[thevillagernie]

lived there for 12 yr's watered







lived there for 12 yrs. beautiful lawn,Empire Zoysia..water 3 times a week in hot summer,25 min day.in cool weather 2 ties a week 30 min....only concentrated on front lawn.

[La lamy]

Where I live it really varies from plot to plot as to how well the grass is doing. I do think proper sprinkler schedule and coverage is probably key.

[jonathanb]

Water every day for 10 minutes a zone instead of twice weekly for longer periods. You don’t use anymore water and it keeps the grass nicer. Found a little everyday is better than a lot twice a week.

[MKDiva]

My lawn and my neighbors lawn are being eaten up by mole crickets which I had not even heard of before. They are both being treated but so far it still looks like a losing battle.

[GaryKoca]

I was thinking that my lawn actually looks greener/better this year than it does most winters. The lawns generally look better up North than in Florida, anyway. Kentucky Blue is better than zoyzia, but Kentucky Blue won't tolerate the heat. But my lawn looks OK.

[Larchap49]

Originally Posted by RICH1

Why are some Lawns looking sick this year? Seems like many are having to put dirt and extra soil additives on the lawn.. The professional lawn service guy " thinks" it might be the frost but said he honestly didn't know. His exact words were, " I only spray for lawn bugs and drop fertilizer." He must be keeping the Trade Secrets to himself! Any ideas or suggestions...

A big issue here is the clay sub soil they used when filling and grading the property. If you have tried to dig you'll find it is like digging in semi hard cement. It's great for supporting you home but not for growing grass. Fertilize often in small amounts. Every 8 to 12 weeks instead of once or twice a year and apply pest and chinch bug treatment spring and fall. Adjust your sprinklers to avoid dry spots as that is where chinch bugs and weeds will attack first. I've bee s trying to stay ahead of the things that affect St. Augustin grass for 28 years it is a constant battle good luck.

[G.R.I.T.S.]

Originally Posted by RICH1

Why are some Lawns looking sick this year? Seems like many are having to put dirt and extra soil additives on the lawn.. The professional lawn service guy " thinks" it might be the frost but said he honestly didn't know. His exact words were, " I only spray for lawn bugs and drop fertilizer." He must be keeping the Trade Secrets to himself! Any ideas or suggestions...

To all who posted on this issue:
Please consult your local extension office! Some of these "cures" could have disastrous consequences regarding water quality and your budget.

[richs631]

Originally Posted by JohnN

My theory is that lawns look great in Florida for about one month per year.
Lawns do great in England where temps are mild and rain is plentiful, not so much elsewhere.

Here, it's too much or too little fertilizer, bugs, water, heat or cold. Take your pick.
I don't think your lawn guy knows because most everyone has the same problem.

Do the best you can and don't worry, it'll come back. Good luck.

The lawns are recovering from an unusually cold winter. Fertilizer should be done later than usual so the lawns have extra time to recover.

[ANT33]

the Grass gets cut too short too often which ends up exposing the roots and sun burns them. Then lawns are over fertilized -again burns the roots. Landscapers just do this to keep work

So Sprinklers are key! Proper watering at night or early morning before the sun comes up is best. I grew up in Florida listening to pops talk about lawn care hope this helps lol.

[PinkSlipper]

Our lawn was getting more and more patchy (Less grass and more bare spots). We were told it was mole crickets. They are treating for them and the lawn is now filing back in with grass.

[OhioBuckeye]

Originally Posted by RICH1

Why are some Lawns looking sick this year? Seems like many are having to put dirt and extra soil additives on the lawn.. The professional lawn service guy " thinks" it might be the frost but said he honestly didn't know. His exact words were, " I only spray for lawn bugs and drop fertilizer." He must be keeping the Trade Secrets to himself! Any ideas or suggestions...

Personally I think it’s still a little to early to worry about it. Mine looked like it was dead too but in the last 4 or 5 days I can see new green grass popping up. But I do my own fertilizing & use Scotts. When I have an issue I email them (Scotts) they’ve always, always answered & always have the right solution. I’m just not a big fan of lawn care specialist.

[propjob]

Also, check the PH. St Augustine likes it around 6.5. I tested and it was well over 7. Dropped a bunch of granular sulfur down and that did the trick. Also, Telstar for bugs and Milorganite for an iron boost. Just got done dropping a high nitrogen fertilizer down while it was still cool and mild. Don't do it when it gets hot or you will be fighting fungus. After that, I only put down a 16-4-8 slow release fertilizer every 2-3 months. Lastly, I replaced all the rotator sprinkler nozzles with spray nozzles. What a huge difference that made. Much greater coverage and I only need to run each zone about 10-15 min. Lawn is in the best conditions its ever been in. Enjoy!!

[DAVES]

Originally Posted by JohnN

My theory is that lawns look great in Florida for about one month per year.
Lawns do great in England where temps are mild and rain is plentiful, not so much elsewhere.

Here, it's too much or too little fertilizer, bugs, water, heat or cold. Take your pick.
I don't think your lawn guy knows because most everyone has the same problem.

Do the best you can and don't worry, it'll come back. Good luck.

I recall reading somewhere about the US with roughly 400 year history feels a need to buy, copy the far longer English history. We have bought London Bridge, Castles, the Cloisters and more recently beat to death used double Decker buses.

The invested the inch, the foot, the yard and went metric leaving us holding the foot.

Next they will think the left side of the road is the right side.

Oh and my British car. You needed three sets of tools Whitworth, metric and SAE.
They do have a good sense of humor-needed to survive.

[wmcgowan]

Originally Posted by RICH1

Why are some Lawns looking sick this year? Seems like many are having to put dirt and extra soil additives on the lawn.. The professional lawn service guy " thinks" it might be the frost but said he honestly didn't know. His exact words were, " I only spray for lawn bugs and drop fertilizer." He must be keeping the Trade Secrets to himself! Any ideas or suggestions...

Thats what you get for min wage

[allsport]

It depends if you are north or south of 466. If you are north, the grass dies off if it freezes and then comes back. It happened twice this year but the grass looks great now with the early weeds in full swing. Lawn guy taking care of the weeds.