Don't worry about it this year. Just keep it watered enough to keep whatever you have alive. Be sure to not overwater...you have a lot of thatch and you can end up with fungus growth if you over water.

Fall:
In the fall, rake out all that dead thatch a little before the St. Augustine grass goes into hibernation. Gonna be a pain in the rear, but do it.

February:
Mow yard down pretty low. Rake up all the cuttings.
Apply a pre-emergent herbicide.

March (or 30 days after previous step):
Apply slow-release granule fertilizer (3-1-2 or 4-1-2 ratio)

Set your mower deck height as high as it will go (at least 3 to 3.5 inches...I mow at 3.75 or even 4.0 inches).

Religiously mow at least every single week. The grass will thicken up and choke out any weeds.

Late June or Early July:
Apply another slow release granule fertilizer.

General:
Try to avoid Weed-n-Feeds, especially those that contain Atrazine. Atrazine is very persistent and contaminates groundwater.

If you do choose Weed-n-Feed, only use 50 to 70% of the amount they recommend.

I get my supplies from BWI Companies. They can offer great advice as well. I don't know if they'll sell in a small enough quantity for a subdivision lot (I've got a big frickin' yard I can't wait to sell). If they won't sell to you, ask them for a local agent referral.

This post was edited on 8/11/13 at 2:19 pm

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Posted by Ice Cream Sammich

Baton Rouge

Member since Apr 2010

10116 posts

Posted on 8/11/13 at 2:45 pm to CoastieGM

Thanks for all the info, I'll go no more depth with questions when I get back to my computer.

Dust, they have a fescue hybrid that thrives in the heat.

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Posted by Raz4back

Member since Mar 2011

3950 posts

Posted on 8/11/13 at 4:38 pm to CoastieGM

quote:
Apply a pre-emergent herbicide.

Do this and you will have very few weeds to worry about next summer.

I'd also recommend a pre emergent in early to mid September for winter weeds. If you have weeds now you are probably going to have winter weeds greening up in February and early March.

If you are wanting grass to grow in the winter don't use the September Pre emergent.

quote:
Problem with it is it will also hold back your spring grass. There are ways to manage that but you're not set up.

This is why I use a fall pre emergent. All I care about is how my lawn looks in the summer. I'm too busy hunting to worry about the winter months

This post was edited on 8/11/13 at 4:42 pm

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Posted by Ice Cream Sammich

Baton Rouge

Member since Apr 2010

10116 posts

Posted on 8/11/13 at 7:18 pm to CoastieGM

quote:
In the fall, rake out all that dead thatch a little before the St. Augustine grass goes into hibernation. Gonna be a pain in the rear, but do it.

Does a regular rake work? What about the dethatchers from HD?