St. Augustine and the wrong fertilizer!

janandyn – posted 03 April 2004 20:29

I put Scotts Turf Builder Plus 2 on my St. Augustine. Is there any possibility that it might survive? Any recommendations or advice?

Dchall_San_Antonio – posted 04 April 2004 12:16

Water it for an hour or two to try to flush the stuff down and away from the roots. Another possibility is to put down an activated carbon product. Unfortunately these products are very hard to find, especially in bulk. Another thought is zeolite. Some kitty litters are pure zeolite and specifically list it as the only ingredient. Hill Counry Farms (a house brand in many grocery stores) kitty litter is zeolite.

Carbon and zeolite absorb chemicals and hold them tight. While they are being held, the soil microbes can work on them to deactivate them.

ted – posted 04 April 2004 16:26

what’s in turf builder plus? unless it’s 24d you’ll be ok.

JANANDYN – posted 04 April 2004 20:42

I did water for 1 hour afterward and the next morning. Scotts Turfbuilder Plus 2 is 28-3-3 w/ 1.21% 2,4-d. What are the chances I have that the St. Augustine will survive?

janandyn – posted 05 April 2004 15:34

quote:Originally posted by ted:what’s in turf builder plus? unless it’s 24d you’ll be ok.

Ted, it is 1.21 % 24d and 28-3-3.- I did water for about 1 hour afterward and again the next morning. What do you think, will it make it?

cohiba – posted 06 April 2004 15:41

I would try the Activated Carbon. Its cheap, compared to the cost of a new lawn, and will not hurt the plant at all. I think you may be OK as far as your lawn is concerned.

Let us know, and Good Luck…..

janandyn – posted 12 April 2004 09:05

To let everyone know, the Scott’s Turfbuilder plus 2 that I put on my St. Augustine did not harm it at all, contrary to what Scott’s people told me. My St. Aug is noticably the greenest in the neighborhood after 8 days. I have to tell you though, my wife and I did spend time in prayer. God is good!!!! We definetly did not have the money to replace our lawn. Thanks to everyone that responded with advice.

ladiesman – posted 28 April 2004 14:15

i jus applied turf builder 2 plus to my lawn by mistake. i hope notin happens. ima buy that zeolite thing and apply it before my lawn starts dying. any other solutions?

ted – posted 28 April 2004 14:43

just try and remember that the products you buy in the stores are very weak versions of what pros use. you’re probably not going to cause any damage to your lawn. the manufacturers water these products down so homeowners can’t hurt themselves!

ladiesman – posted 29 April 2004 05:44

so ted do I still have to buy the zeolite thing to apply to the lawn? or just water it down everyday to see what happens?

ted – posted 29 April 2004 16:14

i’ve never even heard of zeolite….been spryaing lawns for 20 years!

janandyn – posted 30 April 2004 09:03

Zeolite is nothing more than an absorbant material. I never used it on my lawn. My St. Aug is still the greenest in the hood due propably to the high N2 content in the TB2 and of course, prayer.Just water heavily for a couple of days and prayer always helps. God is good!

ladiesman – posted 30 April 2004 09:34

well its been 2 days since i applied tb 2 to my lawn and havent seen notin happen but i jus applied activated charcole to it so in the event if something was to happen hopefully that should stop it.

sstephy – posted 01 May 2004 11:02

I’m from SC and Scotts makes a Turf Builder for St. Augustine and I’ve used it regularly for years and have the best lawn in the neighborhood. I’m wondering what everyone is using from Scotts and what problems it is causing since I’ve never had a problem with it, but now I have to admit since reading all of your posts that I’m a bit scared.I’ve also had a problem with a lawn service cutting the St.Augustine WAY too short and have found that using Miracle Gro in a hose end sprayer on just the spots that are suffering from the scalping they were given has really helped. What is your opinion about using this product? Thanks for your advice, Steph.

ladiesman – posted 01 May 2004 16:46

I have always used scotts bonus s weed and feed and always had very nice results. I bought the scotts turf builder plus 2 weed control cause i wanted to try something lil better and that was my biggest mistake, since i applied it to my lawn it has gotten greener and it shows no signs of dying, at least its to early to say that, but on the other hand i like using scotts products.

ladiesman – posted 06 May 2004 14:39

im seeing yellow blades on my st augustine now. i dont know if it is due to all the watering or the fertilizer is starting to kill my lawn

bigmistake – posted 17 May 2004 22:24

I’ve made the same big mistake. I dropped Turf Builder plus 2 on my St.Augustine lawn thinking it was the right product. I looked at the diagram on the back of the bag that had the recommended time of year to use. Anyway, I’ve followed the advice of watering for an hour and I will do a prayer.

When will it be safe to apply the correct fertilizer?

janandyn – posted 18 May 2004 06:43

All I can do is tell you my experience. I put the Scott’s Max Guard on my lawn ~ 8 days ago.(5 weeks from my Scott’s TB2 application) My yard is still doing great, greener than any other yard, and seeding like crazy. I would not of put another application on so soon, but I noticed chinch bugs while I was edging my yard. The Scotts Max Guard had work well last year for the bugs, so I used it this year. There is a scripture in Isiah that states if God’s people humble themselves and submit, he will draw near to them and he will heal their land. That is the scripture I claimed over my yard when I applied the TB2. Not only did I apply the TB2, but I applied 3X too much. I was embaressed to say that previously, but maybe that will give you more hope for your yard. God is GOOD!

ladiesman – posted 18 May 2004 08:47

well its been 3 weeks since i applied tb2 and some parts of my lawn are dead and the other part is holding on strong, i will have to take out the dead patches and replace with new. the damage to the lawn wasnt bad as i was expected, but i notice that the runners in the dead patches are still green. what will happen if i put down the right fertilizer now ?????? will it bring back my lawn??

bigmistake – posted 24 May 2004 20:37

Well I’ve been out of town for the past 6 days. I returned thinking the worse. To my amazement only two sections on the side and back yard had turned brown. The fornt yard was green and healthy. I’m not sure if the brown areas were damaged by the fertilizer or are simply burnt from the heat. I live in Central Florida and for the past few days temperatures had been average over 91 degrees with no rain.

groundskeyperwilly – posted 27 May 2004 16:25

Scott’s Max Guard works great on “Bahia” grass. I highly recommend it…keeps fireants away too.

elliot – posted 07 June 2004 08:41

What is this crap with the scripture nonsense.Do people still believe this fairy tale? We are in trouble…….

ted – posted 07 June 2004 09:49

Amen.

janandyn – posted 17 June 2004 06:34

Update – it has been 10 weeks now and my St. Aug is still doing great, thick, dark green, and I am having to cut it every 3 – 4 days due to all the rain we are having in Houston. Hope the best for everyone. God Is Good !!!!!!!!!!

jwehling – posted 08 September 2013 19:54

quote:Originally posted by janandyn:I put Scotts Turf Builder Plus 2 on my St. Augustine. Is there any possibility that it might survive? Any recommendations or advice?

I had the same issue, water every three days for 2 weeks, clear all the dead thatch, put a layer of organic compose down, get some “Got To Grow” it’s organic let sit for 48 hours, water 1 inch a week. It will grow back the key is clearing the dead thatch so new grass runners can take root.

jwehling – posted 08 September 2013 20:14

quote:Originally posted by janandyn:I put Scotts Turf Builder Plus 2 on my St. Augustine. Is there any possibility that it might survive? Any recommendations or advice?

I had the same issue, water every three days for 2 weeks, clear all the dead thatch, put a layer of organic compose down, get some “Got To Grow” it’s organic let sit for 48 hours, water 1 inch a week. It will grow back the key is clearing the dead thatch so new grass runners can take root.