[Rwirish]

Many reasons the Developer went back to St. Augustine south of 44. Zoysia is about as bad as it gets.

Originally Posted by Rich Iwaszko

As we all the fight the good fight to get a reasonable looking lawn, an uphill battle in the Villages, I wondered if one of the culprits was the irrigation water. Has anyone ever done a water analysis
on the irrigation water??? Please Share if you did.

I suspect maybe sulfur or nitrogen levels damage grass. Bad spots in the lawn seem to pop up
for no reasons.

On a similar note, both Zoysia and St. Augustine require 1-2 inches of water per week. It seems to me that the sprinkler heads used need to be different. Zoysia has deeper roots and to get water there a heavier spray is needed, lets call that a Rainbird Rotor. Streams of water sprayed.
St Augustine roots are on top of the ground so a Hunter Spray, light spray, head should work the best, but, the watering times need to at least double to get the required amount. The railbird rotor will cause puddling on the St. Augustine which is undesirable, disease.

The lawns in general in the Villages are substandard.......but who cares.........can the issue be the chemical content of the irrigation water or the type of spray head used????

If they held a contest for best lawn in the villages, there would be no winner. Is it the soil, is it the water, or is it the weather, or is it the care...........trying to solve this mystery, THANKS!

I had the same thoughts when I lived in DeLuna. I had heard reclaimed was coming out of ponds down there. You hear so many different stories. If that is true all the chemicals from the streets going into the ponds and out to your yard. I don't know... Yes, please let us know.

[almondz]

So what is your formula? What do you use and when?

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

Originally Posted by Rich Iwaszko

As we all the fight the good fight to get a reasonable looking lawn, an uphill battle in the Villages, I wondered if one of the culprits was the irrigation water. Has anyone ever done a water analysis
on the irrigation water??? Please Share if you did.

I suspect maybe sulfur or nitrogen levels damage grass. Bad spots in the lawn seem to pop up
for no reasons.

On a similar note, both Zoysia and St. Augustine require 1-2 inches of water per week. It seems to me that the sprinkler heads used need to be different. Zoysia has deeper roots and to get water there a heavier spray is needed, lets call that a Rainbird Rotor. Streams of water sprayed.
St Augustine roots are on top of the ground so a Hunter Spray, light spray, head should work the best, but, the watering times need to at least double to get the required amount. The railbird rotor will cause puddling on the St. Augustine which is undesirable, disease.

The lawns in general in the Villages are substandard.......but who cares.........can the issue be the chemical content of the irrigation water or the type of spray head used????

If they held a contest for best lawn in the villages, there would be no winner. Is it the soil, is it the water, or is it the weather, or is it the care...........trying to solve this mystery, THANKS!

During droughts, the irrigation does draw more sulfur water. I’m not aware if that damages lawns. I would like to point out that St. Augustine doesn’t have roots on top of the ground. Those are stollens, from which roots grow into the soil. UF/IFAS recommends longer watering times but fewer watering days. This encourages roots to grow deeper to help protect the plant during periods of drought. Watering more often keeps the roots nearer the ground surface where they dry out and die.

[jrref]

The other problem with our irregation water is the sediment. When we don't get rain for long periods of time, we are getting water from the bottom of the pond. This layer of water probably has the most concentrated sludge you can get. So besides all the unwanted chemicles, we get a ton of sludge which clogs up the filters on the irregation heads. The larger rotators (cannons) are more immune to this problem but all the other heads get clogged and the result is less water is being put down on your lawn than you expect and the lower pressure will insure that you are missing spots. So because of this, people spend the day and go to each head and clean the filters but if the irregation water is still dirty, the filters clog over the next couple of days and you are in the same situation. The only solution to this problem is to install an irregation filter that you can clean as necessary instead of cleaning all 30-50 filters on you sprinkler heads.

If you are interested call:
Chuck Grospitch
chuck.grospitch@gmail.com
440-823-4273

I know my response sounds like an advertisement but since moving to the Villages 2 1/2 years ago my engineer neighbors and I found this to be the only thing that helps. I have a Rachio irregation controller with the flow meter and It's really incredible how much the pressure and the flow is reduced when we get dry periods and lots of sediment and sludge from the irregation water. For me, all i need to do is unscrew the spin down filter and hose it clean and screw it back on. Takes about 10 minutes vs the whole day on a task that get's undone a day or two later.

[Altavia]

Agree with Jrref, much lower maintenance using a filter installed by Chuci, I sometimes also see a lot of algae in the filter.

[Ironnan]

Chuck installed the filter system described on my house and it immediately removed all the debris and resulting clogs. The filter takes 30 seconds to clean it so it couldn't be any easier.

I got a good education when I change the filter on how much junk was being pushed to the irrigation heads. The only downside is that water smell is beyond putrid.

[Ironnan]

Chuck installed the filter system described on my house and it immediately removed all the debris and resulting clogs. The filter takes 30 seconds to clean it so it couldn't be any easier.

I got a good education when I changed the filter on how much junk was being pushed to the irrigation heads. The only downside is that water smell is beyond putrid.

[JRcorvette]

Originally Posted by Altavia

Maybe try a soil analysis.

MySoil - Soil Test Kit | Grow The... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084TSNR79...p_mob_ap_share

My grass seems to prefer palm tree fertilizer which is low in nitrogen and high in micronutrients.



I had two large burnt spots on the west side of the house traced to turf melt. The low e widows were acting like magnifying glasses burning the grass.

Stop Turf From Melting with Anti Reflective Window Film
– Reflect Defense Window Film

I learned about this on a previous home where a neighbors window was melting my siding.

I noticed that were I put Palm Fertilizer around my trees in the grass area the grass was much greener and healthier looking then where I use the Scotts Green Up fertilizer.

[bragones]

Many homes north of 466 use potable water, not reclaimed. I lived in that area for years and I now live south of 466. I've never noticed any major difference in lawn conditions from potable vs reclaimed water. Climate seems to be the major factor in lawn conditions IMHO.

[Villagesgal]

It couldn't be easier to do your own. My lawn always get compliments from my neighbors who use a service. I use Scott's Weed and Feed twice a year, Spring and Fall, takes about 30 minutes total with a hand held rotory unit. I water twice a week sides 10 minutes, front and back 30 minutes and that's all it takes for a lush dark green lawn. Easy peasy. I've done my own lawn all my life, so easy and cheap too. It always amazes me that my neighbors pay a fortune for lawn service and their lawns look terrible, but they won't do it themselves, they'd rather just complain.

[rickaslin]

Originally Posted by vintageogauge

I do all of my lawn treatments myself and even in this drought it is in beautiful condition. Those that you pay to service your lawn will put down the minimum or less. It takes all of 10 minutes to spread fertilizer, pesticides, and fungicide all in all a total of 10 times per year between the 3 that's about 1-1/2 hours of work to maintain a beautiful lawn. I also adjust and set my irrigation so that there are minimal spots not getting water.

So tell us what you put down and when!!!!

[twoplanekid]

This might be of interest to some - Stormwater management in the Villages - presented today at the NSCUDD board meeting

Public Portal • CivicClerk

[vintageogauge]

I buy Lesco palm fertilizer from Fertilizer Direct, they deliver it free within The Villages, I use it for my lawn 3 times a year, Feb, June, October, any brand fungus control heavy amount in May and again when there is any sign of fungus disease in the lawn, usually later in the year, Spectracide Lawn insect granuals heavy setting 3 times per year starting in March. The lawn being healthy doesn't require weed and feed but I do spot treat any weeds with a lawn weed spray, one bottle lasts 2 years or more on my lawn. My irrigation is set for 40 minutes per zone and it is controlled with the sensor that works pretty well. I turn it off if I know for sure it's going to rain on one of the days it's set for. That's it in a nutshell. (this is an answer to rickasln's question above)

[Altavia]

Originally Posted by twoplanekid

This might be of interest to some - Stormwater management in the Villages - presented today at the NSCUDD board meeting

Public Portal • CivicClerk

Thanks - very interesting!

Have you seen a map showing how the basins are connected below the Turnpike?