[SHIBUMI]

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!

[Bogie Shooter]

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!

Share the results of your water analysis.

[fdpaq0580]

Originally Posted by Bogie Shooter

Share the results of your water analysis.

Say, "Please!" 🙂

[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.

[villagetinker]

IMHO, I doubt the analysis will be of any use, irrigation water is not treated, and I am sure the quality will vary with rainfall and the use of fertilizers and other chemicals. You may be better off having one of the irrigation (or lawn) specialists look at your lawn, test the soil and make recommendations for lawn treatments or changes to irrigation or both. A few months ago, I found ALL of the settings on my Hunter controller had changed to 2 or 3 times LONGER than previously set. I thought I had a leak, grass in this area was dying from too much water. Fixed the problem and now the lawn is coming back nicely.

[coffeebean]

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!

If there were a contest for best lawn in The Villages, my neighbors would win, hands down. They have a gorgeous lawn that looks like a dark green carpet. He does all the care for the lawn himself. Maybe that's what it takes but I can't be bothered doing that. My mix of St. Augustine (my preferred lawn by a landslide) and Zoisia looks really good. I'm happy with really good but would much prefer "outstanding" like my neighbors'. I just don't have the gumption to do it myself.

[Altavia]

Originally Posted by villagetinker

IMHO, I doubt the analysis will be of any use, irrigation water is not treated, and I am sure the quality will vary with rainfall and the use of fertilizers and other chemicals. You may be better off having one of the irrigation (or lawn) specialists look at your lawn, test the soil and make recommendations for lawn treatments or changes to irrigation or both. A few months ago, I found ALL of the settings on my Hunter controller had changed to 2 or 3 times LONGER than previously set. I thought I had a leak, grass in this area was dying from too much water. Fixed the problem and now the lawn is coming back nicely.

I use Dean's who test the lawn but either tell me I'm watering to much or too little. Can't find that Goldielocks combo.

I wish the Villages would publish what and when they use. Their grass always looks better than mine.

[village dreamer]

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!

they say its because of el nino...........ha ha ha

[Pondboy]

So for me, here in The Hammock at Fenney, it’s the soil thats making it a challenge to grow grass. I’ve got St Augustine Grass (ProVista) which likes a soil PH below 7.5 ideally 6.5. My PH is 7.7 (see attached soil test). Anyway, it’s a challenge. Even the Cooperative extension said in the soil sample result not to waste my time to try and lower the PH…..Live with it. Overall, the soil test was a waste of time and money.


As far as the pond water….well, there’s all kinds of chemicals that run off into them…..from the golf course grounds crew treating the courses for weeds, the contractor that treats them (the ponds) for algae and submersed vegetation, the lawn care company (and homeowner / Villager) applying fertilizer or what ever…….it all runs down the street into the culverts that eventually lead to the ponds, that inevitably supply the water that we use to irrigate our lawns and shrubs.

So yeah, it’s anyone’s guess as to why your lawn is not looking good.

[Altavia]

Originally Posted by Pondboy

So for me, here in The Hammock at Fenney, it’s the soil thats making it a challenge to grow grass. I’ve got St Augustine Grass (ProVista) which likes a soil PH below 7.5 ideally 6.5. My PH is 7.7 (see attached soil test). Anyway, it’s a challenge. Even the Cooperative extension said in the soil sample result not to waste my time to try and lower the PH…..Live with it. Overall, the soil test was a waste of time and money.


As far as the pond water….well, there’s all kinds of chemicals that run off into them…..from the golf course grounds crew treating the courses for weeds, the contractor that treats them (the ponds) for algae and submersed vegetation, the lawn care company (and homeowner / Villager) applying fertilizer or what ever…….it all runs down the street into the culverts that eventually lead to the ponds, that inevitably supply the water that we use to irrigate our lawns and shrubs.

So yeah, it’s anyone’s guess as to why your lawn is not looking good.

Hmm, I was able to improve the soil PH following the guidelines here. But still working on it.

Changing the pH of Your Soil | Home & Garden Information Center.

[Pondboy]

See attached on lowering PH.

[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.

[BrianL99]

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!

The USGA is on site every month or 2. Have them stop by and do a core sample.

[Keefelane66]

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!

Call The Villages Utilities since it’s either recycled water or combination of wells different from what they draw water to be purified.

[MorTech]

Most of that is patch disease. Too much water and thick thatch. The thatch/water also attracts bugs and they will eat your grassroots putting holes in your lawn. Mowing low dethatches and encourages rhizome growth instead of stolon growth.

Empire Zoysia:
Mow to 1.5" every three weeks. Bag or side discharge. Take a leaf blower to any clumps.
Water 60 minutes (Hunter rotator heads) each zone every 4 days.

That is all. It will probably take an entire growing season to look nice.