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Florida St. Augustine Help

3 years ago

Trying to get some help on St. Augustine issues. Lawn doing alright but I am noticing some yellowing. Also this browning patch. Any advice or ideas on how to solve would be appreciated.

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Comments (11)

dchall8 .
3 years ago
That looks like a different kind of grass invading. Can you take a picture of that from 6 inches away on a cloudy or overcast day?
dollfanz
3 years ago
Looks like fungu:s. I would apply a fungicide and then top dress the lawn with peat moss: this should cure it
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I'm guessing that you are watering too frequently, possibly daily, which has led to the lawn developing a fungal disease. Notice that there is a distinct arc to the brown blades from the bottom right of the picture to the middle left...that is another clue that it's a fungal disease and not caterpillars (worms). Quite often a fungal disease will form a near perfect circle. Can you post another picture? Get about 3 inches away from some of the grass at the edge of the brown area. The best pictures are taken on a cloudy day or in the shade to reduce the contrast. Fungal diseases show up on the blades of grass. If it is a fungal disease, my recommendation would be to apply ordinary corn meal at a rate of 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet. Corn meal attracts a predatory fungus which feeds on the disease fungus. It goes to work immediately but it takes about 3 weeks to see the improvement as the green grass returns. I have used corn meal successfully every year since 2002 to eradicate disease in my St Aug. Although, now that I have Floratam in the back yard, the grass fights off the disease faster than it can spread. I still see signs of disease...and then it's gone. If you don't have Floratam now, you might consider putting down one flat of it and letting it spread into the lawn. If you had Floratam in the lawn currently, it would be spreading into the thin (brown) areas and taking over even while the disease is present. Cool stuff. Oh and as to the watering, this time of year you should be watering no more frequently than once every 2 weeks in your area. If you get high temps in the 70s, then you could back off to once every 3 weeks. If you are not doing that, please write back and tell us what you are doing so we can get you backed off to watering less often.
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I suppose anything is possible, but I would not automatically put all the blame on the chemicals. Is there a difference in sunlight? Difference in watering? Difference in mowing height/frequency? Difference in the soil/sand? One of the best things you can do in Florida is to get your watering right. Watering should be done deeply and infrequently. Deep means 1 inch all at one time. Infrequently means once a week in the heat of summer, once every 2 weeks with temps in the 80s, once every 3 weeks with temps in the 70s, and once a month the rest of the year. I realize this is contrary to the daily watering that 99.999999% of everyone in Florida does, but I would say proper watering alone could be the difference between the grass color. After watering, St Augustine should be mulch mowed at the mower's highest setting (4 inches) - always. There is never any reason to lower the mower deck. As for fertilizer in Florida, I would convert completely to organic. Keeping organic matter in sand is very difficult. But if you change to organic fertilizer it can be done. Which one? I like alfalfa pellets at 15-20 pounds per 1,000 square feet. You can apply any day of the year but to make it easy to remember I pick the federal holidays (Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Washington's Birthday). Pick any 2 or more of those. You can get alfalfa pellets (Rabbit Chow) at your local feed store in 50-pound bags for under $15. Generally these pellets do not attract wildlife unless they are starving. You can moisten the pellets which causes them to swell and become flakes which fall onto the soil and go to work. Here's a picture demonstrating the fertilizer effect of alfalfa in zoysia lawn.
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Why dont you think it's Bermuda? Tough to tell from the pic
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After the roots are knit into the soil, once a week watering is far too frequent with temps in the 50s. Depending on the weather, you might not need to water it again until June or July - seriously! Last summer in the Texas Hill Country, it was early July for me. That was a bit of a fluke, but our rains were spaced out nicely. Normally watering frequency depends on air temperature. In Florida it also depends on humidity, which tends to stretch out the watering frequency. As a rule of thumb we water once per week when the temps are above 90 degrees F, once every 2 weeks when temps are above 80, once every 3 weeks with temps above 70, and once a month the rest of the year. The taller you let the grass grow the less water it will need. The reason for that is the roots grow deeper and can get moisture from much more volume of soil. Set your mower to the highest setting and mow every other week until the grass starts growing fast in the spring. Then you might want to mow 2x per week until it slows down again. After it slows down in the spring, you can fertilize.
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Jason Clark
Original Author
3 years ago
I couldn’t get cloudy or overcast but this is 6 inches away
dchall8 .
3 years ago
Most defs not cloudy. I understand. It does look like disease.

Diseases in St Augustine seem to respond to an application of ordinary corn meal. I use it successfully every year. The application rate is 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet. Give us the name of your location in FL and I can direct you to the nearest feed stores to get corn meal in bulk. Cost should be well under $10 for 50 pounds. Don't use a chemical fungicide first (or at all). They should be used in cool weather, not summer heat.

What is your watering schedule? How often and for how long do you water?

When was the last time you fertilized? And what did you use?
Jason Clark
Original Author
3 years ago
I live in satellite beach. I water 3 times a week for 30 min with irrigation system. Perhaps I’m overwatering. I will get tuna cans out there this weekend to see how much water that 30 min actually is. I did just fertilize (well I had a company) a few days ago.
dchall8 .
3 years ago
Call these feed stores to get pricing and availability. Obviously some of those are not feed stores, but Google thinks they are for some reason.

If you know about tuna cans, then you know you're overwatering. Once every 2 weeks is about right for your current temps. Also I assume you're in pure sand. Here's a picture of St Augustine growing wild out into the sand dunes in Port Aransas, TX. This area gets only rainfall. Even the mowed part only gets rainfall. And it doesn't rain that much there.

I suspected you are getting a liquid fertilizer. Your grass is too dense. That happens with frequent watering and liquid fertilizer.

I have a friend in your area. Must be a great place to retire. Is the humidity as bad there as the rest of FL?
Jason Clark
Original Author
3 years ago
Okay. I am in pretty much pure sand. I guess I’m just worried about only watering that little. I don’t doubt you in anyway I just don’t want to wake up to a dead lawn. Should I taper down or go cold turkey? We moved in this March and didn’t touch the watering schedule and when we moved in it was lush green. If you are confident I will listen and see what happens. From what I understand it’s easier to revive an underwatered lawn than an overwatered one. I’ll get the cornmeal this weekend and take care of it. If I spread all over lawn, even unaffected areas will it hurt anything? I really do appreciate your insight and knowledge. The humidity here isn’t as bad as we get the ocean breeze. I grew up in SA on the northwest side of town. I don’t think it’s any worse than that
nel5397
3 years ago
It could be chinch bug damage.
dchall8 .
3 years ago
Since you are starting with a stressed lawn, I guess I would taper off working toward longer watering and less often.

Use the corn meal over the entire lawn. It is a mild organic fertilizer, so it will improve the grass where it is unaffected by the disease.

Chinch bugs are a summer problem, not spring. They want really hot soil and usually start near concrete or asphalt where the soil is hotter.
Jason Clark
Original Author
3 years ago
So you think once a week in early AM for 1 hour?
dchall8 .
3 years ago
I can't tell you now long to water. You have to do the can test and time how long it takes to apply an inch of water. Your water pressure and sprinkler system is different from everyone elses.

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