[TomSpasm]

Originally Posted by Wondering

Get rid of the St. Augustine and replace with Zoysia. St. Augustine is a weed!

I've lived in Florida for 40 years and the Empire Zoysia I have here is the worst grass I've ever had. Wish I had St. Augustine.

[bobeaston]

If you want to learn from some experts, and not simply take random suggestions from neighbors, read the material from Florida based horticulture experts. The first offers a broad view of weed management with very specific recommendations. The second dives deeper into how herbicides work, along with detailed descriptions of almost all herbicidal products.

Especially: Weed Management Guide for Florida Lawns
and: Turfgrass Herbicides: Mode of Action and Resistance Management

BTW. I would rather hear from these academic specialists, than from the lawn care professionals who only want to sell their own service, or the random guy at the store who probably doesn't have enough background, Tommy at Wildwood Ace Hardware excepted.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by shaw8700@outlook.com

Is there any way to get a load of dirt? I don’t know kind of grass we have now, actually it’s brown and almost non-existent, but we are planning to put down St. Augustine. But my husband wants to put down dirt first because he says the ground is all sand, but I don’t know where to get a load of dirt.

You can buy bags of dirt at Home Depot.

[lawgolfer]

Go to Ace Hardware (or online) and buy Roundup for Southern grasses. For the first application, use the lowest recommended rate. If that doesn't stop the weeds, make the second application at the highest recommended rate. At the higher mixture rate, the St. Augustine may show some "yellowing", but it will survive.

[cahvillage]

I always used Scott's BONUS S...It's a little expensive but works for the weeds and doesn't kill the grass....It's a granule and you just need a spreader to apply it to your lawn...It always works to take away the weeds for me.

[Bonanza]

Originally Posted by Grill Meister

Do no use RoundUp on lawn grass. It kills ALL vegetation....weeds, grass, any living plant. Don't do it!

Please don't give out misinformation until you verify that it's accurate!

There is a type of RoundUp that kills only weeds but not the grass.
It is made expressly for southern grasses.
The container label clearly states in BOLD print that it "Kills Weeds -- Won't Harm Lawns."]

[rduval]

Wildwood

[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.

[coleprice]

To kill the weed growing in my grass, I use Spectrecide "Weed Stop For Lawns", which comes in a BLACK bottle. If used in the prescribed dilution, it won't harm your grass. I use a pump-up sprayer and spot-spray the weeds in the grass. After several "spot treatments", over a 1 or 2 week period, you will only need to spend a few minutes a month doing future spot treating to keep the weeds at bay.

[defrey12]

Originally Posted by collie1228

I have a small yard in my courtyard villa that has St. Augustine grass (sometimes called crabgrass by others). Last year I started getting a weed problem, so in the off season, I pulled every weed I could find. This year the lawn came up green and lush and I thought I had beat the Florida weeds for once. No such luck. Now I have weeds spread all over the lawn, some of which attach their seeds to our dog every time she goes out (several times a day). In the early summer I bought Weed B Gone for St. Augustine grass and applied it as directed. No obvious change. I applied it again last month. No obvious change. The weeds are thriving. I’m about to use Spectricide Lawn and Weed Killer which will kill everything, and I can lay sod on the dead areas in the spring. But before I take that drastic action, does anyone know of a product that actually works? I think plain water would work as good as Weed B Gone.

Crabgrass and St Augustine are NOT the same thing…not even close. Get Scott’s Weed & Feed for St Augustine (purple bag); apply as directed. Done deal.

[Teemotay]

Originally Posted by bobeaston

If you want to learn from some experts, and not simply take random suggestions from neighbors, read the material from Florida based horticulture experts. The first offers a broad view of weed management with very specific recommendations. The second dives deeper into how herbicides work, along with detailed descriptions of almost all herbicidal products.

Especially: Weed Management Guide for Florida Lawns
and: Turfgrass Herbicides: Mode of Action and Resistance Management

BTW. I would rather hear from these academic specialists, than from the lawn care professionals who only want to sell their own service, or the random guy at the store who probably doesn't have enough background, Tommy at Wildwood Ace Hardware excepted.

I like to use these sources, as well and am a big fan of the folks at UF. I hadn’t seen the two documents that you posted but have now read them both and wish to thank you for supplying the links. Very helpful for us DIYers!

[Teemotay]

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.

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.

[Joeyb]

Sumter county does not have a fertilizer ban or ordinance. Please check your facts.

Originally Posted by Teemotay

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.

[Teemotay]

Originally Posted by Joeyb

Sumter county does not have a fertilizer ban or ordinance. Please check your facts.

You are correct. My apologies. The attached screenshot shows my source and I was relying on an AI generated response to my search.

[Mleeja]

Originally Posted by Grill Meister

Do no use RoundUp on lawn grass. It kills ALL vegetation....weeds, grass, any living plant. Don't do it!

Roundup For Southern Lawns is specifically for St. Augustine. It will not kill crabgrass but will take care of most other weeds.