Question
QUESTION: Hi, I purchased my home 2 years ago and the builder used floratam sod. I had a pest lawn service the first year and the lawn never looked worse. They said I had grubs but they were never able to get it looking good.  It has many brown spots, fire ants, there are wasps nests underneath and these black beetles have taken over the 2 trees in the front.  I really want to go organic and do it myself this time. Does anyone have any info on what to do and where i can purchase everything I need to get the lawn going? I tried planet natural and dirt works for info about thier products( I live in south Florida) but I never received a response. Any help wuld be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.

ANSWER: Pleased to meet you, Linda.

First, you should stop buying a lot of expensive organic products.  Retailers see dollar signs when someone says they want their products to be 'organic'.  They'll have you pay for the nose, which is bad enough, for their products, but they also will sell you a bunch of things you probably do not need.  It's organic, sure, but if you don't need it, why buy it?

Here is the first step toward a perfectly beautiful Floratam Lawn.

Get a soil test.

All things begin with your soil.

One of those companies should have told you this.  Because if your soil has the right stuff, you can grow healthy Grass.  It has to be the right pH, and it needs the right nutrients.

Yes, there are pests in the soil.  But chemicals wipe out natural predators that wreak all sorts of havoc and next thing you know there are Bad Bugs all over the place.  Relax.  Their days are numbered.  I guarantee it.

Tell me please what your zipcode is, and I will send you the local Cooperative Extension link and information on where in your area you can get your Soil tested for a VERY modest fee.  Your tax dollars at work.  This is critical.

And by the way, a Soil test will SAVE YOU MONEY!

Why?

Because you won't be spending your money on anything you do not need.

Let's say you have plenty of Phosphorous in your Soil.  If you have Phosphorous, you should not put down any more Phosphorous on your Soil.  Maybe you need Iron instead.  Maybe the pH is way too high.

See?

Start with your Soil.  You cannot grow beautiful, healthy, thick Grass without a Soil test.

So please send your Zipcode.

And while you're at it, peek under the Grass and tell me if you see symptoms of Grubs.  I would also like to know what symptoms you noticed in your Lawn that indicated there were Grubs destroying it.

Also, please tell me how you are watering your Grass -- built in automatic sprinklers or another method?

That's it for starters.  rsvp



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

QUESTION: Hi, Thank you so much for your fast reply! My zip is 34953. I would love to know the info on where I can get a soil test done to start the lawn.  The lawn is filled with these black and red wasps hovering and going under the lawn, the palmetto bugs ( those cockroaches with wings) love this lawn too! The grubs that I have seen in the lawn are white what looks like a centipede. The beetles invading the trees are black and just make a mound on the tree and attack you. I have not purchased anything organic yet, I have tried but no response back from the companies. The pest service I had for the lawn last year came monthly but it never seemed to get healthy. I have an automatic sprinkler system , we have had a lot of rain here recently and my lawn is the only brown spotted lawn that just seems so bug infested. I really appreciate your help with going organic. I'm glad to have found this site, I  dream about a healthy lawn :) Thank you again, Linda

Answer
Linda, I feel your pain.  Port Saint Lucie, Florida. Beautiful.  University of Florida does state-of-the-art Soil Testing at its site in Gainesville.  Their phone number is (352) 392-1950, extension 221.  The website will give you all the information you need to do this right:

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

Be VERY careful when you collect the Soil.  These are scientists who are going to be using some very fancy equipment to analyze your Soil Profile.  But if you give them a half-baked sample, the answers will be inaccurate.  Pay strict attention to the directions.  When you get your results back, I would love to hear what they found.  They will give you a few recommendations, but we can review them and see how you can correct some of the problems you are having with your poor Lawn.

One of University of Florida's consumer brochures lists instructions for taking a soil sample for testing, and includes these DON'Ts:

1. Don't sample areas too small to be fertilized separately.
2. Don't sample unusual areas. Avoid wet spots.
3. Do have the sample you collect represent the average of the area sampled.
4, Do use a shovel or trowel. Dig a V-shaped hole in the soil 6 inches deep; slice a 1-inch slab off the side of the hole; lift and save center 1-inch-wide strip of soil.
5. Do sample only 3 to 6 inch depth.
6. Do mix together the cores from one area.
7. Do put together about a pint of the mixed soil in a soil sample bag; and Do identify samples by letter or number.

Get those samples in asap.  And continue to Mow your Lawn on schedule.

Now, about that automatic sprinkler system, it probably should not be running when it is raining, dear.  Any way to turn the system off until these problems have been cured?  It's important to be able to give the Grass a rest from all that moisture, and maybe halt the spread of Fungus invasions you are probably dealing with.

It sounds like you've got every Florida bugaboo known to Man.  Certainly must feel overwhelming now and then.  Don't worry, this is very simple and easy to correct.

While you are waiting for the Soil Test calculations, let's look at some of the creepy crawlers that are invading your Lawn.

Florida soils are generally very Sandy, as you know.  That means they are not physically able to hold onto any fertilizer you put on your Grass.  There are advantages to Sandy Soil -- the drainage is superb, there's plenty of Oxygen which is always good, it does not get compacted the way Clay Soil is famous for doing.  But one of the disadvantages is that Sandy Soil alone has almost zero nutritional value and anything you put on it usually washes right through.  If it was Clay Soil, of course, NOTHING would wash through, which is why they make soup bowls out of the stuff.

So you see it is VERY important to do what you can do improve the nutritional value of your Sandy Soil.  Once you accomplish that, your St Augustine Grass won't need regular Fertilizing.  It is very important to be able to stop fertilizing your Lawn on a regular basis, because every time you do, you damage whatever is left of the microbes in the soil.  You need a whole menu of microbes to get control of the insect population explosion.  Natural predators are the most effective bug killers in business.

A Garden Writer named Arzeena Hamir makes some good points in an online report on 'Controlling Grubs Organically':

http://www.gardenguides.com/pests/tips/grubs.asp

And you would not believe some of the things she says.

Friend of yours?

She points out: 'Certain species of Wasps parasitize White Grubs.  They are sometimes seen hovering over the Turf in late Summer in search of Green June Beetle Grubs on which to lay their eggs.'

Sound familiar?

Although I know this is not going to help much for the time being, she points out that THESE particular Wasps 'are not aggressive and normally will not sting people.'  The larvae feed on the Grubs, and kill them.  Digger or Scoliid Wasps are named for the behavior of the Female Wasp, who digs around your Lawn searching for Scarab Beetle larvae.

Ground Beetles, Ants and other predators also like to help themselves to Beetle Eggs and White Grubs.  Beetles in particular like Grassy areas with lots of moisture in the Soil.

'Frequent irrigation in June and July may attract egg-laying female Beetles to the turf, especially if surrounding areas are dry.'

There are other steps you can take, but the most important one right now is that Soil Test, and you should stop overwatering your Grass.

That's enough for today.  If you're up to it, see if you can capture and identify one of those Wasps, and let me know what you think.