St Augustine grass problem - Page 2

> How large an area is burned? Solid brown where burned, or are there
> signs of green growth? Rich fertilizer burns because it dehydrates the
> plant, just like when people eat too much salt. Hot summer is poor time
> to fertilize with anything when plants are under stress. You can keep
> watering 3x week for a while; you will see in about a week whether the
> brown patches are greening up. It's a lousy time of year to plug or sod
> the lawn, too, but plugs aren't that difficult, spread pretty quickly,
> and don't cost. You will need to treat for weeds if weeds take hold in
> the damaged areas, but that can be done later. St. Aug. is hard to kill.

> There is still sign of life in the brown areas, so I'll keep watering and
> hope for the best! It isn't solid brown, there are brown patches. From
> your responses, I think St. Aug is the grass for me..."Hard to Kill" just
> like Steven Seagal!
> Thanks again

> Well, now it is
> all brown, and the areas I put more compost on are the brownest. I
> guess I "burned" it.

>
> Daremo writes:
>
> > Well, now it is
> > all brown, and the areas I put more compost on are the brownest. I
> > guess I "burned" it.
>
> The richest compost is still weaker than synthetic fertilizer. It was
> probably loaded with something else, like an extreme pH leachant. Take off
> what you can, and hose down the rest to dilute whatever is in there, see if
> the grass comes back.
That is a generalization which, in general, isn't <necessarily> true...

> Manure, particularly horse, is potentially very strong in immediately
> releasable nitrogen which is the component most responsible for
> "burning".