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stanand23

New lawn

stanand23
10 years ago

I just bought a new house the lawn has a bunch of different weeds in it and some Bermuda grass. I was wanting to know what I needed to do to get the Bermuda to start taking over the yard. I'm in SC and have little shade what is a good start to get rid of all the weeds and get the Bermuda to start taking over?

Comments (19)

  • dchall_san_antonio
    10 years ago

    If you are looking at a free solution,

    1. Drop your mower to the lowest position and start mowing twice a week. This might not be the perfect mowing height for bermuda (slightly too low for common bermuda), but it is murder to most weeds.

    2. Apply about an inch of water once a week.

    If that doesn't work completely, then you will have to spend a few bucks. If you have one of the few weeds that can adapt to that regimen, then start using high nitrogen fertilizer every month. Most plants cannot handle a blast of nitrogen in the summer heat, but bermuda can.

  • stanand23
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Okay I don't mind spending some money I have about half an acre of grass, how much nitrogen fertilizer would it take to be enough for my yard? Also I have places in the yard that are like drainage spots how can I fill them in? Will sand work? Thanks for the advice.

  • stanand23
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Anything anybody have any advice. Here are some pictures of what I have

  • stanand23
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Does nobody answer posts around here?

  • dchall_san_antonio
    10 years ago

    Summertime is hit or miss with people taking vacations. I'll be out over this weekend. Last weekend I was picking a puppy. You never know.

    Search for the Bermuda Bible online. Read it and memorize it. It is fairly brief reading. If you find it on another forum site, you might look at that forum to see if it is more active. Usually it is.

    Yes, I would mow low and get going with the fertilizer as recommended in the bible. Read the label on the bag to find how much to use on your lawn.

    Sand will work well to change your drainage and raise the low spots. I would start with a little in the center of your low spot, sweep it in around the center, then add a little more next week to the center and feather it out a little farther. Keep doing that until you have it draining like you want.

    When the weather cools just a little, the bermuda will start to spread a little faster.

  • stanand23
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks for the response I looked up the Bermuda bible and read it and it had good info so I will start that process. Will over seeding in the fall help the Bermuda come in better next spring? If I do over seed do I need to mix the seed with sand or fertilizer or just seed?

  • stanand23
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I was wondering I have cut the grass on the lowest scale to try to get rid of some weeds seen in the picture, do I need to fertilizer before I aerate and overseed or do I need to aerate and over seed then fertilize? It has been raining every day for the past month here so watering an inch per week is not going to work. What is my next step after cutting the grass as you would call scalping it?

  • dchall_san_antonio
    10 years ago

    Okay we got the puppy now. Don't get your hopes up that I'll be paying much attention over the weekend.

    Bermuda loves to be mowed low. The only problem with that is many lawns are bumpy. When one wheel falls into a hole, the mower blade scalps the grass blades all the way off. If that is your situation, search this forum for leveling. There is a wealth of info.

    Aeration is a funny thing. You don't really need to do it, but if you do, you can expect to see new weeds from seeds that have been buried in the soil. Is your soil real hard even when the soil is wet from the rain? If so, then look in this forum for how to use shampoo to soften the soil. I know...I'm being lazy.

    Before you overseed check to be sure your bermuda is of the common variety and not sodded variety. You'll have to do some local research to learn to recognize the difference. If you have common bermuda, then go ahead and overseed, NOW. If you have sodded bermuda and do not have any of the common bermuda as a weed, then don't over seed. If you have the sodded variety you should try to stick with that as it has a completely different texture and performance. You can buy some pieces of bermuda sod and help establish the lawn like that. If you do seed, just seed. No need to mix it with anything.

    The time to seed bermuda is in the hot heat of summer. Fall is too late.

  • stanand23
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Alright I think I got it and I'm glad you got your puppy haha thank you for all your help. Have a good weekend :)

  • cwrebel
    10 years ago

    Mow, mow, mow and mow! It'll spread like a wild fire, and like dchall posted, other grasses and weeds will not appreciate the butchering. Burmuda does not play well with other grasses. Mow it, and give it nitrogen, and it will bully them out in a season.

  • stanand23
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks for the reply. If I want to overseed can you fertilize at the same time or how should I overseed and fertilize?

  • cwrebel
    10 years ago

    If you use a synthetic fertilizer, the direction on the bag will tell you when you can seed. I've used ammonium sulfate and it is reccomended to use before seeding. Water into the soil and wait a few days. I wouldn't fertilize with anything after seeding for several weeks, or after a couple mowings. If you use something organic, like Milorginite, you can mix it with the grass seed when you spread it without harming the grass seed at all. The existing bermuda and new seedlings should respond well.

  • stanand23
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks for the reply I have over seeded and will be posting up pics or more questions depending on how it turns out.

  • stanand23
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Well two days after I over seed my sloped lawn a huge down pour happens and makes a river out of my yard I'm pretty sure all my seed got washed out. But is there any hope that the seeds got into the ground in a day and a half?

  • dchall_san_antonio
    10 years ago

    No hope at all. Bermuda seed, as you know by now, is light as dust. It's gone. Furthermore, there's too much shade in that river area for bermuda. Bermuda needs 6 to 8 hours of full sun per day.

    What's in there now? Thin bermuda?

  • stanand23
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I don't really have a certain grass growing it has some Bermuda in it but has weeds and some moss in it I am trying to get it all one grass but seem to not be having any luck. My lot is sloped and I have Leyland Cypress trees that run the front and down the side of my yard. The sun comes up on the back side of the picture above and sets on the other side of the house. Does anyone have any suggestions on what type of grass I could grow? It has very little bermuda in the yard, so I am basically starting from scratch it feels like. If someone could please help I would appreciate it. It has done nothing but rain so I don't know how well seed will work. Thanks in advance.

  • stanand23
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Bump to the top

  • stanand23
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Back to the top

  • dchall_san_antonio
    10 years ago

    You live in a transition zone where you can possibly get away with either northern grasses or southern grasses. Generally there are two grasses which will be okay (on a scale from poor to spectacular) with that much shade. If you usually have summer temps in the high 90s to low 100s, then St Augustine would be the only grass that would work. If your summer temps rarely exceed 95, then there are some fescue varieties which will work in both sun and shade. Both grasses must be mowed up tall to smother out any existing bermuda. Fescue has the disadvantage of occasionally thinning out in spots which requires fall reseeding. St Augustine can be a little persnickety about disease if you don't give it great airflow. At least it doesn't require annual replanting. You could buy a piece of St Augustine for $1.25 now and it would start spreading this fall. With weekly deep watering, St Aug will spread 5 feet in all directions every spring and fall.

    Thanks for the bump. I've been busy with other stuff.