Question
We need help please! We have St Augustine in our front yard. We got new sod about 3 years ago. We have had 3 different lawn care services, each worse than the other. Our lawn is awful, weeds everywhere, thin spots and lots of brown spots. After the last lawn service did not take care of it, we decided we could grow weeds cheaper than we could pay the service to grow them. We have followed the Scotts annual program and it is not working. We cannot get the lawn to grow thick enough to choke out the weeds. In Tampa we will be on water restriction to once per week real soon. Is there a seed we can sow that will help choke out the weeds? I have called a couple of places and they suggest re-sodding, which we cannot afford to do.I hate all the chemicals we use which are not working anyway, but we have no clue what to do. That is why we hired a service to keep it up for us, but they have let us down too. Any ideas other than new sod? Thanks for any suggstions/ideas.

Answer
Hi Tee;
The water restrictions may be a problem.
It is much better to keep the ground moist while the new sog developes enough roots to start growing.
Deep watering once a week should keep most of it alive and spreading. The sooner you get started, the longer the roots have to develope. Two or three weeks might be enough.
Chemicals CAUSE problems, they don't solve them.
I laid out an organic program for a questioner a fw minutes ago. It is for south Texas, but the same program wotks as well all over the world, so I am going to copy my answer to her here.
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Hi Marlos;
Sure can.
The sugar doesn't kill anything. It merely nourishes the beneficial microbes that enrich the soil. Weeds love poor soil and will not grow in rich soil.
You will see fewer and feer weeds till they are all gone. Some will come back each spring for a coupld years, but there will be fewer each year, and they will start to die out as soon as they come up.
Right now, get enough plain table sugar to broadcast 4 to 5 pounds per 1000 sq.ft.
If you have a problem with fungus in your area, add Agricultural corn meal at the rate of about 15 pounds per 1000 sq.ft.
Water those in thoroughly, to a depth of at least 6 inches.
If you have had a recent rain, water enough to finish the soaking.
It may be wet 3 or 4 inches down already.
Just go ahead and mow as usual.
Mow down the weeds too, and leave the clippings to compost and add nutrients to the soil.
If yours is not a mulching mower, go over again a second time if the pieces are rather large. That wil chop them up much smaller.
For roses and shrubs that are susceptable to molds and mildew, black spot etc, disolve about 2 to 4 TABLESPOONS baking soda in 2 gallon garden sprayer filled withy water, and spray, making sure you get under as well as on top of the leaves.
Do that again if you have a rainy season and it is still cool enough for those fungii to grow.
Lava sand broadcast all over will add a lot of nutrients to your soil, and so will alfalfa meal.
You will probably have to go to a feed store tyo get the alfalfa meal.
You just broadcast it about as heavy as you do the sugar.
The weight is very different, and my bag of alfalfa meal doesn't have the weight oin it.
I think it was about 20 pounds.
I used it all opver my yard and added it to containers, and made alfalfa tea several times, and I still have about 1/4th bag left.
I have about 6000 sq.ft that I used it on, and I sprinkled a little on all my houseplants' soil.
Alfalfa tea is a geat foliar feed to boost number and size of blooms. You can also foliar feed non blooming plants.
When I sprayer my roses with it, the new leaves were almost twice as big too.
Cedar bark mulch scattered all over the yard when it is time for termites to swarm, and a trail of it around the foundation of the house, about 3 or 4 inches wide and an inch or two deep, will keep those pests away from your house and grounds. Cedar also repels lots of other insects, including fleas and ticks.
Until your healthy, non-poisonous yard attracts enough lawn critters to eat all your harmful insects, orange oil repels fire ants.
Lemon oil repels other types of ants.
Chop the peels of about 2med to large oranges, and 2 lemons, till very fine, in a food processor or chopper, ad that to a bag or two of Epsom Salts.
I get bags that are about a half gallon at ?Walmart for about 3 dollars. Mix it up well, and hold it tightly covered in a glass container overnight, stir well again, so all the salts are saturated with the oils, and scattr that all over the yard. OR,,,, you can just chop the orange and lemon peels very small, about the size of a small lima bean, and strew then oj the yard.
Chopped lemon peel will also keep cats from using your flower beds for a litter box, and mail box.
Grow your own herbs for cooking.
They are some of the easiest things to grow, and they are much better in dishes that the dried ones.
Rosemary is evergreen in my zone,7B and below.
I put a small sprig, about an inch long on each pantry and cabinet shelf, in closet corners and under appliances, anywhere roaches can come in and/or hide. I put larger pieces under the appliances. At first, put some under beds and everywhere a roach might get a whiff of it. Even toss some around in the attic.
I use lavender for relaxation, and sweet basil also helps repel insects.
After you get the roiaches( native bird of Texas.LOL) out of the house, just put fresh rosemay out about once a month.  to keep up under the beds etc, just under appliances and in clostes and pantry shelves.
If you get squirrels and other nasal breathing critters in your attic and under the house, ceyenne pepper repels them, also that hot pepper seeds you get at the grocery store that they sprinkle on pizza works.
If you have bird feeders, that hot pepper seed mixed in with their seed will not bother the birds, but will keep squirrels out of the bird feeders.
That about all that I can think of right now, and this is getting long.
For more questions you have, write me anytime.
Charlotte

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Wite me anytime Tee.