GRM Lawn Care Advice?

I don't know how any of this green stuff works, so I figured I'd ask here. 

Can anybody give me the easy recipe to make my yard a bit better?

Goals: I don't need to live on a golf course. But I'd like a mostly green yard that can put up with some vehicle traffic, as I drive through it a few times per week to get to the back garage. 

I try not to use much fertilizer or pesticide, as I'm between two rivers and don't need to throw more crap than necessary into the water. 

I have a pretty decent sprinkler coverage and a smart Rachio sprinkler controller, but it's likely set up poorly. Climate is Daytona Beach, FL. Front yard is full sun, back yard is half shade and half sun.

I mow daily thanks to my lawn roomba, but it can't reliably mow any taller than pictured. Short weeds I don't have to mow are far better than a lush green lawn I have to mow manually. I'd love to get rid of the tall, thick grass clumps in front of the garage that the roomba won't mow very well.

This is mostly St. Augustine now, right? Am I crazy to think that throwing some bermuda seed in the sunny high-traffic areas would help?

Back Yard:

Front Yard:

So, what should I do? More water? Less water? Seed? Chemicals? Fertilizer? Again, I'm clueless, but somebody here will know how to improve this.

I'm no horticulturalist and I'm the last person that practices it, but I keep hearing that a well fertilized lawn uses less water and a healthy lawn keeps weeds from getting established and as long as you don't go crazy applying it, I don't think that you will damage the environment. This is coming from a fellow tree hugger.

Yes, that is St. Augustine. AFAIK- St. Augustine will choke just about anything it can get its hands on outside of other St. Augustine. From my understanding, it's not even technically grass, it's a broadleaf weed, and the only real way to get rid of it is to peel the lawn entirely and start over. 

Truth be told I am absolutely against lawns. I think they're dumb. BUT- they do make St. Augustine specific weed and feed, and I'd go with that. you can pretty much shut your sprinkler off within the next month or so and let Florida do florida, I'd also turn the lawn roomba down if I could. A healthy lawn needs time to grow and heal itself, an overtrimmed plant can't green up.

I prefer centipede grass. It's what I have in my yard and I mostly ignore it beyond cutting it every couple of weeks. It's drought resistant so you don't have to water it constantly, can take the heat of the southeast without issue, and throws out runners so it spreads itself and will fill damaged areas. It also does a fair job of choking out weeds. It will grow in full sun but doesn't like shade as much as St Augustine. 

It's not cheap in the seed form at $50/pound but the seeds are tiny and go a long way. You may be better off plugging it. 

Your local Ag extension will offer lots of info and tips for your specific location

Mndsm said:

Yes, that is St. Augustine. AFAIK- St. Augustine will choke just about anything it can get its hands on outside of other St. Augustine. From my understanding, it's not even technically grass, it's a broadleaf weed, and the only real way to get rid of it is to peel the lawn entirely and start over. 

Truth be told I am absolutely against lawns. I think they're dumb. BUT- they do make St. Augustine specific weed and feed, and I'd go with that. you can pretty much shut your sprinkler off within the next month or so and let Florida do florida, I'd also turn the lawn roomba down if I could. A healthy lawn needs time to grow and heal itself, an overtrimmed plant can't green up.

After some research, St Augustine is what we will use for what we plan for a small yard. Up here, in the land of clay and actual dirt, things work a little bit different. But a healthy grass will keep down the weeds. 

STM317 said:

Your local Ag extension will offer lots of info and tips for your specific location

and that was going to be my next suggestion. Damn all y'all are on it today.