Hi All, we live in Houston, st Augustine grass. I treated with post emergent/ Scott’s weed and feed this year. Everything is looking better however area in my backyard still had a lot of weak areas as seen in picture. Should i lay down more fertilizer like 13/13/13 this year vs SOD?
Previously lawn company was mowing too low and too frequently but I learned that the hard way.
Any advice appreciated
by Ready-Ad8248
7 Comments
Apply spring pre-emergents when the 5 day average soil temps are in the 50-55F range. Or use [this tracker](https://gddtracker.msu.edu/).
If you have a question about pre-emergents, read the entire label. If you still have a question, read the entire label again.
Pre-emergents are used to prevent the germination of specific weed seeds. They don’t kill existing weeds.
Most broadleaf weeds you see in the spring can’t be prevented with normal pre emergents. You’d need to apply a specialty broadleaf pre emergent in the FALL.
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I’d send a soil test to the TA&M extension to see what it needs. Triple 15 is generally too much phosphorus for st aug.
Fellow Houstonian here. Personal recommendation – core aerate, hit it with some lawn starter fertilizer, mow high, don’t bag clippings & water heavily. Look at my profile to see the results.
Keep off of it… looks like dogs/people walking on it and trampling it imho.
Aerate, seed it, and water it….
……..Also my yard is mostly dirt so idk what I’m talking about.
Ok stop applying any fertilizer with phosphorus. Stop now and probably never do it again. It’s horrible for the environment, lasts forever, and your lawn doesn’t need it.
Now that that’s out of the way, just apply high nitrogen fertilizer. 30-0-10 or something… the exact ratio doesn’t matter, just whatever you can find with no P. You can do it every 30 days in the growing season. Water 0.5 inches every three days.
You don’t need sod but of course it wouldn’t hurt.
Also you can’t really mow too much. Mowing encourages growth. Mow at 3.5-4 inches high, but do it as often as you want. Minimum should probably be once a week (in the summer sometimes I’m mowing twice a week).
If that’s all you have just put down two new pieces of sod every spring.
Do your sprinklers not work? It looks so dry.