First home. Lawn care. (St. Augustine: new home, buying, maintenance)

[Neiru]

I have a new home and it's my first lawn. I want to have a nice lawn. Green and weed less. Well I found this lawn covered in weeds of all types. I have no idea where to start. I don't want to use chemicals. I don't mind getting dirty. I use a reel mower, it's not a big lawn. I pull out weeds one by one and it will be impossible to remove all. I'm sure calling professionals would be costly. I'm a total amateur, where to start. I don't even know what type of grass I have.

[Chas863]

Originally Posted by Neiru

I have a new home and it's my first lawn. I want to have a nice lawn. Green and weed less. Well I found this lawn covered in weeds of all types. I have no idea where to start. I don't want to use chemicals. I don't mind getting dirty. I use a reel mower, it's not a big lawn. I pull out weeds one by one and it will be impossible to remove all. I'm sure calling professionals would be costly. I'm a total amateur, where to start. I don't even know what type of grass I have.

Most lawns in this area are St. Augustine grass. You would probably be better off to hire a company such as Trugreen, Deans, or Massey to spray/treat your lawn about 6 to 10 times per year. However, you can do the job yourself but you'll need a tank sprayer for liquid and a rotary spreader for granular material. You'll also need to know what to put down and when to do it.

If you're a "do it yourselfer", you can certainly learn what to do and how to do it, but it will take some effort plus some investment in equipment and chemicals. I suggest you call a couple of the lawn treatment companies and see what they charge and what they recommend. You might also ask your neighbors what company they use.

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by Neiru

I have a new home and it's my first lawn. I want to have a nice lawn. Green and weed less. Well I found this lawn covered in weeds of all types. I have no idea where to start. I don't want to use chemicals. I don't mind getting dirty. I use a reel mower, it's not a big lawn. I pull out weeds one by one and it will be impossible to remove all. I'm sure calling professionals would be costly. I'm a total amateur, where to start. I don't even know what type of grass I have.

You'll have to use chemicals, once your yard is in perfect condition, you can try to use natural organic weed prevention products, but yeah, until then you will need chemicals. And the natural organic stuff is a lot more expensive. I have a property with 1/2 acre lot and TruGreen does my plants/bushes/hedges and yard for about $83 per month. The more natural one, still chemicals on weeds, but they spot treat weeds, rather than blanket the yard and the rest is less harmful stuff was $160 per month with Bio Green. I tried buying organic natural product myself and having a handyman just spread it for me, but that stuff was pretty expensive, more so than TruGreen and my handyman charged only like $20 to spread it.


So where to start... I would call a professional company and commit to 6 months of treatment, that should be enough time. From there you can either continue using them, or you can DIY with your own products from Amazon. Lowes and Home Depot don't sell the organic natural stuff.


As far as companies go... I've tried Masseys, Bio Green, TruGreen, and one other company that was AWFUL, but I forgot the name, if I see it I will recognize it though. TruGreen annoyed the crap out of me before because they constantly were marketing and trying to up sell me, but they had the best results out of all the companies. Masseys and the company I forgot were the worst for me. Bio Green was good considering it's less harmful, but it's just too expensive for what it is.

[Neiru]

Thanks. I think I will have to do that for now, at least to start off. I have looked at some grass and the zoysia type looks really nice.

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by Neiru

Thanks. I think I will have to do that for now, at least to start off. I have looked at some grass and the zoysia type looks really nice.

Zoysia does not do well in Florida. Unfortunately, St. Augustine is the only grass that does well in Florida, it's very hardy. Zoysia looks great if nobody walks on it, no dogs and you are 110% on top of fertilization, weeds, maintenance, etc, but even with that it's still not guaranteed it will survive long-term. St. Augustine can still look really nice, it just doesn't feel nice to walk on.

[Neiru]

I have small children and my neighbors have dogs. Reason I would prefer to go chemical free.

[bsw115]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

Zoysia does not do well in Florida. Unfortunately, St. Augustine is the only grass that does well in Florida, it's very hardy. Zoysia looks great if nobody walks on it, no dogs and you are 110% on top of fertilization, weeds, maintenance, etc, but even with that it's still not guaranteed it will survive long-term. St. Augustine can still look really nice, it just doesn't feel nice to walk on.

We have had Zoysia in two houses in Florida and love it. We have two dogs, walk on it all the time and it’s beautiful. We have a lawn service that cares for it and costs $59 a month.

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by bsw115

We have had Zoysia in two houses in Florida and love it. We have two dogs, walk on it all the time and it’s beautiful. We have a lawn service that cares for it and costs $59 a month.

That's reassuring, so far every single landscaper and lawn fertilizer company has told me not to get zoysia for the reasons I mentioned. I had my courtyard with new zoysia, but that was for my dogs. It ended up completely dying. So far my neighbors who have had zoysia said it has died on them too within 1-2 years. It definitely looks good though when it's healthy, but that's good to hear it's possible for it to thrive despite dogs and walking.

[Nodpete]

Don't forget the "Get off my lawn" sign !