It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 9:32 am

All times are UTC - 6 hours




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 10 posts ] 
Author Message
PostPosted: Tue Jul 01, 2003 12:23 pm 
Offline
Moderator
Moderator

Joined: Tue Mar 18, 2003 3:45 pm
Posts: 2884
Location: San Antonio,TEXAS
Grass selection topics are heavily read on this forum, so I'd like to consolidate the experience for each grass in one place if I could.

Please reply to this message to tell us your stories and give us your opinions about ST AUGUSTINE grass. You can pick any of the questions below to reply to.

How does it look?
How much water does it need/get?
How do you mow it?
Are weeds a problem?
Do you use fertilizer? What kind and when?

_________________
David Hall
Moderator
Dirt Doctor Lawns Forum


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Jul 01, 2003 1:26 pm 
Offline

Joined: Mon Mar 24, 2003 3:53 pm
Posts: 291
Location: Dallas,TX
Mine has been totally organic for 5+ years.

I use Powdered CGM in mid-Feb and and mid-Sept... I will not use the granulated stuff again as I'm convinced it's insolubility led to my early spring weed issues. They are now choked out. Sustain or Texas Tee is spread mid-late June. I had a bad case of brown patch, about 6 feet oval, last fall but corn meal twice in two weeks caught it in time.

I also toss a bag of lava sand once a year for water retention and a bag of green sand once every 2nd year, using a gallon milk jug cut into a scoop...works great.

It gets morning sun till 11-ish and after 5 sun and is mostly in shade the rest of the day due to 4 very large pecans and an elm doing their shade work over the property.

Last year I watered twice a week in the dead of summer but I have been able to get away with once a week so far this year. It's mowed once a week to about 2.5 inches.

It's the nicest lawn in the 'hood... :lol:

_________________
...Bill


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Jul 03, 2003 9:00 am 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2003 11:17 am
Posts: 315
Location: Dallas,TEXAS
I just purchased this house last year (June 2002) and immediately started in with an organic program. Last June I fertilized with Bioform Dry in addition to generous amount of lava sand, humite, molasses and texas green sand. I have no idea what the previous owner had going on with the lawn but it looked to be in decent shape overall - about 10% weeds with some areas that were bare near the street/sidewalk.

This year I've used powdered corn gluten meal in the first week of March. I think I was a bit late with the application this time as there seemed to be a bit more weeds in the front than I remember there being last year. Nothing that doesn't "blend in" moderately well as to be unnoticeable unless you get to within 10 feet of the lawn - acceptable in my book. Next year I'll make sure to get the CGM down a little earlier.

Next came mollases, humate, lava sand, and agricultural corn meal in late March. Areas in the front also looked to have a good amount of thatch build up all last summer as well but this year it appears to be less wide spread. Last Fall and this February I had the yard mechanically aerated to help with that and was one of the reasons I laid out a heavy dose of mollases.

The areas between the sidewalk and street seem to be having problems with water retention so I'll hand water them a bit more often than the once a week the rest of the lawn gets. One side of my lawn (split by the sidewalk up the house) is less green than the other. One difference between the two is that the greener side gets a good deal more shade during the hottest hours of the day. Not sure about how to attack that problem, but it's probably something that only I'd really notice..

In the back yard things are looking fantastic other than a few small areas where I've got bermuda grass patches. I keep hoping that the St. Augustine will crowd it out, but I think that deep watering favors bermuda's deeper roots. Might have that wrong though.. If, after this year, the St. Augustine doesn't show signs of taking over then I'll likely try replacing those areas next spring with St. Augusting sod. In my book bermuda is weed!! :lol:

Some areas, both front and back, have compacted soil still even after the mechanical aeration, plentiful watering, and all the amendments I've applied over the course of a year. As per a recommendation from Dchall, I'll soon be spreading corn meal and some of the compost I've had cooking for the last 4 months on those areas to see it that helps jumpstart some microbal activity.

This weekend (July 4th) I'll be applying more Bioform Dry fertilizer, lava sand and some mollases in the remaining areas where thatch is evident. This being my first year of an organic program with this lawn it might seem that I'm applying more than the usual amendments. Hope to decrease some elements next season.

All in all I've got one of the better looking lawns in my subdivision and I've had a number of neighbors ask me about what I do to get it that way. One neighbor is already starting to phase in an organic program of his own! Woohoo! :)

~Dave Cluck


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Jul 03, 2003 5:18 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Sat Mar 08, 2003 8:39 pm
Posts: 532
Location: Lavon,Texas
dcluck
Thanks for the excellent information. Yes, each year your lawn will show signs of improvement and you won't need to apply as much organic stuff.
The looks of your lawn should be postive proof that "organic" is the best and only way to go. Also, keep up the good work and maybe more of your neighbors will see what the benefits of being organic will do to their lawns as well.

_________________
Greg...
Converting one person at a time to Organics, the only way to go!! [ ME ]


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Mar 04, 2004 4:41 pm 
Offline

Joined: Tue Mar 02, 2004 5:15 pm
Posts: 5
Location: San Antonio, TX
Looks so so. Lot of bare spots. Not as good as when I bought the house in 1992, but I attribute part of that to the fact I have 22 mature live oaks on 5000 sq ft of yard, which does not include house, and the yard does not get full sun. Use a sprinkler systen and guess an inch a week. Mow it with Snapper mulching mower, set as high as it goes. No problem with weeds, St Augustine seems to choke it out. Used Chemlawn to fertilize but have become a believer in organic. Consulted with Shades of Green and am puitting down Concern pre-emergent this week - if it stops raining - and will apply surface coat of compost. Also put down Medina soil activatior. Plan to fertilize with what ever they recommend at a schedule they advise. Figure in about a year, I should know if my change of methodology works

_________________
Butch


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Jun 21, 2004 11:13 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Sun Jun 20, 2004 9:12 am
Posts: 81
Location: Dallas, Texas
Started with an organic program in the spring on my girlfriend's lawn that was probably two thirds augustine, but it looked weak and was losing ground fast to the weeds. So far I have added Bioform Dry, Aggie Corn Meal (gig'em Ags), and dry molasses. HG mentioned the molasses should really help prevent the fire ant beds, which have been a problem. In addition, I have added some compost to the areas that looked compacted, followed up with some aeration, and started mowing high (probably 4 inches), and watering deep. Overall results are good so far. Augustine is spreading and starting to look much better. The high grass is causing it too seed all over the place. All the rain we have had recently has helped of course. The yard gets full sun, and the front parkway was so bad I decided to lay a few sod squares to help speed things up some. I also pull a few weeds by hand when the ground is moist. I'll contine to mow high and water only when necessary during the summer, but I don't plan to do much else until September when I'll spread the CGM.
My goal is to grow a lawn that looks as good or better than the neighbors, who use synthetic fertilizer and water up to 3 times a week with their sprinkler systems. If I can do that organically, I will be very proud. 8)


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Jul 06, 2004 4:40 pm 
Offline

Joined: Mon Jun 14, 2004 3:12 pm
Posts: 8
Location: Fort Worth
Front yard was mostly bermuda. We have one large tree. Ok, I've been here for 5 years and in that time, I've seen my hubby change his yard habbits to organic. With all of the rain for the month of June along with treatments of dry molasses and corn glutin (?) our yard is OUTSTANDING! Its probably 90% St Augustine and awesome! I would say the most part of spreading has happened just this season!

I mow once a week on a higher setting than I used to use. I water every couple or three days for about 45 minutes.

_________________
Stacey


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Jul 31, 2004 11:50 am 
Offline

Joined: Sat Jul 31, 2004 11:02 am
Posts: 1
The yard around my house is as follows: were this not dirt there is St Augustine grass. The front of the house faces the south and has minimal shade, one twelve foot Crepe Myrtle and a six foot desert willow-new this year. The lawn gets sun during the summer relentlessly. My neighbors have no trees.
The backyard on the other hand, is almost completely shaded by a fruitless mulberry tree. I treat the front and back the same however I have to mow the back about twice as much as the front.

The absolute cheapest way to keep your St Augustine grass green in "appearance" is to have a nice sharp blade on your mower. Due to the angle most people see your lawn they may see only 10% or less of the blade of grass starting from the top of the blade. A dull mower blade shreads the cut and that creates a dead, brown stripe across the top which will be seen by all.
I sharpen my blade at least once a year and more when I notice the shreading start to get out of hand. Never use the mower to cut small branches.
Also, I noticed that grass did not adhear to the blade of my mower closer to the center than the cutting part of the blade extended. I have an old table grinder so I extended the cutting surface up to that point. The idea was to increase the mulching effcincy of the blade. It the grass doesn't stick, it gets ground to a cutting edge.

I noticed on my yard that St Augustine likes to be cut tall. During the summer It makes it easy to see the spots in the yard that need watering or soil amendments because the wilting will stand out unfortunatly. However, I view daytime wilting as not a critical issue. It is still an issue of importance to monitor but I do not water immediatly. Only when I see the grass still wilted in the morning do I make plans to water. The grass could not recover overnight so time to break out the hoses in no less than two days and give it a good soaking. I feel this forces the roots to go as deep as possible water.

If you let you St Augustine grass get to tall and feel you must bag, another little trick I do is to let the grass be cut to the height I desire but let the clippings get spread out unhindered, I have a side discharge mowing deck, so they make a layer on your lawn. Now wait and hour, drink some water, and rest a bit. The sun will quickly dry out the cut leaves. This reduces the bulk considerably. Now go back with your cutting height set a little higher and bag it to be used in your bushes. Your not going to throw it away are you? Some of the clippings will still make it down between the blades of grass but the excess will be picked up in the bag. You won't have to empty as much.

I, like most people, am burdoned with moving the water sprinklers by hand. When I spread the liquid molases or liquified seeweed I use a m$ricle grow feeder I found a while back. I strain the molases the best I can and add it and the amount of seeweed to it and let the sprinklers to the work. Beats walking around.

_________________
Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts will.


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: St Augustine
PostPosted: Fri Aug 13, 2004 3:35 pm 
Offline

Joined: Fri Aug 13, 2004 2:50 pm
Posts: 14
Location: League City,TEXAS
I had a mix of bare dirt and weeds with some St Augustine when I bought my house 3 years ago. Athough I am just starting to go organic, I thought I could contribute my experience.

I have seen this in other posts and think it is very important - leave the grass as long as you can when you cut it and always use a sharp blade. One problem in the Houston area is that almost everyone cuts it too short. That just seems to make it need more water to survive.

I try to cut the grass in the evening, so it is not baked by the sun right after being beheaded by the mower. I don't even own a bag for my mower so I have never bagged any clippings. If it gets too long I open the side discharge and spread it evenly as I cut. Wait a while for it to dry then mulch it. I can't change the height since it is already at the highest setting.

When I water I run the sprinkler in one spot for about 3 hours and always try to water in the AM, I only water when it starts to show some stress. Which means that the first time I watered this year was a couple of weeks ago after 3 weeks with no rain. I like to say that our water must be Gold Plated because they charge so much for it. It still looks better than my neighbors yards that get watered about every other day.

I have a thick green lawn that, when you walk on it, it feels like a carpet with THICK pading under it.

I had such good results using organic methods to save some sick trees I have, that I am going to use organic lawn fertilizers for my lawn and garden. I used beneficial bugs this spring and quit spraying chemicals and just love the new critters that visit my yard now.
:D


Top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 10 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 6 hours


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
cron
Powered by eWeblife