Lawn

[comet]

I have lived in my house for two years and have finally figured out that the back half of my backyard used to be a gravel driveway. It seems that the previous owners just laid some topsoil on it and St. Augustine. The grass looks good through the spring but this time of year it starts burning up and it is hard to keep the soil moist. The ground is hard as a rock all year. Is there anything I can do aside from tearing up the whole ground and starting from scratch?

Thanks

[Tony M]

comet-
I would try to add finished compost, about 1/2 inch per year, to build up the health and water retention of what little soil you have.
Tony M

[Dchall_San_Antonio]

How long can you water before you get runoff? If you can't go for a full hour, then you need to work on extending it. To do that, water to the point of runoff and wait for the dry symptoms to reappear. Then water to runoff again and repeat until you have stretched out your watering frequency to 10 days or longer. Or you might try setting a black soaker hose on the area. Only turn it on to a tiny trickle and leave it running for a month.

How tall are you mowing the grass? It should be on the highest setting you can get. If you have a riding mower, some of them go to 6 inches. Go for it! Then never mow lower again - EVER! There's no good reason to mow St Augustine any lower than the highest setting.

How often have you used organic fertilizer on it? It should get a dose of organic fertilizer at least once a year. Compost is good but without the organic fertilizer, you're spinning your wheels.

[comet]

I organically fertilized about a week ago and also put down lava sand. I also have been leaving the lawn mower setting high for this area of the lawn. If I continue to water like you said and lay down compost and organic fertilizer, do you think the ground will ever get soft even though there is all that gravel below the surface? I can't imagine earthworms wanting to go in there.

[Tony M]

I believe compost by itself will work but given the severity of your condition, you might want to aerate first. This machine, which you can rent, will poke holes or pull plugs of the existing material to the surface. If what comes out of the ground is not something you want, rake them off. Apply the compost and rake/wash into the holes. My goal is to change the composition from mostly gravel in that strip towards mostly composted soil over the long term.
Tony M

[comet]

Ok,

I'll give it a try.

Thanks