# New Homeowner & DIY Lawn care



## Hauss316 (Nov 1, 2018)

Hey all! I just purchased a home and looking to get into DIY lawn care. I just upgraded my sprinkler controller to a Rachio and now looking to get some advice on my lawn. Besides cutting it, I really don't have much experience. The lawn for the most part isn't too bad but I do have some trouble spots that I can't seem to figure out.

I am located north of Tampa, FL and have about 4,000 sq ft of St. Augustine which sees the sun throughout the entire day. My buddy got me hooked on the lawn care nut and from watching his videos, he makes it look easy to take care of a lawn. I recently just received the NeXt Bio-stim pack but would like more advice as he makes it seem that this is all you need with some milo to make everything green.

Attached are pictures of my problem areas to hopefully give a better idea of what I am dealing with.

Thanks!


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## TN Hawkeye (May 7, 2018)

Hauss316 said:


> Hey all! I just purchased a home and looking to get into DIY lawn care. I just upgraded my sprinkler controller to a Rachio and now looking to get some advice on my lawn. Besides cutting it, I really don't have much experience. The lawn for the most part isn't too bad but I do have some trouble spots that I can't seem to figure out.
> 
> I am located north of Tampa, FL and have about 4,000 sq ft of St. Augustine which sees the sun throughout the entire day. My buddy got me hooked on the lawn care nut and from watching his videos, he makes it look easy to take care of a lawn. I recently just received the NeXt Bio-stim pack but would like more advice as he makes it seem that this is all you need with some milo to make everything green.
> 
> ...


Welcome to TLF. There are lots of smart people on here that will be able to give advice on your St. Augustine lawn. Unfortunately I am neither smart nor able to advise you. Just curious if you know if there were any fungus or insect issues? The thin spots in the lawn look like something killed off the grass from that area. Luckily St Augustine self repairs if you get the cause of the damage under control.


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## FlaDave (Jul 10, 2018)

Lcn gives some solid advise on st aug. Mow it tall and frequently (1/3rd rule). Make sure it's getting at least 1" water a week. Get a good pre-emergent weed control program going. Keep a close eye out for disease and bugs. It doesn't need much fert, there are cheaper options than milorganite available at your local siteone/ewing etc. Soil test results can help you choose what fert to put down. There are a few guys on here cutting their st aug with tru cut reels down to 1" I believe which is pretty cool. Celsius is probably your best goto weed control. If you have any specific questions this is the best place on the internet to find the answers. Theres lots of very knowlegable enthusiasts here. Get your wallet prepared for all of the cool new toys you are about to aquire. Welcome to TLF!


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## Hauss316 (Nov 1, 2018)

Thanks for the replies. I got a soil test done a month ago and treated the lawn with lawn restore. I'm not sure whether it's insects or fungus but I have treated for both but haven't noticed any improvement. My lawn starts to look dry and wilted a few days after watering which has me concerned.


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## FlaDave (Jul 10, 2018)

There are lots of test that can be done to help identify your problem at this point. You can use the search function here on the forum to help you with these tests but there's the screwdriver test for compaction and buried objects, the soapy water test for insects, you can check for grubs by digging up a 1'×1' area and counting the grubs found, and there's the tuna can test to make sure you're getting plenty water. I would start with those if you suspect there is still a problem. I'm not far from distance wise and I can tell you with the cooler weather coming in my lawn has stopped growing this past week. Our winters are very random so it may not be too late to get a head start on next year but I would take it easy and just nurse it until spring. St Aug is a bit slow to recover so keep up good cultural practices and you will eventually see good results.


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## Greyleafspot (Oct 16, 2018)

It looks like a insect problem.


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## Greyleafspot (Oct 16, 2018)

Probably insects eating the roots is why it looks dry only a few days after watering. Dig up and look for grubs. Also could be army worms or webworms.


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## Greyleafspot (Oct 16, 2018)

Also normally you don't have fungus issues if the grass is in full sun unless you are seriously over watering.


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## JKH7 (Aug 24, 2018)

Congrats on the House man! Nice place you got there. Tampa is a cool area. I agree it looks like insect damage to me. I believe you have/had chinch bugs. The most damaging pest of st. Augustine. I would recommend putting down some arena insecticide at the high rate. I enjoy the LCN videos also but I believe you will definitely need more than next and milo to have your lawn looking it's best. Best of luck


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## CenlaLowell (Apr 21, 2017)

Hauss316 said:


> Hey all! I just purchased a home and looking to get into DIY lawn care. I just upgraded my sprinkler controller to a Rachio and now looking to get some advice on my lawn. Besides cutting it, I really don't have much experience. The lawn for the most part isn't too bad but I do have some trouble spots that I can't seem to figure out.
> 
> I am located north of Tampa, FL and have about 4,000 sq ft of St. Augustine which sees the sun throughout the entire day. My buddy got me hooked on the lawn care nut and from watching his videos, he makes it look easy to take care of a lawn. I recently just received the NeXt Bio-stim pack but would like more advice as he makes it seem that this is all you need with some milo to make everything green.
> 
> ...


Chiming in. It doesn't look like a fungus problem at all. There is no lesions on any other grass blades. Get a good insecticide program going, i use bifen XTS and Imidacloprid. You will buy plenty of chemicals while trying to maintain a beautiful lawn. So hop along for the ride.

Welcome to TLF


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## Hauss316 (Nov 1, 2018)

A true green guy tried to solicit and suggested that I had fungus. Like I said, I'm a novice and was thinking this was more of an insect problem.


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## Greyleafspot (Oct 16, 2018)

On closer inspection that does look like grey leaf spot. And grey leaf spot does melt out the grass. But I would still dig around and look for insects.


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## Greyleafspot (Oct 16, 2018)

On closer inspection that does look like grey leaf spot. And grey leaf spot does melt out the grass. But I would still dig around and look for insects.


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## Greyleafspot (Oct 16, 2018)

Check out this fungiced guide. https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=4042


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## Hauss316 (Nov 1, 2018)

Greyleafspot said:


> Check out this fungiced guide. https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=4042


Thanks for this!!! Would it be an issue to put down heritage G with an insecticide?


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## houstongrassnerd (Nov 6, 2018)

Had the same problem grey leaf spot... if you have grey leaf spot you will fight it constantly, especially when it constantly rains although mine seemed to go away once summer hit. Propiconazol 14.3% off Amazon or solutions pest website worked best for me, now for brown patch, azoxystrobin knocked it out when propiconazol just kinda gave it a few punches. Scott's disease ex with azoxystrobin, from my understanding, is basically heritage but much cheaper and available everywhere for 20$ 10lbs. Also I have found that mixture of dominion and cyzmic insecticide from solutions works amazing.


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## LawnCareNut (May 31, 2018)

Things are slowing down a little right now in growth so getting it to thicken up will be a bitter slower right now. If you want to get some plugs to throw in that is a great idea right now. Get Floratam as that's what you have now.
We have had some high humidity swings which creates the fungus issues. Best fungicide to get is Heritage (Group 11) but you can use a cheaper option in Propiconizole (Group 5) and do ok. A combination of both back-to-back is best if you get it real bad but I highly doubt that will be a problem as we move into winter.
your lawn may-or-may-not go dormant. Tampa is on a boarder of the "frost line". Irrigation is most important right now. The lawn is coming off the rainy season and it's been fat and happy (even though thin) and now it's being switched over to your watering... believe it or not, going from rainwater to well water (or city water especially) is a shock to the St Aug. It will get over that quickly though. Spoon feed in Micros and Macros about every 4-5 weeks not. Stick to 1/4LB/N/1000. Milo is fine but you can get a Milo clone at your local Big Earth Supply. They are my friends and I always recommend them to locals. Some RGS would be a great idea now too. every 4 weeks at 3oz/gallon/1000 Mow often. Hope for the best.  Lastly - get in a dig around in the brown spots and look for grubs. I found some in my lawn today (Bradenton area) so I'm telling everyone to check. If you find grubs, get Dylox down and water it in.


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## Suburban Jungle Life (Mar 1, 2018)

LCN in the house!!!


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