Yellowing St. Augustine Grass (Vero Beach, Hawthorne: HOA, home, camper)

[pslhomie]

Also I have one of the best lawns on my street. I only spend about 2 hours every other week on it. That includes the mowing, weed eating and edging.

[HarryWho?]

Originally Posted by pslhomie

Also I have one of the best lawns on my street. I only spend about 2 hours every other week on it. That includes the mowing, weed eating and edging.

Two hours every two weeks? How big is your lawn? 40x40? I cut mine every 4 days in the summer.

[PortStLucieWater]

As someone with a push mower it takes me 2 hours to do my backyard and 2 hours to do the front. I have a corner lot (1/3 acre) so it's slightly larger. During the summer I need to cut the front and back every week. During winter time I do about every other week or slightly longer.

My issue so far has been with our palms....some of them look a bit sick with yellow spots :/

[alsidw]

Yep, I live on a corner too. With my bad knee and poor primary care doctor that refuses to help with the pain I had to buy a riding mower for the front and side yards. I got help with my palms from Palm City Palms, nice ladies. They have some special palm fertilizer because palms need trace minerals. I have several varieties of palms. Which ones are having the problem- could be the dreaded white fly that is affecting Broward and Palm Beach counties, especially coconut palms and areca's.

[pslhomie]

Ok I do use a riding lawn mower because my wife got tired of seeing me push one around. She even bought me a bimini top for the thing. My yard is the standard yard for PSL and I mow it every two weeks whether it needs it or not. This time of year my back yard for some reason does not grow that fast so I cut it once a month. I don't have all of the bushes and palms to take care of either. I keep my yard simple so it's easy to take care of. If you stay on top of the small problems then you don't have to take care of them when they get big. I investigated a couple of those "lawn spraying" companies and found that they are not any better than me and they have a bad reputation to boot. All you have to do is google one of their names and you will see.

[HarryWho?]

Originally Posted by pslhomie

Ok I do use a riding lawn mower because my wife got tired of seeing me push one around. She even bought me a bimini top for the thing. My yard is the standard yard for PSL and I mow it every two weeks whether it needs it or not. This time of year my back yard for some reason does not grow that fast so I cut it once a month. I don't have all of the bushes and palms to take care of either. I keep my yard simple so it's easy to take care of. If you stay on top of the small problems then you don't have to take care of them when they get big. I investigated a couple of those "lawn spraying" companies and found that they are not any better than me and they have a bad reputation to boot. All you have to do is google one of their names and you will see.

I agree that the big franchise sprayers tend to have bad reps. but there are smaller independent ones who care about their customers and depend on word of mouth rather than national advertising. They use chemicals that require a license to procure and apply and are aware of all the different types of grasses that are likely to grow here. I mentioned one such applier earlier who is able to keep your lawn free of pests, weeds and problems. He doesn't remedy the problems, but rather prevents them.

[pslhomie]

You can never prevent problems in your yard. They always happen. Heck a dog could pee in your yard and make a yellow spot. You could get too much water and have bad spots. Pine needles could blow into your yard and cause problems. Just because you don't see weeds dont assume they are gone because in spring and summer they roar back.

[HarryWho?]

Originally Posted by pslhomie

You can never prevent problems in your yard. They always happen. Heck a dog could pee in your yard and make a yellow spot. You could get too much water and have bad spots. Pine needles could blow into your yard and cause problems. Just because you don't see weeds dont assume they are gone because in spring and summer they roar back.

I gave up because my neighbor,who had the lawn service mentioned, had perfect grass for 18 months while I struggled constantly trying to keep mine on the same level. I was always doing damage control and they were not getting any. They've had the service for 5 years. I'm only into it for 3 months and the weeds I fought with constantly, are gone. As soon as a few more spots that were damaged by bugs fill in, I'll be enjoying a great lawn. I've been doing all my own lawn work for 45 years and had cool season grass down to a science with just Scotts products. Florida is a different animal.

[pslhomie]

I hear you. I enjoy yard work because it gets me off my lazy arse. If I didn't I would right there with you. Let someone else do the work while I relax.

[HarryWho?]

Originally Posted by pslhomie

I hear you. I enjoy yard work because it gets me off my lazy arse. If I didn't I would right there with you. Let someone else do the work while I relax.

I still cut my grass, edge, trim and garden, I just let them take care of the chemicals.