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Overseeding Bermuda
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Posted by
Martin86 TX (
My Page) on
Wed, Jun 13, 12 at 12:05
I need your help guys, I'm a first time homeowner and my home was built 2 months ago. The grass is about 2 months old. I noticed the grass getting slighlty lighter a couple of weeks ago so I threw down some fertilizer. It helped the color but now I am wanting the grass thicker. I have talked to many landscaping and lawn care companies and get different answers. I live in North Texas and it been 70-90 degrees here. I mow once a week and water 2xwk, twice a day. I don't have a problem watering daily if needed for the seed to grow.
What will give me the best result? A green, plush, thick lawn would be awesome! Thanks in advance. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Overseeding Bermuda
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| Do you know what kind of Bermuda you have? What height do you cut it at? Was the grass put down as sod? If it was then there's a good chance it's TifwayI aka 419. Tifway does better and grows thicker when it's cut short, and much more often than once a week. What height do you cut it at? Do you use a rotary or reel mower? |
RE: Overseeding Bermuda
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| I believe it's Common Bermuda. I cut it at 2" height with a rotary mower. The grass was put down as sod. How often do you recommend cutting it? Should I overseed it? |
RE: Overseeding Bermuda
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| If it was laid as sod then it is hybrid bermuda not common. More than likely it is 419 but doesnt really matter. 2" for hybrid bermuda is too tall. Ideally it should be cut under an inch but no more than 1". To cut this low you have to cut with a reel mower. If you are not going to buy a reel mower you can use your rotary but lower it all the way down unless you scalp the yard then raise it a notch. Also, you are watering too frequently. You should water bermuda 1" to 1 1/2" once a week all at one time. How do you know how much to put down? Go put an empty tuna can in your yard and turn the water on and dont turn it off until you fill the can with water. Then dont water again until your grass needs it. That is usually about once a week. To go back and answer your questions no you dont need to overseed. Why? Because you will be throwing common bermuda seeds on top of hybrid bermuda grass. So how do you get your grass to spread and to thicken up? Cut it low and often, fertilize once a month, and water like i described above. Thats it. Also, you need to throw down a nitrogen only fertilizer. Something like 34-0-0, 39-0-0, anything with nitrogen only and be sure to get slow release if you can. |
RE: Overseeding Bermuda
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| Thanks for the advice. I'm new to all this so not only will this help my grass, I'll be saving money on my water bill as well. |
RE: Overseeding Bermuda
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| "If it was laid as sod then it is hybrid bermuda not common" by no means a bermuda expert but not sure that is 100% true. I have a thick bladed bermuda, that is maintained about 1" to 2" called Tifton 10 or T10 that only comes in sod. I do beleive it is considered a common bermuda. Had 3K square feet laid last year and 8K laid last week. |
RE: Overseeding Bermuda
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| watering once a week does not always work out. If you have sandy soil you will need to water more often. If it is really hot you may need to water more. Once a week is just a place to start. Adjust as needed for your lawn. |
RE: Overseeding Bermuda
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| I live in the DFW area and we have clay soil. I've had issues with watering. My builder had the irrigation set on 20min per zone, twice a day. The water would runoff onto the sidewalk and curb due to the clay soil and slope of the lawn so I knocked it down to 8 min per zone and I'm still seeing excess water on the street. |
RE: Overseeding Bermuda
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| Martin, go even lower and set it to repeat. Like this: Zone1: 5 minutes
Zone2: 5 minutes
Zone3: 5 minutes
Zone4: 5 minutes Wait one hour, do it again. Wait an hour, do it again. Start it at 2 or 3am. Most newer control panels should be able to do this. It's called "cycle and soak". |
RE: Overseeding Bermuda
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| The cycle and soak method is the only way I can water here in Fort Worth. After 5 minutes on the flat back yard I'll have standing water in places. In the sloping front, I'll have runoff. |
RE: Overseeding Bermuda
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| Okay, I'll try the 5min settings. |
RE: Overseeding Bermuda
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| The second hour of 8min cycle and soak had water running to the end of the next block so I shut the system off. |
RE: Overseeding Bermuda
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| 8 minutes is too long, then. Run it and stop it when you get runoff. That is the number of minutes you want each station to be for the cycle and soak. |
RE: Overseeding Bermuda
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| Try baby shampoo to open up your soil. Do a search on this forum and you will find advice on how to do this. |
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