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Lawn Articles
How the Fertilizer Ban Effects Lawn Spraying and St Augustine Turf Grass Lawns
Spring 2013
There is no fertilizer ban! There is a nitrogen blackout - nitrogen is not allowed to be used on St Augustine turf grass lawns from June 1 until September 31. Is the nitrogen blackout a problem? No! It is not optimum but it is not lethal to your lawn. A steady supply of nitrogen is superior to nitrogen starvation for a season. But, during the blackout, I can keep your lawn healthy by using other non-nitrogen fertilizers. Therefore while I am treating for chinch bugs, grubs, mole crickets and sod webworms, I will be applying non-nitrogen fertilizers to keep your St Augustine turf grass lawn healthy.
Lawn has Bugs Chewing on the Leaves? Probably Sod Webworms
Spring 2013
Due to the mild Florida winter, the Sod Webworm activity has started early. Sod webworm chew on the leaves of the lawn. The damage is often circular in appearance, can be any size from a few inches to an entire lawn with a distinct grey or tannish color. The most distinct symptom is the lawn appears mowed in the damaged areas – due to the sod webworms chewing the leaves off at the leaf base. Sod Webworms are easy to cure but hard to prevent. Ridding your lawn of sod webworms can be done with any off the shelf insecticide from a home improvement store.
Chinch Bugs: What are Chinch Bugs How to Spot Chinch Bugs and How to Control Chinch Bugs
by Rick Orr Spring 2013
From May until the cooler weather of October is Chinch Bug Season – the most dangerous season for your St Augustine turf grass lawn. Why? First, Chinch Bugs like it hot and they like it dry – or at least they like their St Augustine turf grass hot and dry. Nothing is more inviting to a chinch bug than St Augustine turf grass dry from the lack of water and baked all day under the hot Florida sun. Second, Chinch Bug damage is so complete and so fatal to St Augustine turf grass that there is no recovery – your dead lawn is dead! And it is an ugly dead lawn. So what are Chinch Bugs and how do you prevent Chinch Bugs from destroying your St Augustine turf grass lawn?
How Does SWFWMD Save Potable Water by Restricting Lawn Irrigation With Well Water?
by Rick Orr Spring 2013
If healthy lawns are so beneficial and irrigation critical for a healthy lawn, why does SWFWMD restrict lawn watering (irrigation) for lawns and landscapes? I recently wrote SWFWMD to find out the answer to this question. Their answer is simple: To reduce the use of potable water, they restrict ALL irrigation. But restricting self-supplied irrigation systems – those with wells or pond sources for water – does nothing to reduce potable water usage. So I asked, why restrict self-supplied irrigation? Their answer was maddening!
Organic Lawn Care: Deceptions Exposed and Debunked
by Rick Orr Winter 2013
Few things “get up my nose” worse than someone deceiving you about the care and maintenance of a St Augustine turf grass lawn. One of the worst offenders is the organic lawn care industry. The article “What is Organic Fertilizer” published at Lawncare.net is an example of the deception the organic lawn care industry is willing to publish. The author would have you believe that exclusive use organics fertilizers is good and any and all “synthetic” fertilizers are evil. But the article is full of deceptions.
That Little Blue Flowering Wandering Jew Look-a-Like Growing in Your St Augustine Turf Grass Lawn is Dayflower
by Rick Orr Winter 2013
That wandering jew look alike with the little blue flowers growing in your St Augustine turf grass lawn is dayflower. My first encounter with dayflower was in flower beds at the Vinoy golf course. After months of unsuccessful attempts to kill with Roundup, I gave up. “This stuff is from another planet”, I thought. When I started lawn spraying, I found dayflower growing in St Augustine turf grass lawns and thought “Here we go again”. But, I had better luck controlling dayflower in lawns because I use Basagram not Roundup to control dayflower. Why? Dayflower is resistant to Roundup!
How to Control Dollar Weed in St Augustine Turf Grass Lawn
by Rick Orr Fall 2012
The waxy glossy green leaves of dollar weed present themselves just above and horizontal to the mowing plane of the lawn – making dollar weed one of the most visible and noxious weeds in a St Augustine grass lawn.
But that highly visible leaf is only a small part of the problem because dollar weed lives primarily below ground - about 90% of the plant is below ground. So, killing the leaf does little to control the plant!
APL Lawn Spraying Saves $21.85 Compared to Do It Yourself at Home Depot
by Rick Orr Fall 2012
New Owners of St Augustine turf grass lawns learn fast that if you don't fertilize your lawn, control the weeds and kill the chinch bugs - you don't have a lawn for very long. Learning when and what to do for your St Augustine turf grass lawn can be a hassle. But hiring a lawn spraying company is expensive, right? Wrong! It cost Less! Each year I compare the prices at the local home improvement store to see which is cheaper. For 2013 APL Lawn Spraying Saves $24.15 : DIY Lawn Care = $84.15; APL Lawn Spraying = $60.00
Meet the Creator of WWW.ILOVETURF.COM
Fall 2012
60,000 readers since 2009 - not bad for a website about how to grow and maintain St Augustine turf grass lawns in Pinellas County. The purpose of iloveturf.com has always been to educate readers about St Augustine turf grass lawns, to debunk the myths of St Augustine turf grass lawns and expose the bogus laws and restrictions without the normal agenda of promoting a business or some environmental cause. And to do it in a way the average homeowner could appreciate and understand. Iloveturf.com was the creation of Rick Orr, owner/operator of APL Lawn Spraying. Click through and you’ll learn the who and why behind the website!
Environmental, Lifestyle Benefits of Turfgrass FACT SHEET
Fall 2012
Lawn and turfgrass areas have a long history in the U.S. While most homeowners value lawns for their obvious aesthetic value, other equally-important, tangible environmental and lifestyle benefits exist from lawns that are often not recognized or understood.
