In the last couple of weeks, I've done the following:
- Increased watering to 25 minutes 3x per week
- Replaced some sprinkler nozzles to improve coverage and repair damaged ones
- Aerated
- Applied Spectracide, since grubs are a common problem in this area
- Tested the soil with a home kit - pH is 7-8, N "low", P "med", and K "high" (we live in a desert region, and the soil is mostly sand from what I can tell)
- Applied Scott's Southern Turf builder (this morning actually) according to package instructions
- Spent a lot of time staring at it and wondering what else to do!

I recently found and read the Bermuda Bible, and will apply the maintenance routine suggested there. I'm not sure what to do about watering, since I don't know if all the brown grass needs more water or if I have some other problem.

If there are any suggestions for other things I can do to improve this lawn, I'd be most grateful!

Water is not the issue, but you are overwatering by a considerable amount. Where are you in West Texas. West Texas is bigger than most states.

Your big challenge now would be to keep common bermuda out while the rest is recovering.

I have looked on the surface for insects, and have not found any. No caterpillars, grasshoppers, or anything like that. I have had grubs in the past, which is why I put then Spectracide down, though I do not think I have that problem now. Usually when I have grubs the birds are out there ripping up the lawn in the morning, and that hasn't happened.

I will consider reducing my watering schedule. Around here, any time there is a problem, the first thing people tell you is to give it more water.

I wouldn't be surprised if I was lacking organic material. Common practice in this area is for landscapers to put sod down on the native "soil", which is basically just sand and rocks.

Now, my lawn was put down almost 6 years ago, and I haven't had a significant problem until just recently. Not sure if that means something.

Also take a look at your Spectracide bottle. Be sure it was an insecticide and not a herbicide. Did you apply under the proper environmental conditions. Specifically I would be concerned about temperature in El Paso. If it says not to apply at temps above 80 degrees, that could be your problem. Or it might not be for use on bermuda.

Also take a look at the Turf Builder bag. Was it labeled for anything else (weed control). It often happens that products which should never be sold in the south are sold in the south.

When you applied the Turf Builder, did you water it in immediately or did you wait until the next day? If you did not water it immediately then the next morning's dew can destroy the turf by concentrating the fertilizer right on the base of the grass plants.

This is a new thing this year. The lawn has never been what I would call beautiful, but I have always had good green coverage until this year.

This is the Spectracide I used, it's for insects:
http://www.spectracide.com/Products-and-Solutions/Triazicide/Spectraci de-Triazicide-Insect-Killer-Once-and-DoneTM-Granules.aspx

I also used this product last year, before the problems developed.

This is the Southern Turf Builder:
http://www.scotts.com/smg/catalog/productTemplate.jsp?proId=prod100036 &itemId=cat50034

Scott's says it is good for bermudagrass. I watered immediately after applying.

Note that these products have been applied recently in an effort to correct the problems after they already appeared, so I don't suspect that they are the cause.

It's a small yard...we have tiny lots in El Paso. 650 sq ft of grass in the back yard and about 100 in the front.

Perfect. In the dead zone take a garden rake, the kind with solid stiff tines and rake up the dead debris and loosen up the soil. Go to the garden center and get yourself about 3/4 cubic yard of compost, and a bag of fertilizer made of slow release urea (sulfur coated) or Ammonia Sulphate based. Spread the compost evenly over the whole yard being careful not to bury any of the grass, and rake it in the dead zone area to mix with the loosened soil. Apply the fertilizer at the recommended bag rate.

The next challenge and this is the crucial one, water. You have really crappy soil in El Paso. In fact it is not soil, it is coarse sand if memory serves me correctly. So you can throw out all watering rules because they do not apply to you. If you water only once a week your grass is going to die. Sand does not hold water or nutrients worth a darn.

You need to know how to let the grass tell you when it needs soaked by watching for the color shift. But for now in this heat you will likely need to water everyday or every other day.

To combat the soil PH and nitrogen level you need to use a sulfur coated urea or ammonia sulphate fertilizer. The sulfur in these products will lower the PH. You will also need to fertilize more frequently. I suggest every 2-weeks at half the recommended rate.

The city ordinance says that I can water on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, which is what I have been doing. With the sandy soil, would I be better off watering twice a day for half the time, or giving it a longer watering in the morning as I have been?

Thanks!

Beats me. If I had to guess just really coarse dry nutrient poor soil.

That is the plan.

The city ordinance says that I can water on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, which is what I have been doing. With the sandy soil, would I be better off watering twice a day for half the time, or giving it a longer watering in the morning as I have been?

For now early in the morning, and again during late day. Monitor soil moisture with a Screw Driver test. Look for wilting during the heat of the day. On off days can you use hand spraying?

Has this year been hotter or dryer than normal?

dchall, El Paso is probably not much different from Las Vegas, the general terrain and climate is similar. Sand and rocks. It has been drier than normal the last couple of years. And we had a week of 105+ temperatures in June, so I'd say it's been hotter than usual too.

Is this what I should be using? If so, I'll pick up a bag of this stuff, and around 18 bags of compost, and get started...

For some reason I am getting hits on the internet about ammonium nitrate being fast release.

The sulfur coated urea or ammonia sulphate fertilizer that TW suggested is a slow release and wont burn your yard up.

david,
I have not noticed any small holes in my dead areas, just the ones I made with my aerating tool. I'm no expert, but if I did see that, I would suspect insects of some kind. Maybe if you start a thread on that and post some pictures, someone would know what it might be.

"Good Morning Eric,

21-00-00 is Ammonium Sulfate and it does not contain any slow release nitrogen.

Thank you for your interest in HJE products.

Thanks,
Pam"

Do not use it, especially now as it is way to hot and dry.

I started putting down the compost last night. One problem I notice though, is that the compost has a lot of large "particles" in it, pieces of wood and so forth, that I will have to rake up before I mow next time. I don't think my reel mower will deal well with that stuff. In any case, I hope to finish spreading it tonight if my lower back can handle it.

I also changed my watering schedule. On the timer, it is watering Tues/Thurs/Sat for 15 minutes at 4am and again at 7pm. That will give me about 1/3" at each watering, which will add up to about 2" over the course of a week.

Off the record, I am also running the sprinklers manually for about 15 minutes on the off days as well, after it gets dark ;)

I'll keep you all posted on the results. Thanks a million for all the good advice!

Well sorry my fault I should have said SCREENED COMPOST. Too late now. For now raise the cutting height up until you start seeing big improvement. This will help conserve water. It maybe next season before you can go low again. Right now you are in rehab mode, so do not push too hard.

Once you start seeing some good growth and the weather cools a bit hit it with fertilizer. One step at a time. Me thinks by the end of the growing season you will be proud. Next season you will be the envy of the neighborhood.

Keep in mind compost is just a temporary thing and will all be gone in a year or less as it decomposes. Shop around and see if you can find PEAT, not Peat Moss but PEAT and use it to top dress with every few months. Peat really holds the water and is already decomposed OM so it stays around and will build up tilth to the sand and help it hold water and nutrients.

The green areas are looking better and better, the brown areas are starting to turn green, and the dead areas now have little shoots popping up here and there. Thanks to your help, I am optimistic about this.