connects it to WiFi so that I can control it from my phone. I monitor the weather and can shut it off remotely based on rainfall. It’s really convenient. Lots of info on this forum and You Tube on that option. There are other irrigation controllers available that offer a more “hand off approach” to water conservation, but what I have works for me at this point.
|