sarmst100, I am from the Dothan area...... Follow these steps to renovate your lawn. 1. Kill existing grass and weeds using a non-selective herbicide. The most effective products contain glyphosate. 2. Glyphosate is only effective on actively growing grass and weeds, so the area should be well-irrigated to encourage plant growth before applying the herbicide. 3. Allow the spray to dry for one day following application. Resume watering for 10 days. Spot spray areas or weeds that are still green. 4. When the existing vegetation is dead, mow the site to 1/2 inch and remove the debris by hand raking or using the bagging unit on your lawn mower. 5. If there is an existing thatch layer (a matted layer of organic matter on the soil surface) thicker than 1 inch, remove it from the lawn (a sod cutter makes thatch removal easier). 6. A thatch layer less than 1 inch is okay, but the soil must be exposed. Core cultivating(aerating)provides an excellent seed germination environment. Holes should be 1 to 3 inches deep and 2 inches apart in all directions. Â A power rake, set deep enough to expose the soil, can also be run over the lawn in two different directions. Remove loose debris by raking or using a bagging unit attached to your lawn mower. 7. Spread seed on exposed soil to allow for good seed to soil contact. 8. Seed at the labelÂs recommended rate with a drop spreader in two different directions. Follow with a light raking to work the seed into the soil. Adding topsoil or sand after seeding is NOT recommended. Newly seeded areas require different care than established lawns. Follow the recommendations below. Apply starter fertilizer at the rate recommended on the label 15-0-15. Irrigate the area should to maintain a consistently moist (but not saturated) soil. Check moisture levels in the underlying soil to prevent excessive irrigation,check to see if you have hard or soft ground, dont want to over water. Water about 1" to 1 1/2". Example: Set a empty tuna can out in the lawn(with is 1") Grass will germinate and grow more vigorously in aerification holes or slits made by the power rake. Begin mowing the lawn when it has grown to about 2 1/2 to 3 inches. Keep traffic, including children and pets, off of the lawn as much as possible, until the lawn has been mowed a few times and the new grass begins to mature. ----------------------------------------------------------- Zoysiagrass is extremely drought tolerant. Although it does turn straw colored under severe drought conditions.Zoysiagrasses are among the most wear tolerant turfgrasses. However, their slow rate of growth gives them very poor recuperative potential. Therefore, they perform satisfactorily on lawns, golf course fairways and baseball fields. It is not recommended where traffic is concentrated in certain areas. If the grass is completely worn in those areas, zoysiagrass is very slow to fill in the damaged areas. ---------------------------------------------------------- St. Augustine grass responds extremely well to being fertilized properly. Fertilize your grass right, and your St. Augustine will "knit" itself into a tight turf that naturally resists weeds. In addition, a fertilizer that contains iron will insure a maximum green color , i recommend using 15-0-15. Also be sure to cut back on your tree limbs to let the sun come in. If not the limbs are blocking the sun from coming in and the grass will die in that area. Thanks, -J & M Lawn Care / Landscaping- www.dothanlawncare.com Hope this helps... *Check out our website and drop us a line sometime*

Where do you live? What is your watering regimen (frequency and duration)? Can you take a picture of the edge of the remaining grass from a distance of 3 inches? I need to see the blades of green grass and blades of any yellowing/browning grass up very close. You're getting plenty of light. St Aug grows very well in full shade as long as it gets light from somewhere. For example it will grow poorly under the low canopy of a magnolia tree but it will grow fine under the canopy of any tree with bottom limbs 6 feet high or more.

Rhizo, you've given me enough information to allow me to lighten my burden this winter. No overseeding for me. We have a mix of grasses in our lawn, with St.Augustine in the back and in some cool spots under the shade trees. I finally learned what SAD was, so thanks for that too. I love the St.A but must be content with it in the back yard only. Too sunny on the western exposure. Well, I'll be letting my grass REST this winter. But we do have our newly cleared "back forty", where ancient azaleas were cut down and their locations had no grass, and I am wondering if this fall would be a good time to overseed with the crimson clover? Should I just let it grow and not cut it until spring? We will NOT be tilling the ground, just covering it up so it won't be a mud wallow over the winter. Or would that area, about 25x100, be fine for the annual rye grass? Actually, we bought that portion of our neighbor's lot inside the city here, and took out everything (the 50 yr old mostly dead azaleas, trash camphor trees) except we left three young pecans and 2 huge ancient sasanquas. I wanted to sod it with St.A, but DH said too much preparation required, so we'll just do the best we can.

You can apply corn meal any time, day or night, rain or shine. Once you see it work like that, it's easy to get excited about using more. It works both as a fertilizer and the anti fungal. As a fertilizer there are better organic fertilizers; however, if you use any of them more frequently, everything seems to get better. Morpeuspa has tried to overdo organic fertilizer and was not able to do it. He fertilized with two organics every weekend all season long. No problems. I did something similar by using corn gluten meal once a month all season. No problems - other than lots of grass to mow. As for watering, use temperature as your guide. With temps in 70s water no more frequently than once every 3 weeks. I stretch it out longer, but I always water deeply when I do water. Ideally you'll get enough rain in the fall and spring that you won't have to water again until June or July.