Brown Thatch – St Augustine Grass

shirl – posted 07 October 2003 09:36

What’s the most helpful thing to do for that this time of year (October)? One lawn care company recommended raking out the dead areas, so new grass could grow in them. Should that be done now – or in the spring?

Dchall_San_Antonio – posted 09 October 2003 20:54

At the end of summer you should not have dead areas. You apparently have insects or fungus disease at work.

For the fungus I use ordinary corn meal at a rate of 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet. It will kill out existing disease fungus in a couple weeks and allow the new grass to grow right in.

If you have insects, you might not have anything left to grow in. I would use beneficial nematodes against insects. You can use both corn meal and nematodes on the same day if you ant. The nematodes will kill grubs and many other pests in 48 hours.