Lawn Looks Terrible - Help Needed!!
 

Hi all. The front lawn consisting of St Augustine grass at our villa looks terrible and also has weeds. We water regularly and pay for treatment every other month from a company called zoysia green (obviously not happy with their service)….

In short, I am considering having all grass torn out, fresh soil added and then either seed or sod put down. I would be interested in hearing any and all suggestions from those who have done the same or similar. Also interested to learn if there is a particular time of year that is suggested for best results.

Any recommendations for trustworthy landscapers to do this job will also be appreciated. I love the Villages and want to make my lawn look great and think I need to start my lawn over! Thx in advance

Replace it with ground cover such as Asian Jasmine.

Very low maintenance and green all year round.

Don’t you need ARC approval for that?

Article on Asian Jasmine.

Asian Jasmine an excellent ground cover | Real Estate | chronicleonline.com

I wouldn't go so far as to tear out the grass. When we moved here in 2020 our lawn (St. Augustine Grass) had obviously been neglected: it looked horrible. More bare spots than grass, and most of the grass was interspersed with weeds. I hired a yard guy to cut it: his advice was that resodding was unnecessary: that the current grass would send out runners to the bare spots and in time the lawn would look great. It did, but not without a lot of TLC for the first year. He also advised getting a good weed and pest control service, which I did: Florida Pest Control. They're not the cheapest game in town but in my opinion one of the most conscientious. They're there when they say they'll be there and do what they say they're going to do. A bit over three years later and my lawn is one of the two or three best on our street.

Resodding is expensive. Patience isn't. Get a GOOD company to curb the weeds and pests, water conscientiously, and in time your lawn should be fine.

Always worth checking with ARC, but when we asked (eight years ago) they were very keen for us to do it, and it is what The Villages uses a lot around trees etc.

Fertigator. they were recommended by another member here, & i'm beyond pleased. i prepaid the year, & these guys come out, spend lots of time & do it all, inc. shrub care.

i agree. mine was the same way until i got the new landscapers- i thought the lawn was beyond repair. it took awhile, but is lovely now

ARC Approval for Replacing Sod?
 

You do not need ARC approval when replacing sod with the same. I had it done by LaCosta Sod. *(407) 271-2991

I fought my lawn for over two years. Tried multiple services who said they could save it. NO LUCK. Spent lots of time and money. Finally I found LaCosta. It was torn out in one day and replaced the same day with fresh sod. I now have one the the prettiest lawns in the neighborhood:)

Do you know a contractor that can do this? Is it expensive?

St Augustine grass is in dormancy right now, so it’s not growing or doing anything. Don’t rip it out, come spring, it’ll take off. Call a few lawn care companies (we use Florida Pest). Have them give you recommendations on treatments and price quotes.

Also check your irrigation system to confirm it’s running right. St Augustine grass usually crowds out most weeds when it’s thick and healthy. So figure out why it went downhill in the first place.

I’d gather that a good spraying for weeds now, and a good program next year including fertilizer, weed and insect control is all you need. It will take time to recover but it will get there.

Many Things
 

First of all, watering and clean sprinkler heads that rotate are important to the health of your lawn. Makes sure your Hunter heads have a rotating pattern when you turn them on. In many cases underperforming heads are clogged and need to be cleaned out. I pop them up and put a large envelope clip on them before turning the heads for cleaning.

Next, weeds gain only be eradicated by using 41% glyphosate. Anything else will kill your grass.
Amazon.com

The most important thing to remember is St. Augustine can’t be seeded. It’s a runner. You can buy plugs or cut out bad turf and soil and replant. That’s about it. Black Cow soil is great, but it often brings the weeds you don’t want.

Our regular gardener did the Asian Jasmine for us, but he no longer works in The Villages.

Basically, he planted them in a grid at approx 18" spacing in both directions and just let them grow.

They do take quite a time to fill in the gaps but it looks fine while doing so and doesn't need weeding as they will take over eventually.

The plants are always on sale at Lowes and with a bulb planter it should be very easy for anyone to do.

They need no fertiliser or pesticide and very little irrigation. We strim the edges three times a year to neaten them up, but they grow to less than a foot in height so don't need "mowing".

The product you provided the link to say it will also kill all grass. How do you spray for weeds in the St Augustine grass without killing the St Augustine?

Call Deans Service the best in the area.

I have a patch of dead grass that I would like to replace. Is there a store that sells pieces of sod at this time of year?

lawn
 

try a seriois de thatching then apply the weed and feed,after a heavy rain apply it again..good luck,it will be awhile.

After you get it fixed, we use Lawn Care & Pest Control in Orlando | Evergreen Lawn & Pest and are extremely pleased. Our yard looks fantastic compared to neighbors who are paying other companies. The same guy treats ours every month.

Sincere thanks to all for your responses. This will be a process obviously and all info provided on this thread has been helpful!

Not St Augustine
 

Scott’s pro vista St. Augustine isn’t harmed by the spray. If you aren’t sure if this is your type of grass, contact The Villages before spraying. It is widely used in South Florida. Many sod farms grow this type of grass.

Here is a link to better assist you
https://www.lawnsite.com/threads/wha....485154/page-2

Type
 

What type? I know St. Augustine is available right now at Lowe’s in Wildwood. Also know your culprit that killed your grass. Was it grubs, chinch bugs, a female dog, softener salt, another dog on medication etc. It is important to clear some soil underneath the spot you plug.

Technically you can replace grass with ground cover. Florida law states you can replace sod with ground cover, whether it must be a native ground cover or not, is open to question. Asiatic jasmine, used throughout the villages is not native, sunshine mimosa is. Asiatic jasmine maintains a dense green look throughout the year, whereas mimosa seems to go a little brown. Only a hand full of people have ever pulled this off and villas would lend themselves to this better than larger lots. The villages did pass an ordinance or statute that requires the ground cover to cover all the bare spots within a year. The villages may say it is Florida friendly but it not and expect it would come down on you so you should check with arc before beginning. You might want to begin with maintaining the grass and enlarging the ground cover area a little at a time. Resodding would be my last resort as it is very expensive.

Lowes sells both plugs and squares that are 24” x 16”.

Kevin, I wouldn't seed. I tried seeding bare spots in my lawn ( zoysia) two times in two years in the spring. Very expensive seed. 5 pounds is about $48 depending where you go and doesn't cover a whole lot. Better go with sod.

GRUBS... stores will tell you not to worry in the Fall about them. Wrong. I just replaced (bought St Augustine from Lowes) about a 6 x 4 area and found about 20 of them. I use grub specific granules. Sunniland Weed and Feed for St Augustine works great. I put it down quarterly. Dollar weeds mean too much water. I use fungicide for too much water and fungus. I use insect control as well as needed.

Massey was doing a terrible job and almost killed my yard. I became a diy-er.

Agreed, it all looks terrible. My husband digs out the dead spots, treats for fungus and then replaces the spots with Zoysia pieces. The Zoysia will eventually take over. Some of the landscapes say it’s not a fungus, but that’s BS. Everyone seems to be suffering from it. It’s a lot of work for him, but it looks good and if you can do it, it’s cheaper this way.

We had chinch bugs which caused brown areas. Has been sprayed by Deans but damage is done. I doubt our grass will recover. We will probably re-sod in the spring if grass does not recover. Hope this helps.

If you live in a courtyard Villa and a district that permit, get rid of it all. Rock landscaping is best. Get ARC approval and you’ll never regret it.

Chinch bugs are ruining St Augustine grass really fast this year. At first it looks like a patch of area is not getting enough water. It’s a wilted looking. Then if you don’t treat it with insecticide it will be dead within two weeks. Go Lowe’s and buy a bag of Triazicide and spread it according to directions. It’s a granular. Then water the heck out of your grass. You’ll want to to it now to get a jump on them in the spring. I had to water 10 minutes every morning plus the two days a week of deep watering of 45 minutes each. My grass is thick and lush but I jumped on it fast when any area started looking bad. St Augustine seems to require more water than the normal TV standards to keep it looking lush.

Lawn Problem
 

We also live in a Villa. Since we started using GreenSmiths, we have no insectsand our grass, same as yours, looks great.

Call Larry @Massey 1 414-587-1294
 

Kevin
Before you spend money get free advice from a professional.
I've used Larry at Massey for years. I totally trust him.
Give him a call
Good Luck Bob G




he front lawn consisting of St Augustine grass at our villa looks terrible and also has weeds. We water regularly and pay for treatment every other month from a company called zoysia green (obviously not happy with their service)….

In short, I am considering having all grass torn out, fresh soil added and then either seed or sod put down. I would be interested in hearing any and all suggestions from those who have done the same or similar. Also interested to learn if there is a particular time of year that is suggested for best results.

Any recommendations for trustworthy landscapers to do this job will also be appreciated. I love the Villages and want to make my lawn look great and think I need to start my lawn over! Thx in advance[/QUOTE]

Greensmiths Lawn and Pest control did wonders to our lawn over a period of 6 months. Highly recommend. Little more expensive but well worth i

Lowes and Home Depot - was there 10 days ago.

It’s difficult to advise you on the proper way to fix this yourself without more info, although many have done just that.

Your question was for trustworthy landscapers to give you a fresh start. I can’t help you there, however if you want to give it a shot yourself then you need to educate yourself on several issues concerning growing healthy St Augustine grass.

Weeds have been a big problem this year and especially since we’ve been in a bit of a drought for a while now. Without adequate water the grass weakens and the weeds come in. You said that you water regularly but what does that mean? You could be watering every day for 10 minutes and not getting enough water for your grass to thrive. First, understand how much water your grass needs and then test to be sure it’s getting it from your irrigation.

You should also do a soil test to better understand what what is lacking in it. The grass needs nutrients and proper water to thrive. A soil test will tell you what fertilizer to apply so that you’re feeding your grass what it needs.

As far as weeds are concerned, you need to know what they are so that you know how to control/eradicate them. One size definitely doesn’t fit all when it comes to fertilizer and weed control.

Your grass is not dormant now, contrary to another comment in this thread. We’ve been having temps in the 80’s and healthy St Augustine is still growing enough to need mowing. If you’re mowing it then it’s not dormant.

I do my own lawn mowing and treatment. I’ve attached a picture of how it looks this morning. Definitely not dormant.

The University of Florida extension service has great info on growing a healthy St Augustine lawn. Good luck with your lawn!

Grass or no Grass
 

I have ridden around a lot of the Villages and none have good grass. No matter the species, zoysia or St Augustine. At any time of the year, at best 60% of the grass is green.
The other 40 is some shade of brown. The reality here is that the weather and the bugs are never going to allow you to have a northern lawn, 90% green.

I saw a couple of really good lawns 80% green, I was impressed, what did they do? 3 months later they were back to 60% green. Its just the nature of the beast, what you are fighting is not being 25% green.

The less lawn you have the better, turn it into something else, rock, ground cover. A villa is ideal for that. Everyone else larger than that will just have to suffer with the 60% green.

Don't look at a lawn from a distance, stand on it, you will see the brown. Its just the nature of the beast here.

Now, if someone says I have a great lawn, go and look at it and see for yourself. There are no great lawns here. People have just gotten acclimated to the 40% brown. More brown in the winter and less brown in the spring summer. And all of these services do the same thing, BUT, they too cannot fight nature either, they just try to keep the 60% from becoming less.

Really, take a good look around and you will see, any lawn you can eliminate is good. The rest you can settle with 60% green, like everyo:thumbup:ne else.

Thanks for posting this. Good information. I think I have cinch bugs too, at least that's what someone from Massey told me when they came to my door soliciting service. I bought my place in August had sat empty for a year and a half so I'm sure no one was taking care of the lawn. I went out and bought a granular from Bayer called Merit. It's supposed to work really well with cinch bugs. I have no idea if it's working though because I'm not really sure how to identify them, other than dead spots in the lawn. I applied this with a normal granular broadcast spreader. I might do a second application pretty soon.

I also do my own general pest control. I will alternate between talspar P and Termidor four times a year. That's what I did in my previous home. The Termidor is better for ants and termites because it's a slow release and they take it back to the nest. I just go around the whole house about 4 feet up the wall and 4 feet out into the yard and hit the eaves that I can reach.

As for weeds, I have nutsedge, which I treated with something called sedgehammer. I just applied it yesterday so it's too early to see if it's working. It's a little spendy though. I also have clover and something I think they call Hawksbeard (which is kind of like dandelions where I came from) that regular spectraside (the kind that doesn't kill grass) from Home Depot or Lowes seems to work. The Hawksbeard is starting to wilt a little. If it survives, I bought something called Celsius, also from Bayer, that's supposed to work really good. But that's expensive so I'm gonna try the spectraside first because it's cheaper. I'll come back and update my post after I get some results. All of the applications above, except for the Merit, you mix with water and spray on. I know I could just pay Massey or other service to do it but it is a lot cheaper to DIY and I am the kind of person who likes to do it myself anyway.

I'm gonna keep watching this thread to see what others suggest.

Stay away from Massey services
 

Their default service is six visits a year and they charge you over $50 per visit.

Some of their visits take only two or three minutes and I have no idea what they’re doing.

They don’t do anything to kill weeds in fact they will tell you that they will not treat for crabgrass.

Lawn mower guy brought in weeds
 

My lawn is going bad also. Mine is because the guy I hired to mow does me third in a series of six or so houses and has brought weeds from the houses before mine into my yard. The weed is a Spurge, and it spreads rapidly. I told my mower guy I would get him a ramp to drive up on so that he could use my hose to wash the bottom of his mower (he refused, and that is understandable), and so I asked him to mow my lawn first and clean his mower at home before coming out (again, he refused). At first, he was running his machine so fast that he was rutting my lawn and destroying sprinkler heads and landscaping lights, but I asked him to slow down and not run his mower at full throttle. That helped a little, but not with the weed problem. I recently hired a landscaping company to remove the weeds, plug the patches with sod, and spray the lawn with a "weed and feed" type chemical once a month. It is expensive, but they are certain they can get the lawn back to how it looked a few months ago.

Now, here is my question for you -- does my St. Agustine grass need to be mowed weekly during the winter months (my lawn mowing guy mowed it short last time and wants to mow it every other week during the winter months), and do you think I could find somebody in the area to mow using my own riding mower and gas. If so, how often should the job be done?

By the way, my lawn here looks a lot better than at my home in Illinois where my soil is hard clay. Up there, my lawn is mostly "creeping Charlie" and tree roots (I built in a forest).

I'm actually kind of glad to hear this! I'm pretty new to the villages and my lawn is a little rough (working on it) and I'm worried that I'm gonna get a letter from ARC, lol. I probably won't but I am still learning the ropes here. I eventually will replace more of my lawn with landscaping to reduce the amount of grass I have. Saint Augustine grass isn't even nice as far as I'm concerned, not compared to Kentucky bluegrass that I had in Minnesota. It reminds me of the quackgrass and crabgrass I was trying to kill off, lol.

Fertigator NOT
 

I had them and I wasn't impressed. I fired them.