Question
QUESTION: Hello:
I live in Southeast Florida.  I have Bahia Grass.  My grass is thinning and loads of weeds.  What are the best products out there to get rid of the wid and make my grass grow?
thanks much,
Joanne

ANSWER: Does the word 'SOIL TEST' mean anything here to you?  Because you MUST get a Soil Test or you won't have the information you need to do this right.  You have a world class top rated agricultural department down there in University of Florida that does all kinds of research on agriculture and they know EVERYTHING there is to know about Soil and testing it:

http://soilslab.ifas.ufl.edu/

U of Fla posts their own sales pitch on this service, 'Soil Testing and Interpretation for Florida Turfgrasses':

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/SS/SS31700.pdf

and they note:  'Florida soils are predominately Sandy and have a low capacity for nutrient retention... Except for the calcareous Soils of South Florida, our Soils are also predominately acidic.  A liming material must be applied in many cases to neutralize a portion of this acidity to obtain optimum growth and color of turfgrasses.'

Bahiagrass ('Paspalum Notatum' to botanists) LOVES acidic Soil -- perfect pH is in the range of 5.0 to 6.0.  Same as Gardenias and Blueberries.  If you're outside of that range, your Bahia can't do well.  Yet, Florida is known for Calcareous Soils -- ALKALINE Calcareous Soils (pH higher than 7) because of they're made with Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3).  What's the pH of your Soil?

YOU DON'T KNOW!

Know what else?  Bahia is HYPERsensitive to deficiencies of Iron -- a BIG problem when you live in an area where Soil is Sandy.

If this sounds way too gloomy, consider this:  Bahia is famous for its AMAZING drought tolerance.  All thanks to its major root system.  In fact, Bahia needs LESS water than any other Warm Season Grass.  This Grass is GREEN in EVERY POSSIBLE WAY!  Bahia roots dive deep underground and stretch a full 8 to 10 feet in some places -- when it's healthy.

Plus it's fairly disease- and insect-proof.  Yep, Bahia is the ultimate waterless Grass.  This is a GREAT GRASS to grow in Southeast Florida.  Whoever picked this Grass out knows what s/he's doing.  The rest of Florida is growing St Augustine and Bermuda, but you've got Bahia out there.  Awesome.

So do yourself a favor.  Get a Soil test.  You can apply the 'best products' til the cows come home, but if your Soil is starving your Grass, you will NEVER win.

Give me your Zipcode and maybe I can find something closer than Gainesville for your test.  They have branches all over the place.  Could be something nearby.  Thanks for writing.

L.I.G.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: L.I.G.
Thank you so much for your response.  It was extremely informative.   I've been reading and searching the internet and was not able to get half of the information you provided in your email.   I greatly appreciate it.  

My zip code is 34984.   Any further information is greatly appreciated.

Thanks again.
Joanne


Answer
St Lucie County Master Gardeners webpage has posted a first rate essay by 'The Green Thumb' courtesy WQCS Radio that will say, in a nutshell what takes me 3 hours to put down here:

http://stlucie.ifas.ufl.edu/pdfs/master_gardener/script/Script%20booklet%20Soil3

It's not long, but it will give you a decent basic understanding of what makes Soil tick.  Once you know that, you'll see why your Bahia seems stalled out.  And you'll know just what to do about it.

Believe me, landscapers may have a lot of machines and things they'll bill you for, but few know anything about how to grow healthy, wealthy, gold standard Grass.

Figure that the nation's country clubs pay good wages to their greenskeepers and those greenskeepers are banging their heads against the club wall trying to get their greens off chemical dependency.  These people are often the first testers of new products and techniques for dealing with Fungus attacks, fertilizers and theories.

By the way, they all test their Soil.  They can rattle off the CEC, pH and a list of other dirt data in a single breath.

University of Florida's IFAS Extension Soil Testing is outlined here:

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/SS312

and here:

http://soilslab.ifas.ufl.edu/

There is also a Nutrient Management department with its own page:

http://nutrients.ifas.ufl.edu/

and related links.

IFAS pamphlet #SL136, 'Landscape and Vegetable Garden Information Sheet', can be downloaded and printed right off the internet.  It includes instructions on how to collect your Soil sample and a fee schedule.  You have to fill out a form requesting tests for pH, Potassium, Potash, Calcium and Magnesium, which are standard.  There does not seem to be any test for Cation Exchange Capacity or other analyses, but this is a good start.  There are county offices all over Florida, but unfortunately, Gainesville continues to be the center of Soil Test work in your state.

Tell me, what would we all do without the Internet in our lives today?

Good luck with your Bahia.  Please keep me posted on your progress and thanks again for writing.

L.I.G.