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mayasamsara

Transitioning from TruGreen to Organic - St. Augustine

16 years ago

Hello, Everyone!

My husband and I have been using TruGreen for the past year to get our lawn back after almost killing it out of ignorance. In the meantime, we've been doing some research and are ready to move on to organic lawn care.

We live in New Smyrna Beach (C/N Florida) and have St. Augustine (not sure which variety). Most of it is growing well at this time, but with a few weeds and yellow areas (working on compaction issues there).

We're hoping to find out what to do and what to expect in transitioning from chemicals. We're already mowing high and watering deeply and we're thinking about a compost application over the summer (is that a good idea?).

First, I've heard that the lawn might get bad before it gets better as we transition - is that true, and if so, is there anything I can do to minimize any die-off?

Second, does anyone have any advice for fertilizers, amounts, and timing of applications? We're definitely hoping to go the cheap-and-easy route, but we're willing to do what we need to for a nice lawn.

Lastly, is there any way to encourage more rapid populating of beneficial organisms (via application, for example), or will we just have to wait for them to return?

Thank you, in advance, for any help you can provide.

Be well!

- Marlena

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