I have a couple problems and a couple of questions about my St. Augustine. I live in Austin in a new development so my lawn is about a year old. It has been pretty hot lately but we have been getting more rain than usual for the summer. Earlier in the summer, I was watering every 2 days for about 20mins and fertilizing with compost. However, my grass was thin in spots, a little on the yellow side, and seeding when it was only about 2 inches tall.

After reading the lawn care faq on this forum, I fertilized with corn gluten meal and reduced the watering to every 3 days (I was afraid to go much lower with it being so hot and dry). My lawn has fewer thin spots now and doesn't seed anymore. But, it is still farily yellow and is dry and getting drier--almost crunchy in some spots.

So, I came back to read more advice. After reading other posts and responses, I have a few more questions.

1. I think I must need Texas greensand to help with the yellowing. Is it too late in the season to worry about it? Would it be better to just wait till next year? When is the best time of year to apply greensand to get the most benefit?

2. For the dryness: Do I need to water more often? Same frequency just longer each time? Less often but longer each time? Should I apply lava sand to help hold the water?

3. About fire ants: Will beneficial nematodes last or do I need to apply each year? What is the best time of year? Is it too hot in this scorching heat for them to get started---wait till spring?

4. Also, I would like to get to watering every 5 to 7 days. Do I need to adjust the lawn gradually? (Go from my current 3 days and stretch it out graduallly). I think I will wait (unless you advise otherwise) and do this when the temperature isn't quite so hot. I'm afraid the yard would die completely if I went to 5-7 days right now.

5. Finally, for future reference, should I be watering through the winter when the grass is dormant? If so, how often/much?

Thanks in advance for the help. It is frustrating seeing neighbors using chemicals but getting better results. It is hard to stick with the organic when I'm getting these results. Don't get me wrong, I do plan to continue to be organic, it is just frustrating.

You don't have to even think about St Augustine going to seed. The seed forms but it is not viable. Too bad. Just mow it in and be happy with the small dose of protein reapplied to the yard.

Rather than fertilizing with expensive corn gluten meal, next time use the cheaper corn meal. CGM is good but it is not 6 times better than corn meal. Besides, corn meal has antifungal properties that you can benefit from. I think you'll appreciate the price difference.

Greensand will probably green you up. Next time don't water as much and you might have been able to avoid the greensand.

Start to back off on the frequency of watering and increase the time you water. If you used to water for 20 minutes, try it for an hour and see how long it goes before it looks dry again. When it looks dry in the afternoon, don't water yet. Check it out in the morning. If the morning dew perks it up, then water the following day. If the morning dew doesn't perk it up, water right away for an hour in each zone.

When I water, I water for an hour, then I move the sprinkler to the outer edge of the sprinkling pattern and go for another hour. I get a pretty good overlap so most of it gets watered for 2 hours. The grass will tell you when it needs water. If it seems to need water in spots before the week is up, I would drop in some corn meal there. You might have some fungus action going on that only shows up by making it look dry too fast.

As you have learned, compost is not fertilizer. It has some nitrogen in it but it doesn't have any of the long term benefits that a protein based fertilizer has. It's good but it isn't everything.

Beneficial nematodes should last as long as there are insect grubs to feed on and the soil is moist enough to grow grass in.

Yes, water one inch per month in the winter. The grass won't need it but the soil microbes will.

The last thing is to suggest you set your mower up to the highest setting. Tall grass needs less water. There are several long drawn-out reasons for this, but I'm running out of attention span.

_________________
David Hall
Moderator
Dirt Doctor Lawns Forum

I live in Dallas. What I have out about watering is. St. Aug needs aprox. 1-1 1/2 inches of water a week. Do not water more than twice a week. Put empty soup cans in different areas. Water for 20 minutes. Check the cans. If you have a 1/4" of water. Water for 80 minutes. Always water in the early mourning. Water presure is at its stongest. This will give you deep root structure.

Don't forget the molasses! Spread dry molasses or spray on liquid molasses (cheaper & easier in most cases). It's basic carbon and will pump the soil microbes into a frenzy, breaking down fertilizer & compost so the nutrients are more available, loosening up the soil and filling in the missing gaps in your program. Can't tell you how many times I've seen this make the difference between a moderately successful or unsuccessful program and a really great one. Keep up the program, just add this one little ingredient and I'll bet you get BINGO! lol: Besides, fire ants hate it!