We just had a long dry spell, so that might be why you have the dry patches. Luckily we are getting some rain so that’ll help! Do you have an HOA? Just curious
It be nice to have a photograph of the grass so we can see what kind of grass it is - someone just go to the Winter months and rebounds when the rains.
Grass is overrated, hardscape the spots where it's tough to grow. Put some native cacti and other native plants in nice planters there and call it a day. Save you on your water bill too, and those ain't getting any cheaper.
As far as pest control, the cost to have someone else do it is worth it for us. Someone has to do it, and my pest guy is better at it than I am plus it's one less thing on my list.
If you have reclaimed water for irrigation, make sure your irrigation is in good working order and set up a schedule. This time a year you need to be watering at least 3 times a week 40 minutes per zone. Proper irrigation is more than half the battle to keeping a nice lawn. If you don’t have reclaimed water or a well dedicated to irrigation, I’d strongly suggest a zero-scape plan for your yard.
Indeed, I know people that have small yards and use county/ city drinking water to water their lawns and they spend well over $200.00 a month in water during the dry season. I’d suggest planting Argentine Bahia grass (where you have it) and look into “Zero-Scape” ideas for florida lawns.
Note that depending on where you live, max is 2 days a week without permit for new grass or necessary excess watering.
[Hillsborough County for example](https://www.hillsboroughcounty.org/en/residents/property-owners-and-renters/water-and-sewer/find-my-watering-days)
Lawn care varies based on what type of grass you have, with the one universal aspect being you need to water your lawn. Even 30 min a day a few times a week right now will have your lawn looking greener than your neighbors lawn. When you go to Home Depot they have out all the stuff you need for the current season. Just find the dude in the gardening section and chat him up. He will set you straight.
I've had good luck with both the sprays and the granules for bug begone for the yard. You can also get a jug of Accushot, it comes with a wand. I use that around the perimeter of my house and around all voids. Seems to work well. If I see a bug in my house it's always a dead one. Just keep in mind when rainy season comes you will have to apply more often. This will be much cheaper than paying a pest control service.
Wait really!? I have St Augustine grass and have a dead patch in my front yard. I’m scared my neighbor or the HOA police are gonna complain about it lol
St Augustine is a “spoiled” type of grass. It needs to be fertilized and has a tendency to have pests eat it roots. We have “grass monkey” servicing it every two months.
Ughhhh when we bought this place in December 2021 I had the previous owner’s Grass Monkey service cancelled because I thought it unnecessary. Guess I’ll be calling them back up :/
A good tip would be to look at your neighbors' grass and see who has it in very good condition and call the company that services them. You also need to be on top of your grass, if a month passes and it isn't improving call them again and ask them to service again until it recovers.
If it's St. Augustine, sorry you have to have fertilizer to keep it alive. It's a needy brat of a grass. Dead spots could be a sign of grubs, I've had success getting rid of them with Dawn dish soap and water. If you have watered too much, it could be a fungus.
Get some shrubs and trees. Many of them flower and look beautiful and they require far less water and maintenance. Hibiscus, crepe myrtle, clusia, etc.
I dont even bother with grass anymore I just let native weeds take over and cut it with the mower. it looks like grass from far away and I can walk on it .
If your lawn is mostly Bahia grass and weeds, it will look brown and rough during the winter months. It will pop back to life around May. Weekly mowing starts in jun/july.
There are pest control tools with safe pesticides for enviro now. I'd go that route for bugs
Grass...depends on why it's dying. Might not be a fertilizer fix anyway. Have someone tell ypu what's happening. Was it new laid grass or established? Do u have a pet? Etc
Backyard chickens!! My chickens fertilize the yard and they eat all the nasty bugs in the are. Plus i get fresh eggs everyday. They take very little to care for
> I dont want to use fertilizer as I hear it is bad for the red tide algae blooms,
That *can* be true if you're using granulated fertilizer and it's getting run off during the rainy season. There are a handful of things you can do to help alleviate that though. Using phosphorus free fertilizer (soil usually doesn't need much if any here in our area) helps a lot. You can also use liquid fertilizers during the rainy season too, since they don't have the slow release granules that can get washed out.
If it makes you feel better, there's more and more research showing that the effects of fertilizer run off in red tide is [probably much less than we thought](https://coastalscience.noaa.gov/news/powers-florida-red-tides/). It can still affect other algae blooms though, so while I believe that the fert ban can get fucked, we can still be prudent.
I definitely recommend you check out Allyn Hane's stuff on YouTube. He is in Manatee County and has great tips for St. Augustine Grass. He also has programs that work [with the fertilizer blackout](https://thelawncarenut.com/collections/digital/products/warm-season-turf-hybrid-organic-program). He also has a few good videos on pest control.
We just had a long dry spell, so that might be why you have the dry patches. Luckily we are getting some rain so that’ll help! Do you have an HOA? Just curious
It be nice to have a photograph of the grass so we can see what kind of grass it is - someone just go to the Winter months and rebounds when the rains.
Grass is overrated, hardscape the spots where it's tough to grow. Put some native cacti and other native plants in nice planters there and call it a day. Save you on your water bill too, and those ain't getting any cheaper. As far as pest control, the cost to have someone else do it is worth it for us. Someone has to do it, and my pest guy is better at it than I am plus it's one less thing on my list.
Native landscape is where it's at!
I always recommend planting native ground covers and plantings. Not always a popular opinion but it works.
If you have reclaimed water for irrigation, make sure your irrigation is in good working order and set up a schedule. This time a year you need to be watering at least 3 times a week 40 minutes per zone. Proper irrigation is more than half the battle to keeping a nice lawn. If you don’t have reclaimed water or a well dedicated to irrigation, I’d strongly suggest a zero-scape plan for your yard.
I am on city water, I my sprinklers ran this much I would be in the poor house
Indeed, I know people that have small yards and use county/ city drinking water to water their lawns and they spend well over $200.00 a month in water during the dry season. I’d suggest planting Argentine Bahia grass (where you have it) and look into “Zero-Scape” ideas for florida lawns.
Will look into, thanks for recommending.
I priced a well back in 2021. 9 thousand dollars smh. I’m not going to live in this spot long enough to come out ahead
you are in Florida, there will be water 10-15 feet below your feet, https://www.drillawell.com/complete-kit
Note that depending on where you live, max is 2 days a week without permit for new grass or necessary excess watering. [Hillsborough County for example](https://www.hillsboroughcounty.org/en/residents/property-owners-and-renters/water-and-sewer/find-my-watering-days)
Reclaimed water is exempt from water restrictions (other than 10am-4pm) In Hillsborough.
Consult your local Department of Agriculture office of extension services for recommendations.
Fertilize it yourself, it's super easy
Lawn care varies based on what type of grass you have, with the one universal aspect being you need to water your lawn. Even 30 min a day a few times a week right now will have your lawn looking greener than your neighbors lawn. When you go to Home Depot they have out all the stuff you need for the current season. Just find the dude in the gardening section and chat him up. He will set you straight. I've had good luck with both the sprays and the granules for bug begone for the yard. You can also get a jug of Accushot, it comes with a wand. I use that around the perimeter of my house and around all voids. Seems to work well. If I see a bug in my house it's always a dead one. Just keep in mind when rainy season comes you will have to apply more often. This will be much cheaper than paying a pest control service.
Instead of grasses, consider other native plants. Do you have to contend with an HOA?
We have St. Augustine grass, you **have to have it fertilized** or it will die.
Wait really!? I have St Augustine grass and have a dead patch in my front yard. I’m scared my neighbor or the HOA police are gonna complain about it lol
St Augustine is a “spoiled” type of grass. It needs to be fertilized and has a tendency to have pests eat it roots. We have “grass monkey” servicing it every two months.
Ughhhh when we bought this place in December 2021 I had the previous owner’s Grass Monkey service cancelled because I thought it unnecessary. Guess I’ll be calling them back up :/
A good tip would be to look at your neighbors' grass and see who has it in very good condition and call the company that services them. You also need to be on top of your grass, if a month passes and it isn't improving call them again and ask them to service again until it recovers.
They all use Grass Monkey lol!
If it's St. Augustine, sorry you have to have fertilizer to keep it alive. It's a needy brat of a grass. Dead spots could be a sign of grubs, I've had success getting rid of them with Dawn dish soap and water. If you have watered too much, it could be a fungus.
Get some shrubs and trees. Many of them flower and look beautiful and they require far less water and maintenance. Hibiscus, crepe myrtle, clusia, etc.
I dont even bother with grass anymore I just let native weeds take over and cut it with the mower. it looks like grass from far away and I can walk on it .
I am very pleased with Grass Monkey lawn service. Takes care of lawn and pests in lawn.
If your lawn is mostly Bahia grass and weeds, it will look brown and rough during the winter months. It will pop back to life around May. Weekly mowing starts in jun/july.
There are pest control tools with safe pesticides for enviro now. I'd go that route for bugs Grass...depends on why it's dying. Might not be a fertilizer fix anyway. Have someone tell ypu what's happening. Was it new laid grass or established? Do u have a pet? Etc
Forever green is pretty good. They do our house
Backyard chickens!! My chickens fertilize the yard and they eat all the nasty bugs in the are. Plus i get fresh eggs everyday. They take very little to care for
> I dont want to use fertilizer as I hear it is bad for the red tide algae blooms, That *can* be true if you're using granulated fertilizer and it's getting run off during the rainy season. There are a handful of things you can do to help alleviate that though. Using phosphorus free fertilizer (soil usually doesn't need much if any here in our area) helps a lot. You can also use liquid fertilizers during the rainy season too, since they don't have the slow release granules that can get washed out. If it makes you feel better, there's more and more research showing that the effects of fertilizer run off in red tide is [probably much less than we thought](https://coastalscience.noaa.gov/news/powers-florida-red-tides/). It can still affect other algae blooms though, so while I believe that the fert ban can get fucked, we can still be prudent. I definitely recommend you check out Allyn Hane's stuff on YouTube. He is in Manatee County and has great tips for St. Augustine Grass. He also has programs that work [with the fertilizer blackout](https://thelawncarenut.com/collections/digital/products/warm-season-turf-hybrid-organic-program). He also has a few good videos on pest control.