Question
I have St. Augustine grass here in Florida. I have used sugar for the dollar weeds and they are slowly dying out. How often should I apply the sugar. In my back yard I have brown dried up runners in a big patch. What is this? and What? can I do. Thanks

Answer
Hi Carole;
Sounds like you are not watering deep enough, and runners have come to the surface to get water, and died.
If you have had a lot of heat, and you are now watering deply ( to a depth of at least 6 inches), the beneficial microbes may have suffered froim the heat. You can apply the sugar again iof you want.
It was over 100 here for over 30 days, so I gave my microbes another dose of sugar in late July.
If you hve a sprinkler system, and it is on for 15 minutes to an hour, it is not getting enough water to the roots.
I water with a soaker hose, because sprinklers waste so much water to evaporation, and I lay 100 ft of soaker hose, right next to my foundation, and straight down to the sidewalk, and turn it on for an hour, turn it off for an hour or two and turn it on again for an hour. That soaks it deep enough to soak a path about 8 ft. wide.
If I lay that down in the middle of the yard, and water for that same length of time, it will soak an area about 4 ot 5 ft on each side of the soaker hose.
Just wetting the top 2 or 3 inches of soil is one of the most harmful things you can do, short of not watering at all.
The roots come close to the surface to get water, and are exposed to heat, cold and drought damage.
Watewring to at least 6 inches, and watering less frequently is a much better maintenance program. It encourages a deep root system, and that helps protect the roots, and prevents thatch.
I water only once a week normally, even when out temps are in the upper 90s and at 100. When it gets up past 103 and stays that way for several days, I water another 3 inches in three or four days.
When the top two or three inches of soil are dry, there is still moisture down where the roots are, if you have encouraged them to grow deep.
When the temp gets above 100 and stays there, it can get just too danged hot for anything to retain water, and the blades soak up more water, so a suplimental watering midway is sometimes needed.
Your St. augustine will tell you when it needs water.
It folds it's blades in half, to expose less surface to the heat, so when you go outside, look at your grass blades. If they are nice and broad, they hav water. If they have started to fold up and look half as wide as they are supposed to be, they are needing a drink, BADLY!
I turn on my soaker hoses, and water till it starts to run off onto the sidewalk or drive, then turn it off for a hour or so, ( depending on how fast your soil absorbs water), and turn it on again.
I test it to see if it has enough water by walking on it.
Walk on it before you water, and notice how little give under foot you have.
Then water and soak, water and soak, and then walk on it again.
When it is wet deep enough, it will give underfoot like walking on very soft carpet with a good foam pad underneath.
If our soil is very poor, giving another sugar feeding wiould help some, or you could sprinkle a thin application of lava sand all over the yard. Alfalfa meal is another good thing to sprinkle.
You put about the same coverage as you would if you were using fertilizer, or even a little more, but you don't have to cover it completely. Both lava sand and alfalfa meal are lacked with nutrients.
I get lava sand at the nursery and my husband also picksa it up at walmart, but I have to go to the feed store for the alfalfa meal.
Write me if you want to know how to make teas and somne of the other goodies i stir up to super feed different things.
If you think this borwn could be fungus, get some Corn Gluten Meal and apply 15 to 20 pounds per 1000 sq.ft, or disolve 1 rounded Tablespoonful of baking soda per gallon of water, and spray to wet the grass.
Write if you have furthert questions, or I can be of more help.
Charlotte