Dry Spots in St. Augustine – Central Fl

hydog – posted 18 April 2003 07:11

Here in Central Florida – it has begun to warm up. I have noticed in my new lawn (brand new house 9/2002), my St. Augustine is getting dry spots late in the afternoon even if I watered it that morning. I water it and it goes away – but it always comes back in the same spots. I noticed that alot of the homes in this new subdivision are having similar problems.

I have started watering it every other day. I have readjusted the heads to make sure they are spraying correctly, but am not sure that is truly the problem. Since this is a brand new home – I assume they were fairly correct when it was installed.

What does everyone suggest? Should I readjust the heads? Should I add some sand? Help!

Thanks!

ted – posted 18 April 2003 09:11

Don’t assume anything with new home builders! Look into whether or not you think the sod has been installed correctly- are you seeing cracks between the pieces of sod? is the ground smooth? is it really bumpy when you mow? alot of the new homebuilders “throw the sod down on top of rough ground, and also you wouldn’t believe the kinds of things the contractors do to the soil before the sod is laid! as far as the sprinkler system goes, no contractor is going to take the time to “calibrate” the system correctly, and there certainly was not a “irrigation designer” present on this project. you need to calibrate your system by going out and buying a $1.00 rain guage, stick it in various locations within each sprinkler zone and see how many minutes it takes to fill it up to one inch, then you’ll know how long to water each zone. then, after you’ve filled it up to once inch, leave it in place and see how many days it takes to evaporate back down to zero. then you’ll know how often and how much to water. you’re now starting to see the results from the sod work last fall, now that it’s coming out of dormancy.

frenchman – posted 18 April 2003 21:50

Put down some wetting agent.

hydog – posted 20 April 2003 08:32

Thanks for the reply’s. Does anyone have a suggestion on a wetting agent for St. Augustine? Where to buy it, etc..?

Thanks

ted – posted 20 April 2003 14:36

a wetting agent will help, but it won’t substitute for proper watering and sod installation. if you’re around a major city you can buy it at a Lesco service center or a commercial turf product business.

corand76 – posted 23 May 2004 21:32

i had wrote details on this subject but the site lost it.i cant type it again,but breifly i think these dry spots are clay deposites under the sod……andy

cohiba – posted 31 May 2004 21:33

what time exactly are you watering and how long do the sprinklers run?

JBunregistered posted 02 June 2004 12:46

I had a similar problem with my new house. The builder emptied the excess mortar from the brick in my front yard then laid sod on top.

Try driving a long spike down into the ground. Mine went about 8″ down then I hit the concrete. I had a few smaller spots liek this where pieces of brick were buried under the sod.