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leee82

Lawn rescue, please help

leeE82
10 years ago

Hi all, I recently purchased a home in central florida, the problems I have are, the front lawn is covered in weeds, I'm not sure what type, but there seems to be more weed than grass, there are also soft spongy patches, and in the back yard the lawn is dead, just seems to be a soft spongy sand/soil on the surface, I would like to get a nice lawn front and back any idea's where to start? Thanks

Comments (3)

  • fawnridge (Ricky)
    10 years ago

    If you want a lawn in Florida, the first fact you must accept is that it will be the most expensive part of your landscape, requiring more maintenance than anything else you plant. More than 90% of your landscape budget will be forever dedicated to keeping your lawn green, free of pests, and trimmed to a proper height.

    If you are ready to make that commitment, the first thing you have to consider is irrigation. Do you have an in-ground sprinkler system? Does it work? Does it adequately cover all areas of your lawn? Get the irrigation working properly before you do anything else, otherwise, whatever grass you put down is going to wither and die.

    If the bulk of what you have now is weeds, and it sounds like you do, you need to kill them first. RoundUp is the best solution. Spray the entire area on a sunny day when the nighttime temperature is going to be above 60 degrees, 65 is better, and there's no rain in the forecast for a couple of days. Give the RoundUp a day or two to work.

    Sod runs around $100 a pallet and covers between 400 and 500 square feet. You can put it down yourself and spend a few weeks with back pain or you can hire some day laborers to do the job for you. Once the sod is down, it needs to be watered that day and every day for a week - don't flood it, just get it watered. After that, you should water it every two days for a month and then go on your regular irrigation schedule - two or three times a week.

    Hire a good pest control company and have them treat the lawn several times a year to keep the pests at bay. Good luck.

  • bamboo_rabbit
    10 years ago

    This is winter.....are you sure it is dead and not just dormant?

  • aputernut
    10 years ago

    Well I live in FL. 34 yrs. now, and I'd be willing to bet you have Bahia lawn, which is in the weed family itself, I don't care about this fact or the fact, that I have weeds as long as it all is green which it is as soon as I feed it, when our rainy season starts, not now! then I'm happy, and contrary to what others may tell you, you do not need a sprinkler system, I never water my lawn, only my plants in winter (dry season) if needed, and no matter how brown the lawn may get, soon as the rains start my lawn is just as green as anybody else's. Plus I saved a bundle on our expensive water. Bahia lawn roots very deeply and always comes back no matter how bad it may look. I do spray the lawn for insects as well, right after I've sprayed my inside and all around the foundation and flower beds, you do not want to drive insects inside but rather the other way.

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