Will my St. Augustine come back?

E

El_Guapo

500+ Posts
I'm watering as best I can but I can't keep up. I've got lots of brown patches in the yard that are just getting worse. Will they eventually come back or is it toast (pun intended).

On a related note, anybody have any idea how much an automatic sprinkler system might cost? It's an average sized yard, maybe a tad bigger than average.
 
Might your spots be fungus?

And the number in my head for sprinkler systems is $3K. I've never gotten a quote, that's just the figure that I start with.
 
I doubt it's fungus although I have no idea how to tell either way. The reason I doubt is because back in the good old days of 6 weeks ago, when we were getting pretty good rains once or twice a week, it was as healthy and green a yard as I've ever had.

Note - we moved into this house in March.
 
Sometimes brown patch can be grubs. It looks similar to a watering problem. It might not be grubs though since they will go down deeper in the ground to escape the heat. Hard to tell. Best you can do is just soak the ground as much as you can. St. Aug is a pretty hardy grass and returns pretty good with its runners.
 
Easy to tell if it's grubs: your grass will peel up like a rug. The reason it's brown is because they start eating the roots. Because there are no roots, it gets no nourishment, dies, turns brown and peels up (just see if when you tug on it, if you get any resistence).

Simply get some Diazanon (sp?) and water a LOT, and it will come back, provided it is surrounded by green/healthy areas.
 
You have grubs. I would bet anything on it. If you don't stop them now, they will ruin your entire yard. You can't water enough to keep up with grubs. Only chance is to kill them off.
 
Try putting down a bag of "grub stop". Most yards have grubs, and they do eat the roots of your grass, just not to the degree where they kill it off. Even of your problem is not grub related, putting down a grub remedy is never a bad idea. It will just make your lawn more healthy.
 
If the brown patches are surrounded by healthy grass.... treat the brown spots for the problem and then sprinkle sugar in the area. It will lead the healthy grass over the brown patches.
 
Watering ssytems are very easy to put in if you rent a little trencher and use the new flexible pipe and what not.
 
Yeah, I didnt use a sig for a long time because I could not think of anything that I wanted to use. When I stumbled across that gif, I knew that I had to use it as a sig.
 
"Also, anybody know anything about Medina Soil Activator? I bought a bottle of it last year and never got around to spreading it at the old place. Is it something you should do at certain times of the year? Would now be a good time to do it?"

You can put down Medina any time during the year, but just make sure you do it in the morning or in the evening. You could possibly have to much salt in your soil and it is causing it to burn; Medina should solve that problem. However, I am still betting on grubs.
 
I haven't seen any may beetles around since it's been so hot and dry, so you probably have chinch bugs. You can verify this by cutting the bottom out of a coffee can and sticking it in the ground near the infected area. Fill the can with water and inspect any bugs that float up. Here's a picture of one variety.
2503_2.jpg
 
Sounds like chinch bugs.

If the problem was from lack of water, it probably wouldn't be a brown patch that grows larger. You would notice a general 'thinning' of the grass accompanied by some brown patches.

If you have healthy, lush grass that suddenly ends on a dead spot where it is very brown, and that patch seems to be growing, you probably have an infestation of some type.
 
Chinch bugs also leave brown circular rings on your blades, so check for those.

I have/had a similar problem recently and my landscaping guru told me to first check my water coverage. I found out that I had about 3 breaks in my sprinkler system, some heads weren't getting above the grass, etc. After getting those things fixed I'm going to give it a couple weeks to improve before I head to the chemicals for insects.

By saying you're trying to keep up witht he watering, what do you mean? How often and for how long do you water, and at what time of day?
 
I mean I'm in and out so much that I'm not always at home around, say, 8:00ish to position and turn on the sprinkler. Say I get home at 10:30 and need to get to bed, I'm not gonna stay up an extra couple of hours to get the yard watered, nor am I waking up at 4:00 a.m. to do it.

I basically water as much as I can when I can in the evenings and sometimes early morning before work but I'm not able to get consistent water to the whole yard this way.
 
I had a fungus in areas of my yard last year. I just fertilized and this spring it was the best looking yard on the street. Then this no rain thing hit and my **** is starting to look bad again in spots.

El Gaupo...
I think all of the above tips are helpful but I think you have the same problem I have. Not enough time to regularly water your yard. It sounds to my like you have cerain patches that get more sun and stay in the heat longer than other spots. I am guessing here but I bet you have some spots that are still green and those spots get shade from the house or trees at least for a good part of the day. My spots that are getting brown are all in spots that obviously are in the heat for most of the day. The stretch between the street and the neighborhood sidewalk is the worst spot. It gets no shade and it is stuck between black top and concrete so it takes in a lot of sun and heat. I think we are both in the same boat with a bad stretch of no rain and a lack of a good watering schedule.

I am so pissed because my yard was looking great and I love working in the yard. It's like when an artist paints a picture but has to work with colors that are all wrong. You put in the work but it still looks like ****!
 
PSI,

your yard sounds like mine. i also work quite a bit & just don't have the time to give the yard the good soak it needs. i'm still doing research but i'm considering planting texas buffalograss next year. i did some checking into it & it was actually recommended to me because i just don't have the time. it is a fairly drought resistant grass. i'm considering tilling up my entire yard next spring & planting it. I haven't decided for sure, but it seems like a good option for me. here is some info i found.

Buffalo Grass 1

Buffalo Grass 2

I've also had folks recommend Zoysia & Bermuda. So I'm going to have to do more research.

I'm also considering leaving the shaded areas of my lawn St Augustine because along one side of my house, which is heavilly shaded, the grass is lush, green, & thick.
 
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