Another St Augustine here

[Croban96]

Hey all I am from Fort Worth Texas and had a concern hopefully someone can help me with. My wife and I bought our home in 2016 and the previous owner never did anything with the yard. The neighbors were actually glad he was gone cause he never really cut it. Anyways I believe its St Augustine and I have a bad patch of yellow in the front yard. I am not sure the next step to do. Do I need to seed then weed and feed or what? Kinda worried cause I know the HOA I have is going after yards but its more for weeds. Please let me know what you all think and steps I need to take.

[imafan26]

You can dig out the bad patch and fill it in with lawn soil and fertilizer. I have not grown grass from seed. If your grass has runners. Dig up some runners and plant it in the dry spot. You will have to water the lawn until the patch takes then back off for maintenance.

Lawns should be dethatched, top dressed and fed twice a year. It probably was not done and the thatch is thick. If the lawn is small, you can do it with a thatching rake. Otherwise you can rent a power rake from a rent a center. Ask if they have optional aerating attachment, that way you can dethatch and aerate at the same time. I have a foot core aerator but I have limited grass.
After aeration, mix the top dressing (fine compost or peat moss) mixed with lawn food (the amount will be specified on the label depending on the area you have to cover. Cover about 1/4 inch with top dress evenly over the lawn. Water well. It will look like dirt but in a couple of weeks the grass should be poking through. Lawns require an inch of water a week. I usually do this around March and September. Warm season grasses go dormant in summer. And it usually rains in the cooler months so it cuts down on sprinkler time.

http://www.homedepot.com/tool-truck-ren ... e/TR-20HD/
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Kellogg-Gard ... /100427389
A core aerator is better than a spike aerator. A spike aerator just makes holes in the lawn. A lawn corer removes a core of soil and allows the top dressing and fertilizer to fill the holes.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Yard-Butler- ... r/21566454

[Croban96]

I am pretty sure the HOA will look down on me digging up a patch. Raking the yellow up and placing some seed I can see...I know I need to poke some holes in the yard sooner or later I was hoping to maybe get some fast seed down and then when all the yard start getting the colder temps in fall I can rent a machine. I am still pretty new to having to really work on my yard so this all just seems a little overwhelming.

[imafan26]

It depends on your HOA. If you are working on the yard they usually leave you alone. If you overseed your lawn with a different grass it still needs to have the thatch removed and a patch put in place. I don't like to mix grasses so it depends on how that looks to you and your HOA.

[Croban96]

They might be a little easier on me since I am the Chairman of the ACC but it never hurts to ask the property manager as she is a friend. I do appreciate the advice I guess the spot just bugs me and I was looking for a faster fix.