St. Augustine is a sub-tropical turf and the severe winter temperatures that we have experienced may have killed or severely damaged many of our lawns. Early spring is when the lawn should be aerated and then top dressed with 1 inch of compost to activate the grass root zone.  Use a core aerator, (rentals available) in both directions, remove the cores and then top dress with the compost so the material can work down into the root zone.  You might also use Humates after you top dress to activate (wake up ) the soil.

If your lawn has a lot of thatch then we suggest also de-thatching your lawn prior to the aeration process.  This machine can also be rented. Usually you will see an accumulation of 4-6 inches before the thatching procedure is important ( dead grass trapped under the green growth area)  You can usually determine the degree of thatch by looking at your lawn at the curb line.

Happy gardening.

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