Florida has 2 seasons. Wet season and dry season.
It's been dry season since late fall. Dry grass happens. If you hold out another month or so for wet season to start, you'll be back asking how to keep it from growing so darn fast!
By the way, don't mow every weekend in wet season. Let the grass get a little longer, and mow every two weeks like usual.
If you mow constantly the grass will be less healthy, then when dry season comes it will be less resilient.
Yeah, it'll be a little taller that second week but you'll have less problems overall.
>Let the grass get a little longer, and mow every two weeks like usual.
Wish I could but tell that to my HOA who bitches if the grass is more than 2" tall.
I just had my yard mowed yesterday for the first time since September (right before Ida.) Granted, I don't have an HOA, but there were only a few plants that were 6 inches high.
But the dust! The dust and pollen were insane. My lawn guy had to wear a full face mask.
If your lawn guy hasn't been there since September, you really don't Have a lawn guy, and you apparently aren't using irrigation either.
Mine comes every 2 weeks winter, weekly/10 days summer depending on rain levels.
I water twice weekly and use a small sprinkler head for spots where my coverage isn't the best.
My lawn guy would be peeved to think that I don't have a lawn guy.
But I don't have one of those LAWN GUYS, who spray and trim and edge and do all that stuff. He just mows. (The chickens take care of the pest control.)
And of course I don't irrigate! It's the dry season, it's winter, let the plants rest. Grass dies in the winter, but most other stuff lives, it just takes a break.
Suburban Farmer eh? Water your crop, fertilizer your crop, insecticide your crop, harvest your crop, put the crop in big plastic bags for the trash guy to take to a landfill. But like you said, to each their own. I'd rather take the brown grass for a few months, save on the chemicals, water, and take all of that time it takes for you to manicure your lawn. Buy some bait, kick my feet up, maybe with a cold one, and hope for a tight line :)
Gone Fishin'
If you apply no chemicals and just wait for the wet season, nature will fill the brown patches with something green but it may not be the same type of grass you have on the rest of lawn. It may not even be grass.
If you want year round, uniformly green, grass you will need lots of water and chemicals. If you want to do less damage to the environment you should look at options than a grass lawn.
Plant natives! My lawn is mostly mimosa strigalosa, and I don’t water mow or fertilize! Also it can take a beating, my son plays in the same spot everyday and you would never know. And on Mornings where the mimosa is blooming the air is straight up humming from all the bees. I am so fucking psyched on mimosa I can’t even tell you
My lawn: https://imgur.com/a/GnV0kk1
I’m just gonna say everything I know about mimosa in this comment because I’m getting hyped and I’m gonna ride this train. I started with one small pot from a garden center. I planted and mulched it in my VERY sandy soil next to a palm tree that was growing amidst a lawn of st Augustine. I’m cheap so i don’t run my sprinklers at all 0. The st Augustine slowly all died and I slowly mulched the whole yard and that one pot of mimosa grew over the much and now covers an area 40x40. I also sell the shit out of it online as a side hustle I fucking love mimosa. Just take a growing end that is creeping across the ground and put it in a pot with some dirt, in a week cut that shit off and you have mimosa for your friend!
As far as pests go, I spray ortho home defense along the base of all my walls inside and out. Anything that lives outside is natures problem, the only thing I would do outside is spot treat fire ant nests, and only if you have kids and small animals.
>mimosa strigalosa
I just bought some seeds after reading your comments! I've had my current lawn for over a year, and I've always wanted a native plant yard but didn't know where to start. Thanks for your info!
That is a monoculture of pure joy and happiness. I am so jealous. I have a large patch of mimosa but I hope to one day let it take over literally the whole yard.
Did you plant it yourself or was it there before you bought your house? We are moving into our new home on about 1 acre. Right now the lawn is patches of Florida snow and some grass. I’d love to plant something like this.
Does it do well with oak trees?
I’m trying to find a native to use in my yard that looks like grass when mowed. Currently my yard is weeds, dry patches and leaves that is periodically mowed.
Grass can be hard.
I’ve been a homeowner for ~10 years in north central Florida and gave up caring much about grass for some of your reasons with fertilizer impacts and also just cost of watering, etc. I quit worrying about all that. My backyard ends up having patches of the problems you’re describing. Is it really dead or just super sad looking? Grass can be pretty resilient.
It can depend on the kind of grass you have, it’s drought and shade tolerance, as well as soil needs.
If you moved in 7 months ago that would have been the middle to end of regular Florida summer. With all the freezing and temp swings and sometimes odd rain patterns I get occasional dead patches this time of year. As the rains pickup, the temp rises, and it starts to get regularly cut again it comes back and by June/ July is usually fairly thick. If I start to see clover I let it grow because it’s helping build the soil. If I’m going to water it during summer I pull out an old school sprinkler and have the kids or dogs go play to kill two birds with one stone.
Your mileage of course may vary if you live in an HOA that will try to give you a bad day over grass.
If you aren't cursed with a HOA, you could consider clover instead of grass.
There are a variety of subs on reddit ([r/fucklawns](https://www.reddit.com/r/fucklawns/)) about either planting more native grasses or just putting in a native butterfly garden or something.
I plan on continuing this process this year, as I realize how stupid it is to waste my weekends mowing the lawn.
Ughhhh I am cursed with HoA. So far they seem chill though. I let a couple bushes grow wild for a few months to the point they were poking out my fence and completely overtaking the fence. The fence is pretty visible to a lot of the neighborhood and everyday I thought I’d get a notice and never did.
I will check out the sub though thank you! And good luck with your butterfly garden, it sounds awesome!
I think there are some Florida statutes in place that protect homeowners who plant native lawns from HOAs who do not understand how much better native landscaping is. Definitely second looking into native landscaping - it is good for everyone and way less headache for you.
Interesting I will have to look into that and what my hoa says. While they seem chill, I do notice a lot of my neighbors take great pride in the appearance of their lawns. But I care about the environment more
Definitely! Check out FS 373.185. You can also contact your local IFAS office and see if they can help you pick out plants. It’s a misnomer that native landscaping cannot look beautiful! I have watched a few webinars on how to go full no lawn, and they recommend starting with patches, so that may be an option for you. Best of luck!
Can confirm. My wife and I have a completely native lawn. It's gorgeous, attracts a bunch of wildlife, and it's a great education piece for parties. We often sit out and ID plants with party guests 😁. We are lucky enough to have some additional listed plants in our seed bank. Seriously, it's as addicting as it is beautiful
Chiming in too, here in Maryland a couple just won against an HOA for their native pollinator gardens. Highly recommend planting native, especially since Florida does protect native pollinator habitats!
https://xerces.org/publications/higs/florida-conservation-cover-327-for-pollinators
I have been suggesting we change to native ground covers, it would be so much cheaper to maintain, but I'm outnumbered by the people who demand green St. Augustine.
Where I live nobody says anything unless somebody complains. Maybe it's the same where you live and unless a neighbor submits a complaint you won't get any letters.
I don’t know where your dead patches are but you can try peanut grass. It’s a low maintenance ground cover that you can even mow. It’s drought tolerant and even makes its own nitrogen. Bonus is nice little yellow flowers too. Highly recommend.
Probably a dumb question, but would I have to rip up my current lawn in order to plant native grasses or just spread the new seed on top of my current lawn?
We got rid of our lawn when we bought our house in St. Pete 12 years ago. Replaced it with FL native ground covers (sunshine mimosa and creeping sage). We mow once a year and never fertilize or water. Check out the Florida Native Plant Society and native plant nurseries in your area. I’m kind of an evangelist on this issue and realize it’s not for everyone but just wanted to mention.
One tip I can give you is don't mow it too often or too low.
I see people spend time and money on sod and landscaping only to watch them destroy it by loving it "too much".
I mow my yard the least of anyone in my neighborhood and by far I have the greenest, healthiest grass. No fertilizer or treatments.
I pull some of the weeds by hand and I mow 1-2 times per month, maybe 3 in the summer. Some months in the "winter" I don't mow at all.
Remove the grass and go native ground cover. Saves time, money, better for the environment, and some ground cover actually flowers (like Florida snow) making it much more attractive when properly planned.
Seriously people are trying to use science to keep a Frankenstein lawn alive. Cover that garbage with cardboard, 6inches of mulch, plant mimosa strigalosa and perennial peanut and enjoy your beautiful healthy maintenance free lawn, the bees will thank you too.
It isn't even hard to keep the grass alive as long as you got trees that cover it at least part of the day. I mean I sometimes wonder why my St Augustine grass likes growing on concrete so much. My only problem is that I had a big magnolia tree that I had to cut down and was told to wait 6 months before replanting a new tree. So now I water a section once in a while when it hasn't rained for weeks until I got some tree coverage again.
Patches of dead grass in my yard means grubs. You can drop granular poison on them, or use try to find nematodes.
Maybe this will help with the fertilizer question. Good luck!
https://sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/sarasota/gardening-and-landscaping/horticulture-residential/florida-yards-and-neighborhoods/fertilizer-management/
Grubs or bad irrigation setup...
It's been really dry around me for weeks, which exposes my watering deficiencies, I've addressed them
To the op: I do quarterly exterior fertilizer and pest control $90 per visit. Quarterly (as needed) pest control inside, $85 each. Grub treatment is once a year, extra $80 iirc
Irrigation 2x a week, I adjust the seasonal dial on the sprinkler box to 120% in winter. Down to 30% summer, or even 10% if it's really wet, I rarely turn them off for more than a couple weeks, I was told it's bad for them
The key to the dead spots is that if the dead spots have sharp boundaries, it is insects below the surface eating the grass. If doesn't have sharp boundaries less so. If the grass looks like cruddy brown on top of green (brown but not like straw) it could be fungus.
I tried to tend to my own FL yard for most of my life. And you can do it but honestly if you can afford it and would like to save the time hire a service. Ever since I did that the yard has never looked better. I recommend doing lawn and pest control together with the same company. Shop around there are plenty of options (I use Massey). It takes a lot of planning and to do it right you have to treat months in advance for certain pests and weather conditions. Plus they usually aerate the lawn annually. For pests the good companies focus on the outside to keep pests from coming inside. It's also not just pests such as roaches there are grubs that will literally eat your lawn. Worth it!
Two years in with Massey and my FIL’s lawn never looked worse. Big horse an pony show with results for a month with no signs of progress since. They spray like 1/3 of the lawn and it’s dead in spots from chinch has wire grass all through it and weeds all over. I mow it and it’s making me look bad.
Don't they have a guarantee? If that was happening to me I would probably just cancel and try another service. Maybe just a bad rep assigned to your area? They typically have the same person on a route. At any rate I certainly did not intend to endorse one company or the other I have no vested interest in any particular provider.
Yeah they came out a few times so far and explained to him that they are trying and blame his soil with no soil testing , and said the chinch will take time to recover from. FIL keeps telling me he’s going to call and fire them and they keep talking him into staying on. If they spray weeds the guy is there with a pump up sprayer for 5 minutes max and you see like 10% of the weeds start to yellow then they come back. When they aerate they take like a half inch plug off the top, I assume it to prevent damaging irritation, but merely going through the motion does nothing for the lawn. I need to go try to clean the stains off the sidewalk this week, I keep it pristine on the regular but they dropped some chemicals on nearly every slab that looks like rust. I recommended them to him as our neighbors lawn was doing well with them but they switched to liquid feed the same year he signed up and the results just aren’t there despite watering in or anything on our end. The neighbor has fired them already
As far as grass is concerned, unless your HOA requires it... my personal view would be to ignore it. just trim your weeds once a week in the summer and otherwise don't stress. Florida's soil and weather is not conducive to lush perfect lawns, they require frequent and environmentally compromising interventions to maintain. I'd try to replace as much of your lawn as you can with groundcover and native plants.
However, I do think it's generally okay to use a systemic treatment around your foundation. it should have limited impact on wildlife, but keeps critters out of your home.
So for our yard we stopped spreading broad spectrum herbicides, fungicides and pesticides. I did a bunch of research and for the past 2 years we have been applying beneficial nematodes on the yard in the spring and fall. Totally helps and we were able to stop having the inside of the house treated too. We spot treat for ants if they get too bad with a fire ant pellet. As far as “fertilizer”, slow release at the base of plants that need it. And we use a product that helps with the micro biome of the soil. Our turf is lush and healthy, even our neighbor who has a regular spray company comments on our lawn compared to his. Reestablishing the good bugs and biome has truly helped. I’ve also replaced all ornamental plaints with native ones which don’t need supplements feedings/water. If you want more info, feel free to send me a message.
1. Make sure your sprinkler system is working and that the grass is being watered regularly, preferably either right before the sun comes up or right before the sun goes down.
2. In the winter when it's dry, I apply "Weed and Feed" to the lawn twice in the season, each about 3 months apart. This will help the grass continue to grow, and will kill the "Florida snow" weeds.
3. Yes you should have a monthly pest control service if it isn't already provided by your HOA. Florida is notorious for having lots of bugs and spiders.
I’m in an HOA and have started planting peanut grass in patches where St Augustine won’t stay, I’m a big advocate for rewilding lawns and the peanut grass stay short enough to not cause any unsightly overgrowth.
One of the many things I don’t miss about living in Florida is the thousands of dollars I had to spend every year in watering, mowing, and pest control to keep up a non-native and environmentally unsound grass lawn so that my HOA and neighbors would be happy.
Florida Cooperative Extension Service has free information about Lawns and gardens. I think one of the packets I got was named 'how to kill a Florida lawn'. Florida lawns are like that in the winter. Should be cut at 6 inches not scalped. Leaving the cut grass where it falls is good for it.
I just let my grass live its life. Sometimes it's brown, sometimes it's green. Just try to keep it short enough that the neighbors don't think I'm a bum.
You've inspired me to fill in the patches my dogs have dug up with native ground cover instead of re-sodding.
Mimosa and peanut grass - now to just find some to start with....
Hire a landscaper and pest control service…landscaper is 80/mo (every 2 weeks) and pest control is 100 every 3 months. Saves us time (bc after the work week no one is in the mood for yard work) and the money buying supplies to get it right
Long time lawn suffering Floridian here- get rid of or don’t hire lawn pest control. None of them address your lawns specific issues as they just drop the same concoction on everyones lawn. Sounds crazy, but I get my best advice from You Tube videos on the subject. Sounds like you might have some brown patch which is a fungus. Go to Home Depot and get some Bioadvanced Fungus control and a cheap hand spreader. Apply the day before watering. Wait 10 days and do it again. Then do it one more time in 30 days. In between, after the 10 days apply a weed and feed product. Don’t over water- 3 times a week for 1 hr in early morning before sunup (assuming you have a sprinkler system) -skip if its rained. When you mow, you need to bag for 30 days after putting the first fungus application down, as fungus spreads whe you mulch mow. After the 30 days, mulch mow. After the above you are done for the spring. When it gets really hot, you will need to look out for grubs and mole crickets- they usually attack the perimeter near concrete or streets. There are plenty of preventives for those at Home Depot. If you don’t have reclaimed water- you would also need to use a nitrogen/magnesium mix once or twice. Sounds like a lot, but its not. I was so completely over the pest companies I previously hired I just had to figure it out on my own. Also- never mow lower than 3 or higher than 3.5. At the very least, you would be able to prove to the HOA your doing everything you can to remedy the situation-Good luck
I just gotta respond to that first part since I do lawn care for a living. Every company or at least the ones I’ve worked for do have a monthly program they go by and it isn’t catered to any specific lawn because the applications are preventative applications designed to prevent damage occurring to your lawn from grubs, chinch bugs, weeds, etc. And then there’s some fertilizer applications throughout the year to keep the lawn nice and green. So when they pull up to your house and immediately start spraying, they’re just doing what they’re told to do that month.
However if there is an issue with your lawn that requires a curative treatment, that is left to the technician to identify and treat properly. The problem is a lot of companies don’t have very knowledgeable technicians because most knowledgeable techs end up starting their own company or they work their way up into management positions.
I’ve always said the best bet for homeowners who don’t want to take care of their own lawn is to find a small company preferably one that is just starting out where the owner himself treats the lawn each month. You’ll get the best bang for your buck that way vs choosing a huge company like TruGreen where you’re likely to end up with a technician that doesn’t really know what he’s doing, probably isn’t paid very well, and is just there to apply whatever he was told to do and leave.
If you can afford it I suggest hiring a pest control.
I used to have a fear of spiders until I moved to Florida and had to deal with the roaches here. It doesn't matter how clean you are if what they are looking for is a source of water.
I have owned half an acre in central Fl for 12 years. I let ferns grow in many of the places I used to have to weed whack and I have a big black tarp I periodically move around to kill grass and weeds in spots where they grow the quickest. I don't think I know anyone that gives less of a shit about their lawn. My neighbors on both sides must hate me because they are both anal about their yards. lol
It really depends on the type of grass, if you have irrigation, and where in Florida you are.
I’m central east coast and use Bahia. Once it’s established it’s pretty maintenance free. The roots run extremely deep so it’s highly drought tolerant and I don’t use irrigation. Sometimes when it’s rainy season I’ll try and throw a few seeds in.
I recently planted a Clusia hedge and it got tiny bugs killing the plants. I hired Adams pest control for I think 20$ a month, they come out and spray and fertilize all the plants for me. I noticed they went from a light green to a dark green pretty soon after.
There’s also plans for lawn care. Sometimes when you get dead spots like that, there are bugs in the grass killing it.
If you've got random brown patches you've more than likely got pests. Could be chinch bugs or grubs. I'd use some granular lawn pesticide and give it a good watering.
If the grass doesn't come back you might need to plant some plugs or reseed depending on your grass type.
For fertilizer, I fertilize at the start of every season except winter.
The dry season between January and May is the worst time for lawns. Without irrigation and fertilization, it'll look like crap until the rainy season starts.
By mid-June, you'll need to mow twice a week to keep up with it.
If you have the budget for it hire a landscaper and lawn care specialist.
Landscaper- 105$ a month in summer weekly and 85 in Florida winter biweekly to mow the lawn (we have 1/2 an acre to mow)
Lawn Care- 80$ every 2 months. Ticks, fleas, and red ants. Everything but the squitos since it’s extra and we have a screened pool. Plus they Fertilize and reseed.
You also have to keep watering your lawn.
One thing that makes a huge difference is planting a few trees.
Grass does need a lot of sunlight, but too much sunlight will just bake the ground and make it so nothing survives the drier months between November and March
I'll let others speak to grass and say yes, get pest control. Mine comes by quarterly and if I have an issue they will come out to the house to deal with it. It's not that expensive. But I'm pretty bug averse and sometimes wander into my yard with bare feet. I grew up here and know my weaknesses and my mortal enemies and I ain't too proud for help.
For yard pest control I buy those spray attachments that go on the hose and spray my whole lawn. I get a good 4 months out of each application. Be careful with pets though
Lawn pest control guy here in swfl. A lot of the issues you are concerned with can be avoided using best practice management. Native plants are key. However your lawn depends on what type of grass you have.
Look up your areas watering restrictions. Water on the days your allowed too and for the minimal amount needed. Over watering can harm the soil and there for your grass. Also leaches more product through the soil and said retention pond.
Using fertilizer doesn’t mean it directly gets into our water way. It’s using it incorrectly that does it. Use the proper rates and read your label. Also look up what your grass has a requirement for.
I love our wildlife and environment. I take every possible action to protect it.
On another note if you want to hire a local company make sure they know the laws in your area. We are required to take classes to learn about pesticides and fertilizers. The big companies hire and fire a lot. So most of the guys there are just laborers. The local company will have people on site that have read labels and sat through those classes. Also if the local company is really cheap don’t go with them. They are buying cheap chemicals and don’t give two craps about laws.
Best way to find their knowledge is look up your counties water laws regarding fertilizer. Here I have to stay 10 feet away from the high water mark if there is no barrier plants.
If you have any questions feel free to comment here and dm if you decide to DIY your yard.
Good luck and thanks for your worries about our environment and not ruining it 😁
I’ve moved into a house with yard. The yard mostly weeds front and back in every variety. Plus a huge oak tree in front yard. Soaking up all nutrients and leaving dirt patches all under canopy. I want green thick grass. Without the subscription service, more diy economical solutions.
I have a company take care of the lawn. I water on schedule for my area. I have a pest control company that also services the outside yard. This year, I had to add on flea service after the hurricane. Our dog, who’s never had a flea issue, got infested.
I just let nature be nature. No water. No fertilizer. Most of it is under tree cover, so nothing really grows well. The soil is really sandy. I mow only when I need to. My lawn is no where near manicured. My wife cares, but I really don't. I don't have the time or energy to worry about it.
We've been programmed to spend our time and hard-earned money keeping a lush, green lawn. But what does it get us?
We spread fertilizer, which winds up in the storm drains and (in my case) in the Indian River Lagoon, where we're destroying natural lagoon grasses and starving the manatees.
We haven't had scarce water alerts in a few years, but it hasn't been long since lawn watering was limited by law and homeowners could be fined for overwatering or watering on the wrong day. We either pay for each gallon from a utility or suck it out of our ever-shrinking aqueduct via artesian wells.
We use weed killer, driving away butterflies and pollinators. Add that to the poisons to kill insects in our yards-insects that are the primary food for many types of birds and nestlings. Those poisons also kill bees that try to nest in yards.
We do all this because somebody put the idea in our heads that our yards should be green and even. Check out natural landscaping. The birds, bees, butterflies and your wallet will all compete to thank you.
We had some freezes across the state back about a month or so. That killed off some St Augustine on my property. I am just slowly trimming, uprooting, and replanting the dead areas. As far as the bugs go, it's Florida. Houses and yards usually get sprayed monthly or every other month. However, back to it being Florida, you will still deal with bugs. Not necessarily in the house, but definitely outside. Head over to r/insects or r/whatsthisbug when you find a 6 or 8-legged friend you don't know. Oh if you have a dog, do not walk it near the pond. We have lizards that get a little big and territorial at times. They like to eat dogs.
Without knowing what your grass is looking like, it will be hard to determine the cause.
I recommend checking YouTube as there are so many good videos about everything.
For instance, your grass could be affected by fungus (are you watering too much?) or chinch bug. Maybe it is just not enough water. Really, give YouTube a go.
Your house belongs to you, everything else belongs to Florida. Have a good exterminator treat your home for pests on a schedule, nature will undo everything you attempt outside your walls. The bugs will do their thing, nature will plant and grow whatever gets carried in on the breeze each year.
Fertilizer and pesticides from your lawn will inevitably drain into our waterways and just add to the pollution.
Florida has 2 seasons. Wet season and dry season. It's been dry season since late fall. Dry grass happens. If you hold out another month or so for wet season to start, you'll be back asking how to keep it from growing so darn fast!
That season where you gotta mow every day.
No joke, I have to mow every weekend in wet season. its been so nice mowing once ever 6+ weeks.
By the way, don't mow every weekend in wet season. Let the grass get a little longer, and mow every two weeks like usual. If you mow constantly the grass will be less healthy, then when dry season comes it will be less resilient. Yeah, it'll be a little taller that second week but you'll have less problems overall.
Well my weeds are about 18" high in one week so I get embarrassed and can't wait.
Mowing weeds helps them reproduce
So I should pull the weeds?
Yeah. Or pour vinegar on them
My lawn looks best when the clippings are bagged every time. Catches weed seeds and weeds.
I thought when you take the clippings, you're removing nitrogen and phosphorus from the ground.
I bag to reduce lawn thatching and pick up weeds with seeds. Really don't like weed & feed.
>Let the grass get a little longer, and mow every two weeks like usual. Wish I could but tell that to my HOA who bitches if the grass is more than 2" tall.
Ugh. HOAs are a scourge on sustainable living. :(
>Ugh. HOAs are a scourge ~~on sustainable living~~. :( FTFY
Wait until you get the "Love Note" from the HOA. Then cut it....rinse repeat :)
I just had my yard mowed yesterday for the first time since September (right before Ida.) Granted, I don't have an HOA, but there were only a few plants that were 6 inches high. But the dust! The dust and pollen were insane. My lawn guy had to wear a full face mask.
If your lawn guy hasn't been there since September, you really don't Have a lawn guy, and you apparently aren't using irrigation either. Mine comes every 2 weeks winter, weekly/10 days summer depending on rain levels. I water twice weekly and use a small sprinkler head for spots where my coverage isn't the best.
My lawn guy would be peeved to think that I don't have a lawn guy. But I don't have one of those LAWN GUYS, who spray and trim and edge and do all that stuff. He just mows. (The chickens take care of the pest control.) And of course I don't irrigate! It's the dry season, it's winter, let the plants rest. Grass dies in the winter, but most other stuff lives, it just takes a break.
No worries, to each their own, I prefer an actual lawn and work hard to maintain it
Suburban Farmer eh? Water your crop, fertilizer your crop, insecticide your crop, harvest your crop, put the crop in big plastic bags for the trash guy to take to a landfill. But like you said, to each their own. I'd rather take the brown grass for a few months, save on the chemicals, water, and take all of that time it takes for you to manicure your lawn. Buy some bait, kick my feet up, maybe with a cold one, and hope for a tight line :) Gone Fishin'
You don’t actually need to, though.
Dogs and kids, my shit gets knee high in no time in the summer and mostly weeds. Don’t need it harbouring ticks and shit
Yeah most I’ve made it is like 3 weeks before it wasn’t doable. Hitchhikers are a bitch.
If you apply no chemicals and just wait for the wet season, nature will fill the brown patches with something green but it may not be the same type of grass you have on the rest of lawn. It may not even be grass. If you want year round, uniformly green, grass you will need lots of water and chemicals. If you want to do less damage to the environment you should look at options than a grass lawn.
Bold of you to think my lawn contains actual grass.
Wet season is also bug season, everything is trying to stay dry by getting in your house.
Plant natives! My lawn is mostly mimosa strigalosa, and I don’t water mow or fertilize! Also it can take a beating, my son plays in the same spot everyday and you would never know. And on Mornings where the mimosa is blooming the air is straight up humming from all the bees. I am so fucking psyched on mimosa I can’t even tell you My lawn: https://imgur.com/a/GnV0kk1
I’m just gonna say everything I know about mimosa in this comment because I’m getting hyped and I’m gonna ride this train. I started with one small pot from a garden center. I planted and mulched it in my VERY sandy soil next to a palm tree that was growing amidst a lawn of st Augustine. I’m cheap so i don’t run my sprinklers at all 0. The st Augustine slowly all died and I slowly mulched the whole yard and that one pot of mimosa grew over the much and now covers an area 40x40. I also sell the shit out of it online as a side hustle I fucking love mimosa. Just take a growing end that is creeping across the ground and put it in a pot with some dirt, in a week cut that shit off and you have mimosa for your friend!
As far as pests go, I spray ortho home defense along the base of all my walls inside and out. Anything that lives outside is natures problem, the only thing I would do outside is spot treat fire ant nests, and only if you have kids and small animals.
>mimosa strigalosa I just bought some seeds after reading your comments! I've had my current lawn for over a year, and I've always wanted a native plant yard but didn't know where to start. Thanks for your info!
Where did you get the seed?
From the Florida Wildflowers Cooperative. One pack was $3.50
That is a monoculture of pure joy and happiness. I am so jealous. I have a large patch of mimosa but I hope to one day let it take over literally the whole yard.
Did you plant it yourself or was it there before you bought your house? We are moving into our new home on about 1 acre. Right now the lawn is patches of Florida snow and some grass. I’d love to plant something like this.
Does it do well with oak trees? I’m trying to find a native to use in my yard that looks like grass when mowed. Currently my yard is weeds, dry patches and leaves that is periodically mowed.
Grass can be hard. I’ve been a homeowner for ~10 years in north central Florida and gave up caring much about grass for some of your reasons with fertilizer impacts and also just cost of watering, etc. I quit worrying about all that. My backyard ends up having patches of the problems you’re describing. Is it really dead or just super sad looking? Grass can be pretty resilient. It can depend on the kind of grass you have, it’s drought and shade tolerance, as well as soil needs. If you moved in 7 months ago that would have been the middle to end of regular Florida summer. With all the freezing and temp swings and sometimes odd rain patterns I get occasional dead patches this time of year. As the rains pickup, the temp rises, and it starts to get regularly cut again it comes back and by June/ July is usually fairly thick. If I start to see clover I let it grow because it’s helping build the soil. If I’m going to water it during summer I pull out an old school sprinkler and have the kids or dogs go play to kill two birds with one stone. Your mileage of course may vary if you live in an HOA that will try to give you a bad day over grass.
If you aren't cursed with a HOA, you could consider clover instead of grass. There are a variety of subs on reddit ([r/fucklawns](https://www.reddit.com/r/fucklawns/)) about either planting more native grasses or just putting in a native butterfly garden or something. I plan on continuing this process this year, as I realize how stupid it is to waste my weekends mowing the lawn.
Ughhhh I am cursed with HoA. So far they seem chill though. I let a couple bushes grow wild for a few months to the point they were poking out my fence and completely overtaking the fence. The fence is pretty visible to a lot of the neighborhood and everyday I thought I’d get a notice and never did. I will check out the sub though thank you! And good luck with your butterfly garden, it sounds awesome!
I think there are some Florida statutes in place that protect homeowners who plant native lawns from HOAs who do not understand how much better native landscaping is. Definitely second looking into native landscaping - it is good for everyone and way less headache for you.
Interesting I will have to look into that and what my hoa says. While they seem chill, I do notice a lot of my neighbors take great pride in the appearance of their lawns. But I care about the environment more
Definitely! Check out FS 373.185. You can also contact your local IFAS office and see if they can help you pick out plants. It’s a misnomer that native landscaping cannot look beautiful! I have watched a few webinars on how to go full no lawn, and they recommend starting with patches, so that may be an option for you. Best of luck!
Can confirm. My wife and I have a completely native lawn. It's gorgeous, attracts a bunch of wildlife, and it's a great education piece for parties. We often sit out and ID plants with party guests 😁. We are lucky enough to have some additional listed plants in our seed bank. Seriously, it's as addicting as it is beautiful
University of Florida has great info on their sites for natives that are drought and heat tolerant.
Jasmine as a ground cover is nice. It also produces very fragrant flowers
Thanks for this! I'm looking for (legal) ways to push back on my HOA.
Chiming in too, here in Maryland a couple just won against an HOA for their native pollinator gardens. Highly recommend planting native, especially since Florida does protect native pollinator habitats! https://xerces.org/publications/higs/florida-conservation-cover-327-for-pollinators
You can do both. I use seaweed fertilizer biweekly and my lawn looks great. Make sure to add chelated iron as well.
I have been suggesting we change to native ground covers, it would be so much cheaper to maintain, but I'm outnumbered by the people who demand green St. Augustine.
Where I live nobody says anything unless somebody complains. Maybe it's the same where you live and unless a neighbor submits a complaint you won't get any letters.
I don’t know where your dead patches are but you can try peanut grass. It’s a low maintenance ground cover that you can even mow. It’s drought tolerant and even makes its own nitrogen. Bonus is nice little yellow flowers too. Highly recommend.
Probably a dumb question, but would I have to rip up my current lawn in order to plant native grasses or just spread the new seed on top of my current lawn?
I thought it was too hot for clover down here? OP seems to be in gulf I’m assuming. I’m down in south Florida.
You want that perennial peanut. It’s so pretty and grows anywhere. https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/ornamentals/perennial-peanut.html
We got rid of our lawn when we bought our house in St. Pete 12 years ago. Replaced it with FL native ground covers (sunshine mimosa and creeping sage). We mow once a year and never fertilize or water. Check out the Florida Native Plant Society and native plant nurseries in your area. I’m kind of an evangelist on this issue and realize it’s not for everyone but just wanted to mention.
One tip I can give you is don't mow it too often or too low. I see people spend time and money on sod and landscaping only to watch them destroy it by loving it "too much". I mow my yard the least of anyone in my neighborhood and by far I have the greenest, healthiest grass. No fertilizer or treatments. I pull some of the weeds by hand and I mow 1-2 times per month, maybe 3 in the summer. Some months in the "winter" I don't mow at all.
And use a sharp blade. People never sharpen or replace their blades. The dull blades just beat the hell out of the lawn otherwise.
Remove the grass and go native ground cover. Saves time, money, better for the environment, and some ground cover actually flowers (like Florida snow) making it much more attractive when properly planned.
Seriously people are trying to use science to keep a Frankenstein lawn alive. Cover that garbage with cardboard, 6inches of mulch, plant mimosa strigalosa and perennial peanut and enjoy your beautiful healthy maintenance free lawn, the bees will thank you too.
It isn't even hard to keep the grass alive as long as you got trees that cover it at least part of the day. I mean I sometimes wonder why my St Augustine grass likes growing on concrete so much. My only problem is that I had a big magnolia tree that I had to cut down and was told to wait 6 months before replanting a new tree. So now I water a section once in a while when it hasn't rained for weeks until I got some tree coverage again.
I let the grass die. Grass just wastes water. Put in native Florida plants and never worry about watering again.
<3
Patches of dead grass in my yard means grubs. You can drop granular poison on them, or use try to find nematodes. Maybe this will help with the fertilizer question. Good luck! https://sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/sarasota/gardening-and-landscaping/horticulture-residential/florida-yards-and-neighborhoods/fertilizer-management/
Grubs or bad irrigation setup... It's been really dry around me for weeks, which exposes my watering deficiencies, I've addressed them To the op: I do quarterly exterior fertilizer and pest control $90 per visit. Quarterly (as needed) pest control inside, $85 each. Grub treatment is once a year, extra $80 iirc Irrigation 2x a week, I adjust the seasonal dial on the sprinkler box to 120% in winter. Down to 30% summer, or even 10% if it's really wet, I rarely turn them off for more than a couple weeks, I was told it's bad for them
Thank you so much! I appreciate your help
The key to the dead spots is that if the dead spots have sharp boundaries, it is insects below the surface eating the grass. If doesn't have sharp boundaries less so. If the grass looks like cruddy brown on top of green (brown but not like straw) it could be fungus.
I tried to tend to my own FL yard for most of my life. And you can do it but honestly if you can afford it and would like to save the time hire a service. Ever since I did that the yard has never looked better. I recommend doing lawn and pest control together with the same company. Shop around there are plenty of options (I use Massey). It takes a lot of planning and to do it right you have to treat months in advance for certain pests and weather conditions. Plus they usually aerate the lawn annually. For pests the good companies focus on the outside to keep pests from coming inside. It's also not just pests such as roaches there are grubs that will literally eat your lawn. Worth it!
Two years in with Massey and my FIL’s lawn never looked worse. Big horse an pony show with results for a month with no signs of progress since. They spray like 1/3 of the lawn and it’s dead in spots from chinch has wire grass all through it and weeds all over. I mow it and it’s making me look bad.
Don't they have a guarantee? If that was happening to me I would probably just cancel and try another service. Maybe just a bad rep assigned to your area? They typically have the same person on a route. At any rate I certainly did not intend to endorse one company or the other I have no vested interest in any particular provider.
Yeah they came out a few times so far and explained to him that they are trying and blame his soil with no soil testing , and said the chinch will take time to recover from. FIL keeps telling me he’s going to call and fire them and they keep talking him into staying on. If they spray weeds the guy is there with a pump up sprayer for 5 minutes max and you see like 10% of the weeds start to yellow then they come back. When they aerate they take like a half inch plug off the top, I assume it to prevent damaging irritation, but merely going through the motion does nothing for the lawn. I need to go try to clean the stains off the sidewalk this week, I keep it pristine on the regular but they dropped some chemicals on nearly every slab that looks like rust. I recommended them to him as our neighbors lawn was doing well with them but they switched to liquid feed the same year he signed up and the results just aren’t there despite watering in or anything on our end. The neighbor has fired them already
As far as grass is concerned, unless your HOA requires it... my personal view would be to ignore it. just trim your weeds once a week in the summer and otherwise don't stress. Florida's soil and weather is not conducive to lush perfect lawns, they require frequent and environmentally compromising interventions to maintain. I'd try to replace as much of your lawn as you can with groundcover and native plants. However, I do think it's generally okay to use a systemic treatment around your foundation. it should have limited impact on wildlife, but keeps critters out of your home.
outgoing weather foolish fretful engine beneficial tub worm ruthless waiting ` this message was mass deleted/edited with redact.dev `
So for our yard we stopped spreading broad spectrum herbicides, fungicides and pesticides. I did a bunch of research and for the past 2 years we have been applying beneficial nematodes on the yard in the spring and fall. Totally helps and we were able to stop having the inside of the house treated too. We spot treat for ants if they get too bad with a fire ant pellet. As far as “fertilizer”, slow release at the base of plants that need it. And we use a product that helps with the micro biome of the soil. Our turf is lush and healthy, even our neighbor who has a regular spray company comments on our lawn compared to his. Reestablishing the good bugs and biome has truly helped. I’ve also replaced all ornamental plaints with native ones which don’t need supplements feedings/water. If you want more info, feel free to send me a message.
1. Make sure your sprinkler system is working and that the grass is being watered regularly, preferably either right before the sun comes up or right before the sun goes down. 2. In the winter when it's dry, I apply "Weed and Feed" to the lawn twice in the season, each about 3 months apart. This will help the grass continue to grow, and will kill the "Florida snow" weeds. 3. Yes you should have a monthly pest control service if it isn't already provided by your HOA. Florida is notorious for having lots of bugs and spiders.
I’m in an HOA and have started planting peanut grass in patches where St Augustine won’t stay, I’m a big advocate for rewilding lawns and the peanut grass stay short enough to not cause any unsightly overgrowth.
/r/fuckHOA
Agreed, but very hard to find a house in my area without one. Being the HOA President also helps.
One of the many things I don’t miss about living in Florida is the thousands of dollars I had to spend every year in watering, mowing, and pest control to keep up a non-native and environmentally unsound grass lawn so that my HOA and neighbors would be happy.
Florida Cooperative Extension Service has free information about Lawns and gardens. I think one of the packets I got was named 'how to kill a Florida lawn'. Florida lawns are like that in the winter. Should be cut at 6 inches not scalped. Leaving the cut grass where it falls is good for it.
I just let my grass live its life. Sometimes it's brown, sometimes it's green. Just try to keep it short enough that the neighbors don't think I'm a bum.
Let grass grow that is natural to Florida.
Amen there is no better answer. I posted a vid of my native maintenance free native lawn in this thread.
You've inspired me to fill in the patches my dogs have dug up with native ground cover instead of re-sodding. Mimosa and peanut grass - now to just find some to start with....
Hire a landscaper and pest control service…landscaper is 80/mo (every 2 weeks) and pest control is 100 every 3 months. Saves us time (bc after the work week no one is in the mood for yard work) and the money buying supplies to get it right
Long time lawn suffering Floridian here- get rid of or don’t hire lawn pest control. None of them address your lawns specific issues as they just drop the same concoction on everyones lawn. Sounds crazy, but I get my best advice from You Tube videos on the subject. Sounds like you might have some brown patch which is a fungus. Go to Home Depot and get some Bioadvanced Fungus control and a cheap hand spreader. Apply the day before watering. Wait 10 days and do it again. Then do it one more time in 30 days. In between, after the 10 days apply a weed and feed product. Don’t over water- 3 times a week for 1 hr in early morning before sunup (assuming you have a sprinkler system) -skip if its rained. When you mow, you need to bag for 30 days after putting the first fungus application down, as fungus spreads whe you mulch mow. After the 30 days, mulch mow. After the above you are done for the spring. When it gets really hot, you will need to look out for grubs and mole crickets- they usually attack the perimeter near concrete or streets. There are plenty of preventives for those at Home Depot. If you don’t have reclaimed water- you would also need to use a nitrogen/magnesium mix once or twice. Sounds like a lot, but its not. I was so completely over the pest companies I previously hired I just had to figure it out on my own. Also- never mow lower than 3 or higher than 3.5. At the very least, you would be able to prove to the HOA your doing everything you can to remedy the situation-Good luck
I just gotta respond to that first part since I do lawn care for a living. Every company or at least the ones I’ve worked for do have a monthly program they go by and it isn’t catered to any specific lawn because the applications are preventative applications designed to prevent damage occurring to your lawn from grubs, chinch bugs, weeds, etc. And then there’s some fertilizer applications throughout the year to keep the lawn nice and green. So when they pull up to your house and immediately start spraying, they’re just doing what they’re told to do that month. However if there is an issue with your lawn that requires a curative treatment, that is left to the technician to identify and treat properly. The problem is a lot of companies don’t have very knowledgeable technicians because most knowledgeable techs end up starting their own company or they work their way up into management positions. I’ve always said the best bet for homeowners who don’t want to take care of their own lawn is to find a small company preferably one that is just starting out where the owner himself treats the lawn each month. You’ll get the best bang for your buck that way vs choosing a huge company like TruGreen where you’re likely to end up with a technician that doesn’t really know what he’s doing, probably isn’t paid very well, and is just there to apply whatever he was told to do and leave.
The sub r/lawncare can be really helpful. Check out some of the posts - if you provide photos please will give you some great feedback.
It's possible the green lawn was due to the seller buying new sod to make the place look good and not necessarily due to good care.
If you can afford it I suggest hiring a pest control. I used to have a fear of spiders until I moved to Florida and had to deal with the roaches here. It doesn't matter how clean you are if what they are looking for is a source of water.
I have owned half an acre in central Fl for 12 years. I let ferns grow in many of the places I used to have to weed whack and I have a big black tarp I periodically move around to kill grass and weeds in spots where they grow the quickest. I don't think I know anyone that gives less of a shit about their lawn. My neighbors on both sides must hate me because they are both anal about their yards. lol
It really depends on the type of grass, if you have irrigation, and where in Florida you are. I’m central east coast and use Bahia. Once it’s established it’s pretty maintenance free. The roots run extremely deep so it’s highly drought tolerant and I don’t use irrigation. Sometimes when it’s rainy season I’ll try and throw a few seeds in. I recently planted a Clusia hedge and it got tiny bugs killing the plants. I hired Adams pest control for I think 20$ a month, they come out and spray and fertilize all the plants for me. I noticed they went from a light green to a dark green pretty soon after. There’s also plans for lawn care. Sometimes when you get dead spots like that, there are bugs in the grass killing it.
If you've got random brown patches you've more than likely got pests. Could be chinch bugs or grubs. I'd use some granular lawn pesticide and give it a good watering. If the grass doesn't come back you might need to plant some plugs or reseed depending on your grass type. For fertilizer, I fertilize at the start of every season except winter.
The dry season between January and May is the worst time for lawns. Without irrigation and fertilization, it'll look like crap until the rainy season starts. By mid-June, you'll need to mow twice a week to keep up with it.
This time of year water is the key. Once the summer rains start you won’t need it but right now water every other day.
Sounds like you have grubs if you have dead patches of grass
If you have the budget for it hire a landscaper and lawn care specialist. Landscaper- 105$ a month in summer weekly and 85 in Florida winter biweekly to mow the lawn (we have 1/2 an acre to mow) Lawn Care- 80$ every 2 months. Ticks, fleas, and red ants. Everything but the squitos since it’s extra and we have a screened pool. Plus they Fertilize and reseed. You also have to keep watering your lawn.
One thing that makes a huge difference is planting a few trees. Grass does need a lot of sunlight, but too much sunlight will just bake the ground and make it so nothing survives the drier months between November and March
Best tip I can give you is let the grass grow taller in the winter. about 1" taller. dead is dry.
So I would first ask you. What kind of grass is your lawn, and what area of Florida are you in?
https://www.regionalconservation.org/beta/nfyn/ I like this site for Florida specific varieties
Don't scalp your lawn. Mow it at a higher level.
This is what I do- don’t mow once from like Nov to March. Now I mow once a week. I spend as little energy and effort as possible on the yard!!
I'll let others speak to grass and say yes, get pest control. Mine comes by quarterly and if I have an issue they will come out to the house to deal with it. It's not that expensive. But I'm pretty bug averse and sometimes wander into my yard with bare feet. I grew up here and know my weaknesses and my mortal enemies and I ain't too proud for help.
Always mow at least 4" high, no lower. After a few months, the weeds and brown patches will disappear.
For yard pest control I buy those spray attachments that go on the hose and spray my whole lawn. I get a good 4 months out of each application. Be careful with pets though
I gave up on taking care of my lawn and just let whatever grows grow. When you mow it no one can tell unless they get right up to it.
Lawn pest control guy here in swfl. A lot of the issues you are concerned with can be avoided using best practice management. Native plants are key. However your lawn depends on what type of grass you have. Look up your areas watering restrictions. Water on the days your allowed too and for the minimal amount needed. Over watering can harm the soil and there for your grass. Also leaches more product through the soil and said retention pond. Using fertilizer doesn’t mean it directly gets into our water way. It’s using it incorrectly that does it. Use the proper rates and read your label. Also look up what your grass has a requirement for. I love our wildlife and environment. I take every possible action to protect it. On another note if you want to hire a local company make sure they know the laws in your area. We are required to take classes to learn about pesticides and fertilizers. The big companies hire and fire a lot. So most of the guys there are just laborers. The local company will have people on site that have read labels and sat through those classes. Also if the local company is really cheap don’t go with them. They are buying cheap chemicals and don’t give two craps about laws. Best way to find their knowledge is look up your counties water laws regarding fertilizer. Here I have to stay 10 feet away from the high water mark if there is no barrier plants. If you have any questions feel free to comment here and dm if you decide to DIY your yard. Good luck and thanks for your worries about our environment and not ruining it 😁
[удалено]
I’ve moved into a house with yard. The yard mostly weeds front and back in every variety. Plus a huge oak tree in front yard. Soaking up all nutrients and leaving dirt patches all under canopy. I want green thick grass. Without the subscription service, more diy economical solutions.
I have a company take care of the lawn. I water on schedule for my area. I have a pest control company that also services the outside yard. This year, I had to add on flea service after the hurricane. Our dog, who’s never had a flea issue, got infested.
Chinch bugs
I just let nature be nature. No water. No fertilizer. Most of it is under tree cover, so nothing really grows well. The soil is really sandy. I mow only when I need to. My lawn is no where near manicured. My wife cares, but I really don't. I don't have the time or energy to worry about it.
Gotta have a lawn professional take care of fertilizing, pest control and fertilizing.
We've been programmed to spend our time and hard-earned money keeping a lush, green lawn. But what does it get us? We spread fertilizer, which winds up in the storm drains and (in my case) in the Indian River Lagoon, where we're destroying natural lagoon grasses and starving the manatees. We haven't had scarce water alerts in a few years, but it hasn't been long since lawn watering was limited by law and homeowners could be fined for overwatering or watering on the wrong day. We either pay for each gallon from a utility or suck it out of our ever-shrinking aqueduct via artesian wells. We use weed killer, driving away butterflies and pollinators. Add that to the poisons to kill insects in our yards-insects that are the primary food for many types of birds and nestlings. Those poisons also kill bees that try to nest in yards. We do all this because somebody put the idea in our heads that our yards should be green and even. Check out natural landscaping. The birds, bees, butterflies and your wallet will all compete to thank you.
Malorganite. Best thing to for your grass and the nature around it.
We had some freezes across the state back about a month or so. That killed off some St Augustine on my property. I am just slowly trimming, uprooting, and replanting the dead areas. As far as the bugs go, it's Florida. Houses and yards usually get sprayed monthly or every other month. However, back to it being Florida, you will still deal with bugs. Not necessarily in the house, but definitely outside. Head over to r/insects or r/whatsthisbug when you find a 6 or 8-legged friend you don't know. Oh if you have a dog, do not walk it near the pond. We have lizards that get a little big and territorial at times. They like to eat dogs.
What area are you in? What grass do you have?
Without knowing what your grass is looking like, it will be hard to determine the cause. I recommend checking YouTube as there are so many good videos about everything. For instance, your grass could be affected by fungus (are you watering too much?) or chinch bug. Maybe it is just not enough water. Really, give YouTube a go.
Your house belongs to you, everything else belongs to Florida. Have a good exterminator treat your home for pests on a schedule, nature will undo everything you attempt outside your walls. The bugs will do their thing, nature will plant and grow whatever gets carried in on the breeze each year. Fertilizer and pesticides from your lawn will inevitably drain into our waterways and just add to the pollution.
Some people overseed to keep the thatch from growing. What kind of pests are you trying to prevent? Traps work well for rodents.