Question
I live in Tampa, FL. We just moved into a house and the lawn is in bad shape. We are thinking of resodding the front and sides of the lawn. Since we have limited budget to spare, I would like to know whats the best way to re sod? Is it too labor intensive for me and my husband to do? and what is the best sod to buy. We have ST.Augustine grass right now.?

Answer
I have to begin by reminding you I am only the Long Island Gardener, thousands of miles NORTH of Florida, and I am really not an expert on growing Grass in the Orange State.

But I do know a little about growing Grass, and a little bit about St Augustine, so I will give this my best shot.  Just make sure you find someone who can maybe agree with some of the things I am going to tell you.

First of all, your St. Augusting Lawn most likely spent most of its life well cared for, with the best of intentions, and the greatest of ease, using things like Weed N Feed - Weed B Gone - Scotts 5(?) Step Grass Program - Roundup - Grub Killers - Fungus Killers - Weed Killers etc.  You get the picture.

A lot of money probably went into that Lawn.  And then the house went on the market and someone stopped spending money on the Lawn.  Soon, the St Augustine was running on empty -- and then it ran out of gas.  It needs one of 2 things.  Either it needs someone to bring out the checkbook and start spending money again on all the Weed N Feed B Gone Weedkiller 10 Step indenture OR you can be smart about this and look at some of the newer ways we do things in the Lawn business.

First, you go down the street and make friends with your Agricultural Extension Agents.  Bring a Sample of your Soil with you and order a test.

You have nothing to lose right now.  The Grass is shot.  It's probably been chemical drenched for years.  So it's good they stopped doing that.  Now it can rest, and recover.

Why a Soil test?

The basis of all healthy plants, including Grass, is the Soil they grow in.  Healthy plants don't get sick.  Healthy Grass does not get sick, either.  The USDA website posts a map that you can just click on to find out where your Coop. Extension is:

www.csrees.usda.gov/qlinks/partners/state_partners.html

This is the ONLY way you will be able to make intelligent decisions about your Soil - and your St Augustine Grass.  It is a pain in the neck, it is the step people skip, and it is really a SHORTCUT to great Soil and perfect Grass.  Plus it's cheaper because your shopping list becomes shorter when it comes to fertilizer.  MUCH shorter.

Good Soil is where the bottom of the food chain lives.  It's the basis of the Nitrogen cycle.  Unless you're cultivating Mushrooms or Molds, this is going to be your bottom line.  That's why things like Compost and Organic Fertilizers like Bone Meal are so healthy.  They contribute to the Soil.  There's microbial life in the Soil.  The best Grass, the prettiest Grass, the Greenest Grass in the prettiest Lawn needs great Soil.

When you add, say, a Fungicide - something to kill a Fungus in your Grass - you are wiping out a lot more things than the bad Fungus.  There is, as they say in Iraq, a lot of collateral damage.  The Lawn Service that used to grow this Grass was in charge of the collateral damage.  So the beneficial Fungi in your future St Augustine Lawn are in hiding, dormant spores floating around in the air.

Beneficial Fungi?

Yep.  All the stuff in the dirt - it's part of Nature's balance.

Take a wet towel.  Now, you haven't been spraying Fungicide all over your house to avoid Mildew in the towels, have you?

Of course not!

Because you know that to get Mildew in a wet towel, you need DARKNESS and you need MOISTURE.

The people at Scotts, the Lawn Services, they would like to sell you Fungicides for your Lawn.  But they'd include the Mildew all over your house if they could, too.  They don't care if you need it or not.  They'll just be happy if they get you to buy it.  They'll even dress it up in a beautiful container, and give it a sweet name like "The Scotts Nice N Clean 5 Step Living Room Program".  But any intelligent American knows that you don't need Nice N Clean to get the Mildew out of your house - even though Mildew spores are EVERYWHERE, in the air, on the floor, in the laundry room.  Mildew needs certain things to grow.  If you keep your towels DRY and HANG THEM UP, they don't get Mildew.

Same thing for your Lawn.

Scotts makes incredible profits selling things that no one needs.

Your Soil is filled with Fungus spores ALL THE TIME.  Even now!  My Lawn is, too.  Fungus is EVERYWHERE. But you don't get it if you have a balance in your Soil.  And your Soil balances itself - until you add Weed N Feed etc.  Then - CRASH!  And you have wiped out a major building block with things from the Garden Center.

The Soil that your waning St Augustine Grass is living in needs to WITHDRAW from chemicals.  Meantime, if you just get yourself a Soil test, you'll learn exactly WHAT is in your Soil and WHAT you DO NOT NEED TO ADD to grow the happiest St Augustine Grass in town.

So:

1.  Get a Soil test.  And when it comes back, review it and see what needs to be added to your Soil.  Probably very little, because right now, after you submit your Soil Sample and meet the Agents, you can:

2.  Stop at the Garden Center and pick up a half dozen large bags of anything called HUMUS or COMPOST.  Top dress your plot with this.

3.  Keep mowing your St Augustine.  It will get you in the right habit -- the right height, the schedule, the technique.

Technique?

Sure!

My favorite retailer, Seedland (www.seedland.com), points out: 'Mowing of heat stressed grass in the middle of the day only promotes more loss of moisture and nutrients unless watering systems are used shortly afterward.'

And The Better Lawn and Turf Institute says, 'Warm season grasses con withstand the shorter mowing if done on a regular schedule and actually respond by better root development and thicker foliage.'

You can read their advice on their website:

www.turfgrasssod.org/lawninstitute/southern_lawns.htm

This group recommends a mowing height of at least 2 in in Sun, or 2 1/2 to 3 in in less-sunny parts of your Lawn.  Got that?

4.  Replace dead patches.  The Better Lawn Institute advises us that ALL St Augustine plantings should be done in SUMMER - a few months from! - when temps are ABOVE 65 degrees.  Be patient.  Do your homework.  Good things come to those who wait.

St Augustine is ONLY available as plugs or sod, not as Seed.  I mentioned Seedland earlier because they have a lot of care-and-feeding instructions for different grass around the country.  St Augustine is on sale from time to time.  No, it's not too labor intensive, but if you get help with the rollout I think the results will be better.  Just don't let them put any chemicals down.  They need to water it right and give you instructions on the irrigation procedure that works with your new location.  Probably you'll save a lot of money if you order your own Sod.

There, you have it -- the Long Island Gardener's 5 Step Plan for your future Lawn.

Looks like you're going to be very busy Floridians.  I hope the weather works with you in the next few weeks.  Your followups invited.  Thanks for writing.