Yellow St. Augustine

16 years ago

Hi all. Had a lawn question.

I moved to San Antonio last year and was really disapointed by my yellowish St. Austine lawn. I don't think there is anything wrong with my grass, as I have the same color grass as most of my neighbors.

Last season I tried adding fertilizer and even sprayed the yard a couple times with an iron additive. Which from my research was sapposed to be the problem, an iron deficiancy in the alkaline soil.

I'd appreciate any advice. The only green yard on the block had a load of manure spread on in the spring. Is that something I need to do?

I grew up in FLroida and would really like to see some nice green St. Augustine

Thanks in advance.

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Comments (7)

lou_spicewood_tx
16 years ago
If you can, go to Lowe's and see if they have greensand and lava sand. At least mine does up here and I use them on my st augustine lawn that is growing right on caliche soil.

Mix both together and spread 40lbs per 1000 sqft. Lowe's has the best price so hopefully yours will have them.

Get compost from Garden-Ville (At least i think) for early early start at the rate of 1 cubic yard per 1000 sqft. Use wheel barrow to dump them in various spots and use leaf blower to blow them into the ground till they disappear.It should be one time application forever.

Go to animal feed store and get a 50lbs bag of soybean meal (don't tell what its for) as an organic fertilizer and spread 15-20lbs per 1000 sqft with rotary spreader. Do this 3 month.

Don't use synthetic chemicals of any kind including fertilizer, herbicide and so on.

Mow high at 4 inches.

Water very deeply (1-2 inches) only if it is absolutely needed like when 50% of the lawn is wilted.

You should have really nice yard by May/June.
rick_mcdaniel
16 years ago
You need Ironite. The same symptoms appear in oaks. Yellowish coloring instead of a rich green.

Simply spread with a spreader, or by hand, (you can't overapply), and the color should start to green up pretty fast. Twice a season, to keep it that way.
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It sounds like Take-all-Root-Rot from what you explained about the short black roots. Cut out a 1x2 foot section of the affected area and take it to your local extension office to have them examine it/determine what it is. This disease is primarily observed during the summer and early fall months. By the time the leaf symptoms appear, the pathogen has been active on the roots for at least 2-3 weeks, probably longer. Any stress placed on the grass will encourage or worsen the disease. This disease is very difficult to control once the above ground symptoms are observed. Therefore, measures that prevent or alleviate stress are the best methods for completely controlling the disease or at least decreasing the potential damage. Because the roots are affected, they will not be able to efficiently obtain water or nutrients from the soil, nor will they be able to store the products from photosynthesis. Here are a few things to do NOW. 1. Frequent foliar (leaf) feeding of all nutrients (N, P, K and micronutrients) in small amounts will be necessary. The roots are not functioning properly, and so will not be able to efficiently obtain nutrients from the soil. Spray Soluable Seaweed powder weekly with a pump sprayer/fine mist until the leafs are wet. Spray in the early morning or late evening. Use molasses as a wetting agent. 2. Extra potassium is useful in late summer and early fall. Use Sulfate of Potash if staying organic. Apply immediately @ 2-lbs. per 1000sqft. Do not apply lime or herbicides. Raise the mowing height to the highest recommended height/slightly higher until conditions improve. Mow as frequently as necessary so that only one third (1/3) of the leaf tissue is removed.
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PK I haven't watered at all this season until recently and then it is 2x week at 12 min per zone. bostedo thanks for the feedback, I've applied ironite or some such suppliment a few years back when it first started and I think it might have helped a bit but didn't seem to really fix it. Whats strange is the other side of my yard across the driveway is fine so I'm skeptical it is the soil. I did have a soil test a couple years back let me dig that up to take a look at the pH. I went ahead and applied a copper/neem oil spray yesterday to see if that will help if it is a funguns. I'll look into your suggestion on iron plus. I will try to post a better pic that shows the 'area' of the lawn that is affected. Further back towards the fence (this is in the front yard) it is green and fine.
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denisew
16 years ago
Be careful with the Ironite not to get it on any concrete surfaces. It will stain concrete when the iron gets wet leaving rusty spots and streaks.
nightrider767
Original Author
16 years ago
Lou, Rick and Dennis, thanks alot for your input. I'll run with it. I can't wait for spring to hit for real....

Funny thing though,,,, I seeded my grass with Rye this winter, and if you look into the rye, you see green St. Augustine. I wonder if that might be helpful to the lawn.

Cheers, and thanks again.
lou_spicewood_tx
16 years ago
Greensand is much better than Ironite. Go with greensand. Malcomb Beck (the owner or used to be of Green-ville) from San Antonio and did his own study of which would do better and greensand came out best.

Plus ironite has some toxic stuff in it. I wouldn't touch that stuff.
lou_spicewood_tx
16 years ago
Found this article which will help...

Here is a link that might be useful: CLick me...
nightrider767
Original Author
16 years ago
Lou great link. Went right into my favorites page.

Thanks.

Yellow St. Augustine

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