Let it Grow!
There
really are no secrets for maintaining a green St.
Augustine lawn in a
drought without supplemental watering. All it takes is
practicing some common sense tips...
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St. Augustine turf cut at the full height of a
Yard Machines by MTD High Wheel mower. |
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Neighboring lawn with lawn mower set almost
as low as possible. |
1) Lift the deck of your lawn
mower to its full height so your grass will grow taller.
You do not want to scalp your lawn. Cutting at a taller
height forces the grass roots to grow longer to reach
deeper into the soil for moisture. Also, taller grass
helps to shade the roots to slow the rate of evaporation
of moisture from the soil.
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Grass clippings
left on the lawn add nutrients back to the
soil. |
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2) Do not
bag your grass clippings. Leave them on the lawn to rot,
this adds nutrients back into the the soil. It is
helpful to use a leaf blower or rake to spread the
clipped grass drifts out evenly on the turf. This allows
the clippings to decompose quicker and more evenly by
not allowing matted clumps to form.
3) Fertilize your
turf no more or no less than twice a year with a high
quality weed and feed fertilizer. The FloridaGardener
advises spending the money on the best quality
"Southern" formulation Weed and Feed for St. Augustine
turf you can afford. It is really worth the money in the
long run. Feeding too much or too little is not good for
the best lawn growth.
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Overfeeding is bad because it forces the turf to grow faster
than is healthy for it and actually makes the turf
weaker and more succulent to insects and diseases;
underfeeding causes the lawn to become weak and
encourages attack by insects and diseases. Like
Goldilocks, fertilizer application for Florida turf
needs to be "just right" -- once in the spring
and once in the fall.
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Sun scalded St.
Augustine Turf cut too short.
{Click
Image to
Enlarge} |
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Thick & healthy
St. Augustine Turf cut high.
{Click Image to
Enlarge} |
4)
Short-cut turf is subject to "sun scald" (Definition:
"Clipping grass too closely removes foliage
necessary for food manufacturing and exposes stolons
to direct sun rays. When this occurs, a brown lesion
or burned areas is found on the upper surface of the
stolon.", Source:
Texas A&M University).
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Arrows point
to sharpened leading edges on lawnmower
blade. |
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