Question
Can I use your methods in the Texas Gulf Coast?  Or can you tell me how to alter them?  Or direct met to someone with expertise in my area?

Looking for weed, fireant, grub and fungus controls. Also,for something to fertilize our St. Augustine lawn.

Thank you,
Tammy

Answer
The Scientific Method is universal, my friend.  What we have here is a phenomenon driven by the Internet -- information spreading fast and far, in a flash.  Researchers at Texas A&M wind up their work, type in their results, and poof! the next day, anyone who wants to can read all about it.  This is amazing.  They can read about it in CHINA if they want.  Who would ever have dreamed these things would be possible in our lifetimes?

The problem is that the guy with a truck and landscaping equipment who works on Lawns for a living doesn't use his computer to read the results of some study they did in Rhode Island, say, or California.  In English.  The guy with a truck probably isn't even reading the Warning labels on the chemical bottles.  He just gets the job done, goes home and relaxes.  Just like everyone else.

So unfortunately it is, today, not easy to find someone to do the backbreaking work that landscaping can demand PLUS have an education in areas like Soil Science and Turfgrass Management.  They're out there.  But they're not doing domestic landscaping and maintenance.

As I've said before, everybody wants a piece of the action.  Say the word 'Organic' and there's a businessman who will see dollar signs.  It's not easy being green.

That's why it is so important to understand what's going on.  You don't want someone to take advantage of you.  But you also don't want someone who THINKS they understand all this organic stuff to be in charge.  I can't find people to do the work for you, but I can give you the information you need so that you know what's going on.  And maybe you'll find someone to do the hard labor.  Someone who just needs a little guidance from you, until they get with the program.

I think in 10 years things will be easier.  Mainly because I am sure they will continue to ban a lot of chemicals as they link them to all kinds of diseases.  The landscapers will have to learn because there will be no other way to get the job done.

Let's talk about your St Augustine Lawn.

Like that old Gardener's saying goes, You can't grow great Grass without great Soil.  The key to a beautiful Lawn is not in the fertilizer.  It's in the Soil.  Because microbes are the best fertilizers.  They generate all the NPK a growing blade of Grass needs, at a rate that rises with Soil temperature.  If you treat your microbes well, they'll take care of your Grass.

The secret to treating your microbes well lies in the data you find in your Soil Test.

Stop searching for the perfect Fertilizer -- without a Soil Test, you have NO IDEA what IF ANYTHING your Soil needs to become the Gold Standard.  You don't know the pH.  You don't know the CEC (probably low - Florida, Calcareous Sand, etc) ET CETERA.  Soil Testing is done by Texas A&M University at their Soil Testing Lab.

The forms are posted on the internet.  Prices range from $10 for a basic N-P-K/pH breakdown up to $50 for a complete analysis:

soiltesting.tamu.edu/

Collect your Soil Samples CAREFULLY.  You know how it is.  Garbage in, garbage out.  This is science.  Pretend you're back in high school, and you're getting graded.

You mentioned something about Fungus 'controls'.  For what it's worth right now, Fungus is best controlled by your buddies at the bottom of the food chain, the microbes in the Soil we talked about earlier.  Microbes generate vitamins and minerals, but they also compete against and sometimes stalk noxious species of Weeds and Fungi.  Tossing a wrench into the Food Chain throws it off balance.  It's just what hostile Fungi need to move in and take over your Lawn.  Stop doing that, and the Fungi will move out, and be glad to leave.  I could get into detail but please followup with a question because this is way too long already.

Next, Weed Controls.  There are many, depending on your Grass.  But the best is the one we all hear about: Thick, dense Lawns do not have room for Weeds.  At this time of year, however, it is vital that you make sure none of the Weeds have a chance to flower.  Dig up what you can, and Compost it.

Last, you mention Fire Ants.  We do not have these on Long Island ... yet.  But I'm sure we'll get them.  And I want to be ready.  So I do know a little about these.  I have learned a great deal from 'Dirt Doctor' H Garrett.  Here is the link to Mr Garrett's 'Fire Ants' advice:

www.dirtdoctor.com/view_question.php?id=25

One thing Mr Garrett recommends is special Fire Ant traps.  Of these, he explains, 'at low concentrations abamectin acts as an insect growth regulator and when used on individual mounds it is a stomach poison.  Baiting should be done in the spring and fall during times of active Ant foraging.'

I just want to mention one more thing, because it's a mistake I used to make, and I would like to describe it to you.

Years ago, when I began switching to an Organic System, I shrugged my shoulders over the use of chemical fertilizer.  They weren't toxic, so why shouldn't they be used?  What's not to like?

Eventually I learned a great deal about chemistry and Soil, and now I am aware of a great deal of damage these fertilizers do.  No, they don't kill people, or even make them sick.  But they do wipe out the microbes population.  And if you do that, you lose all your artillery.  So I keep the troops around, and stick to the game plan.  It's working.

Your followups invited -- I have typed way too much here and you must have some questions by now.