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| Hey, guys. I recently discovered this forum while searching for how to better take care of my Bermuda lawn. I have read the Bermuda Bible and found quiet a bit of helpful information on this site. I have a few questions that I haven't been able to find the answers to despite searching on here.
Background:
I am doing better with it this year now that I have more time and interest. I did not mow it closely for the first mow which is one mistake, but I have been fertilizing it better and watering a bit more. Fertilization this year was as follows:
I'm sure that part could be improved and I have read the Bermuda Bible now but it's better than last year and the lawn certainly looks better but not great. I was watering for 10 minutes a station maybe once a week and if it rained, I considered myself covered and did not water. This week I start watering an hour per station once a week to get the one inch of water in. I am rotary mowing once every other week(yeah really) and know I need to change this. I think the rotary mower is one off its lowest setting. I don't know what height that is. I'm buying a reel mower this week and I plan to start getting it down to the one inch level and then mowing every 3-5 days. What I don't know is how quickly I can get down to the one inch mark. Right now it's been a week and two days since I mowed and I am leaving town tomorrow. So the grass is getting pretty high. What is the best way to get down to one inch given the 1/3rd rule for the blades? I know it probably isn't smart to just mow down to one inch in one shot. So how do I go about gradually doing it? I guess I should mow down to 3 inches, then two inches, then 1.5 and then down to 1? How much time do I give it in between mows before I go down further? Also, is it too late in the season to really be taking this approach? I know it's not too late to start watering properly. But I'd like to see if I can get it thicker and greener. It's marginal at best right now with some green but it's not at all thick and far from strikingly green. Thanks for any help you can give me. This forum has already been a big eye-opener. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by texas-weed 7A (My Page) on Mon, Jul 2, 12 at 17:06
| OK let's see if we can get you on the right track. Put off buying the mower now. Wait until fall after the mowing season has ended when they will go on sale. It is too late in the year to do this now... This will give you some time to think things over. If you mow at 1-inch with a reel mower you are talking mowing every 2 or 3 days at most, not 3 to 5 days that you are thinking of now. What you are asking for is a commitment and a lot of work. From what I gather you are not committed and need to think about this for a while. Come Fall if you still want to do this, then waiting will save you a bunch of money on the mower purchase and get some soil test done. Then next spring just before green up, you can shave the lawn down and get started. Do not attempt this season. It is too late in the season, and too hot and dry. |
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- Posted by dchall_san_antonio 8 San Antonio (My Page) on Mon, Jul 2, 12 at 21:33
| I got the same sense. For now you should concentrate on following the bible. Practice the watering, mulch mowing, and fertilizer for the rest of the season. Then see if you are willing to put up with that regimen for the rest of your life. Growing great bermuda is a labor of love. By the time September rolls around, you will know a lot more about your desires for a lawn. There are usually many turf options for which you may be more suited. Which options depends on where you live. |
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- Posted by texas-weed 7A (My Page) on Mon, Jul 2, 12 at 22:24
| One last food for thought. I you stick with the practices of the Bible and maintain at 2 inches mowing twice a week, you just might be really surprised with the look by the end of July and be happy with it.. Don't expect a golf course look, bu ta decent looking lawn. Good luck and please feel free to ask questions. |
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| Thank you for the honest replies. I thought it might be a little late but fortunately there is still room for improvement. I also would be doubting my dedication given my history with my lawn, so I don't blame you for those comments. I will likely pick up a reel this week either way to save on gas and be able to mow early in the morning and not wake the neighborhood or my one year old. That really is the easiest way for me to get in multiple mows per week. Is there a particular push reel this forum seems to like the best? I keep eyeing that Fiskars one with the blades that don't need sharpening as frequently. Thanks again for the help! |
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- Posted by texas-weed 7A (My Page) on Tue, Jul 3, 12 at 17:58
| A Push Reel Mower on 1/4 acre. Man I am sorry to say but that is NUTZ. You will not make it 1/4 the way through before collapsing. Prisons will not even do that to prisoners. |
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- Posted by bobbarker14 none (My Page) on Sat, Jul 21, 12 at 13:06
| I've gotta agree with texas-weed. My lawn is .14 acres and I use a Fiskars Momentum reel mower. I am now looking at powered reel mowers, and here's why. As has been said a million times around here, optimum height for hybrid Bermuda is less than less than or equal to 1". To accomplish this, as T-W mentioned, you need to mow every 2-3 days. In terms of mowing once a week or every other week it's not a big deal but the work-hours needed to mow 1/4 acre every 2 days with a manual push-reel mower adds up quickly. Multiply those hours x 2 if you mow in two directions like me (not necessary but looks better to me). If you have a curvy lawn with lots of obstacles and turns then add even more time as the Fiskars, and all push-reel mowers, have to be moving to cut so there is alot of back and forth trying to get at these curves while keeping the mower moving. I only work two days a week and I feel like I spend a huge percentage of my time off tending the lawn. Luckily I have come to really enjoy it and view it as a treat to be able to get out there and work. Trust me, I was the worst lawn neglector until I found this site and redid my lawn. If you are OK with that much work than by all means get the Fiskars. It cuts great and I can literally mow my lawn at midnight. Top picture is what grass looked like April 1. Bottom pic is this week. ALL thanks to this forum. |
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| As T-W said, it can look good mowed with a rotary at 1.5-2". Here's mine before I leveled it and started reel mowing. It was maintained at 1.5", mulch mowing (always) with a Honda HRX. |
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| Well I bought the Fiskars Momentum Reel Mower and I have it set to about 2 notches below the lowest which I believe is about 1.75" or so. I bought it about three weeks ago and we've mowed every 3 days since we got it. I haven't noticed a huge difference in the way the lawn looks yet other than it is nicely manicured all the time. I trim every two weeks. The grass doesn't look anything like the above pictured lawns which are really nice looking. I mean it's green but it's got a fair amount of brown to it as well. I'm watering once a week for an hour in each zone but haven't done the tuna can test yet. I stagger that once a week watering into 4 different runs of 15 minutes each to try to avoid run-off. I am going to put more fertilizer down next weekend. I'm very much enjoying the Fiskars mower. It takes me about 30 minutes to mow and I calculated out the lawn square footage to right at about 2000 square feet. My wife is helping me out with some of the mowing and she will get up and mow at 6am during the week and it doesn't wake our neighbors. I was hoping to see the grass thicken up more now that I'm watering properly and mowing lower and more frequently. I'm not giving up hope yet. I'm staring out at my lawn a couple times per day and trying to see if it's looking better yet while continuing to read these forums. I'll definitely scalp it to 1" next year and try to maintain that height all season. |
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