Turf

Certainly, the products to achieve the same results as paying the lawn spraying guy exists at the local Home Depot or Lowes. But many people choose to pay for lawn spraying for various reasons - they simply find value in the service greater than the desire to "DIY" (Do It Yourself).

I am on 3000 lawns per year – up close and personal – spraying – walking - studying. That amounts to about 15 million square feet of St Augustine grass pass under my feet in a year’s time. And after 10 years, I have learned a lot about St Augustine grass - all of it can be summed up in 3 essentials.

The trick to keeping tender plants safe from cold weather is knowing the limitation of your plants and your options to protect them from cold weather. Most plants grown in Pinellas County require temperatures below 28° for several hours to be damaged. Why? It is the freezing of water in the plant cells that kill plants – not the actual cold weather. The water in the plant cells freezes at 28° - not 32°...

St Augustine can be damaged by cold weather but rarely killed. I grew St Augustine in the panhandle of Florida with temperatures dropping in the 20’s overnight without killing St Augustine. But cold damage can stress the turf and open up the canopy allowing weeds to flourish. So what to do to protect your St Augustine Lawn from cold weather damage?

Dollar Spot is a very common disease of St Augustine lawns in Pinellas County. I see it on nearly every lawn. Dollar Spot is not a serious threat to your lawn - it is more cosmetic - effecting the appearance of your lawn. Dollar Spot is a low fertility disease and is certainly increased because of the fertilizer ban forced on Pinellas County by SWFWMD.

During the winter months of January and February in Pinellas County, the best thing you can do for your St Augustine lawn is prepare for March. During the winter months, St Augustine is semi- dormant or resting - it is waiting for the soil to warm and for longer days. As the soil warms with the spring rains and warmer sun, the St Augustine will rise out of dormancy and start rapid growth cycle.

St Augustine grass always looks better when mowed with a sharp mower blade. The St Augustine grass leaf contains rigid cells made of a very tough plant material that is difficult to cut. Mowing St Augustine grass with a dull mower blade creates a frayed tip

With the cooler temperatures and wetter soils, Brown Patch is active in lawns in the Pinellas County area. Brown Patch is a common turf disease that occurs in the Spring and Fall during cool (not cold) temperatures. The pathogen is a soil born fungus and can not be eliminated, but with some good culture can be reduced. Some lawns, because of the type of St Augustine and the soil, have chronic problems with Brown Patch. Distinctives are circles or joined circles of brown grass with a “halo” of yellow grass .

When a St Augustine lawn or a section of a lawn fails – for whatever reason – you have several options. The most turned to option is replacing the lawn with St Augustine sod – sodding is stripping St Augustine turf from a field and planting it on your lawn. Sodding a lawn brings instant gratification – the failed lawn is preplaced by a successful lawn within hours.

Many people think the little Pink Flamingo sign I leave in the yard is cute. And some, specifically the mentally ill “chemi-phobics” , see the posting sign as a “skull and crossbones” warning them of the death and destruction that was sprayed on your lawn. Personally, I think it is a piece of trash I had to leave in your lawn - that’s why I put it near the mail box or trash can so you can easily throw it away.

So if it is just a cute piece of trash that scars the mentally ill, why bother posting the property to “Stay off Until Dry”? Because it is the law - an outdated law, but it is the law!