Need help with my lawn, too much water or too much sun?

3 years ago

we are struggling to get our st Augustine grass thicker and healthier. Had hired professional for few months but nothing improved. I suspect the grass need more water because the grass at shaded area are more green( still not thick), for example under the trampoline and next to the fences. but the soil is pretty wet to the touch of my finger, so is it too much water? can you tell from these pictures what I need to do? I’m watering them twice a week with 30 minutes in the back and 15 minutes in the front.

Featured Answer

dchall_san_antonio

3 years ago

Thanks for the info. In the future you should not need to use an insecticide unless you have insect damage. Almost always that happens in mid summer and almost never in the spring. The insects that damage the lawn are in the wrong stage of life right now. Another reason to resist using insecticide is that in your soil biology, microscopic insects are one of the important contributors to good soil health. With that in mind I would suggest applying at least one application of organic fertilizer to the lawn. Even though you just used turf builder, you can use an organic fertilizer. Chemical fertilizers go more directly to the plant while organic fertilizers improve soil biological health which then improves plant health. Here is a motivational picture I've used for over 10 years.

The picture is mrmumbles zoysia lawn from 2011. He applied a handful of alfalfa pellets in mid May and took the picture in mid June. You can see the improved color, growth, and density. You can buy alfalfa pellets as rabbit chow at any feed store. The price for 50 pounds should be $12 or so. The application rate is 15-20 pounds per 1,000 square feet. I usually toss it out by hand. I have a 2-pound coffee can and sort of eyeball out 100 square feet. Then I try to toss a can almost full of pellets into the 10x10 ft area. It goes pretty fast. You don't need to wear gloves, but the pellets can have sharp edges. I also use ordinary corn meal, also from the feed store. Corn seem harder to find than alfalfa, but call around. The price for corn should be under $10. If it is more like $20 or more, they are talking about a different product, corn gluten meal. CGM is a better fertilizer than either alfalfa or ordinary corn meal, but it costs more. Sometimes it's more than $30 for 30 to 40 pounds. If you can find CGM for $20 or so, that's a good deal. That stuff is a very fine, bright orange corn product. You have to use that on a windless day because it will blow away. It can go through a drop spreader if you have one. If you put it through a broadcast spreader it will fertilize the entire neighborhood. The idea of using organics is to revive the soil health and those microscopic insects (microarthropods) in the soil. Since organics and chemical fertilizers work so differently, you can use them both at the same time and not worry about overdoing the fertilizer.

One more thing. Many people believe they have compacted soil because it is hard. As a test you can see how far you can stick a screwdriver into the soil. It should go all the way in pretty easily. If not you might want to spray the lawn with shampoo at a rate of 3 ounces per 1,000 square feet. This also takes 3 weeks to see the improvement, but it does make the soil softer from the screwdriver test. I noticed it most after a rainstorm and trying to walk across the lawn. It becomes very soft when moist like a sponge is soft. When it dries out it becomes firm again, also like a dry sponge. The shampoo helps with the soil biology by allowing moisture to penetrate more easily and deeper into the soil. This keeps the soil cooler so you get less evaporation. It works with the deep and infrequent watering idea from above.

With all that and mowing higher, the lawn should be much improved in a month.

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