front yard diaster

frustrated – posted 11 March 2004 19:57

Help, just been told have 3 types of grass in front yard. Neighbors don’t take care of their lawns. We have a combo lawn. We have st augustine, bermuda, centipedegrass. Don’t have an idea what to do. We are willing to do our own work. Just don’t know what type of grass would be good for our area. Live in pensacola fl. we do have a sprinkler. In the back yard one half yard is centeped the other half is shaded have tried to grow st augustine without avail. We have and oak tree in middle ot yard.In need of assistance. ANy help is greatly appriceated.

frustrated in floida

Dchall_San_Antonio – posted 15 March 2004 08:13

Any of the grasses you have will do well in Pensacola. One problem is that St Aug is not compatible in mowing with centipede and bermuda. If you want St Aug, set your mower to the highest setting and keep it there. If you want bermuda or centipede, set your mower to the lowest setting and keep it there.

Here is my generic 123 of grass growing.

1. Water deeply and infrequently. Deeply means at least an hour in every zone, all at once. Infrequently means monthly during the cool months and no more than weekly during the hottest part of summer. If your grass looks dry before the month/week is up, water longer next time. Deep watering grows deep, drought resistant roots. Infrequent watering allows the top layer of soil to dry completely which kills off many shallow rooted weeds.

2. Mow at the highest setting on your mower. Most grasses are the most dense when mowed tall. Bermuda, centipede, and bent grasses are the most dense when mowed at the lowest setting on your mower. Dense grass shades out weeds and uses less water when tall. Dense grass feeds the deep roots you’re developing in 1 above.

3. Fertilize regularly. I fertilize 4 times per year using organic fertilizer. Which fertilizer you use is much less imporant than numbers 1 and 2 above.