I'd spread the whole lawn with my walk behind spreader - unless, for some reason the customer doesn't want any seed in their landscaped area - that would be a fix then and I'm glad it hasn't happened yet. Go around the perimeter of the lawn and then back and forth. Set your spreader for 1/2 the rate you want and spread once north/south and once east/west (after circling the perimeter). Other islands you just work around.

You could test over a sheet, but only if you aren't confident about the rate that it's putting out. Personally, I wouldn't, but then again, I'm familiar with my equipment.

I'm not a warm season grass guy, but I wouldn't bother mowing it short more then once and I wouldn't cover it with anything.

There are a coupe issues with overseeding bermuda with rye.

1. Most often you don't get enough rye seed down and it looks like weeds in an otherwise dormant bermuda lawn.

2. In the spring the rye can be hard to get rid of leaving you with a long delay getting the bermuda reestablished.

Where do you live?

@bassplayer:

Thanks for the tips. I have one issue in mind though. What if, let's say, the spreader spreads at a width of 5 feet and the width of the spreading area is 23 feet. Once I pass over 4 times, there will be a 3 feet area that isn't seeded. If I pass it one more time to cover the 3 feet, I will either have to apply too much seed to the area I passed over last, or I will have to seed an existing flower bed at the edge. Of course, you advised to start from the perimeter of the garden and then to go back and forth, so this eliminates the possibility of seeding a flower bed, but I would still be over applying at my last walk over, right?

Am I caring too much about precision? Should I not mind applying too much seed in small areas?

Also, do you guys suggest to mark the lawn with for example ropes for better precision?

@dchall_san_antonio:

Yes I am concerned about #1. That is why I would like to do my best to make sure I get enough seeds equally and down. Regarding #2, I think I have the option of applying round up before the bermuda wakes up right? Although I wouldn't really like to use chemicals in my garden, I might have to in this case, if it is the only way to have a decent looking lawn most throughout the year. I'm really sick of the brown & dead look of the lawn for half the year... I live in Turkey, the climate of the area that I live in, is mediterranean climate. We have drought and hot summers here and mild and wet winters. In terms of USDA zones my area is 9b... We are in mid October now, and no matter how much water / rain, my bermuda receives, it is almost completely dormant.

That is really good that you are thinking through all that! The problem is that broadcast spreading is not very accurate, even if you try hard. If you have a big open square and walk at a precise speed and mark it out, that would be your best best bet, but that is not possible. If you think about it, every time you turn slightly (as in go around an landscaped area) it puts out proportionately more. Also, if you walk faster or slower then a certain speed, it will increase or decrease spread.

If I want really high accuracy, I measure the area that I want to apply product to, then measure the product out that would be necessary to cover that area. For example, if I had 5,000 sq. ft. and want to apply 5lbs per 1,000 sq. ft., I would measure out 25lbs and put it into the spreader. I would adjust the spreader rate so it would apply 2.5lbs per 1,000 sq. ft. (sorry, I'm not familiar with metrics) and go over the yard twice. In a perfect world, all the seed would be used up. Otherwise I would back the rate down and go over the area again (depending on how much was left). The more times you go over the lawn, the more accurate the total will be. That's the long answer.

Short answer is, I wouldn't worry about that precision. I would just adjust the spreader to 1/2 rate, and go over the yard twice spreading roughly 5-6' apart.

Did I explain clear enough? Feel free to ask more.

Well unless you live in southern AZ, TX, or along the Gulf coast I would not recommend you over seed your Bermuda. Reason is it will rob your Bermuda next spring of nutrients and water delaying your spring green up and recovery. It will likely be mid June before the Rye burns out leaving a thin weak Bermuda lawn for summer. Come next fall repeat process and your Bermuda grows weaker the next season. It is a vicious cycle.

"Well unless you live in southern AZ, TX, or along the Gulf coast I would not recommend you over seed your Bermuda. Reason is it will rob your Bermuda next spring of nutrients and water delaying your spring green up and recovery. It will likely be mid June before the Rye burns out leaving a thin weak Bermuda lawn for summer. Come next fall repeat process and your Bermuda grows weaker the next season. It is a vicious cycle."

TW, I have heard this before, and I know you are taking care of a golf course now, and my question to you is, How do they manage to do it every year on golf courses without affecting the summer performance of their Bermuda? Is it a matter of unlimited resources and maintenance as compared to the average homeowner? Just wondering.

Atrazine.

How do they manage to do it every year on golf courses without affecting the summer performance of their Bermuda? Is it a matter of unlimited resources and maintenance as compared to the average homeowner?

All of the above plus Atrazine and liquid iron chealate. Early in the spring a light application of Atrazine and iron is applied. Bermuda can tolerate light doses of Atrazine but Rye and Fescue mixes cannot tolerate it.

Is Atrazine cheaper than Revolver?

Have not done a cost analysis, but you got me interested as a golf course manager and I am always looking at cutting cost. I will have to try some to see how effective it is. Even if it is a little bit higher unit cost maybe justified if it is milder on the Bermuda grass as Atrazine does stun the Bermuda for a few days.

Thanks a lot for all the responses. I have purchased the rye grass seed and I will overseed it very soon. I am concerned about weakening the existing grass, but I just have to try and see this year and decide whether it is better to have the bermuda weakened or to put up with brown grass half of the year. :)

Anyway, before I go ahead, I have some final questions in my mind:

#1 Here is the current state of my lawn. It is not completely dormant I guess, but almost. Do you think it is better to wait a bit more so that it goes completely dormant, or should I overseed it right now? The weather is expected to be around high 60's (F), max 70F during the day and mid 50's (F), minimum 53- 54 (F) during the night until the end of October.

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#2 The place that I purchased the seed advised me to apply the seed at a rate of 30 g. per square meters (approx. 6.5 lb per 1000 sq. feet). Is this a good amount?

#3 After I overseed, I know I have to water frequently, but refrain from creating a pond on top. Here, the soil is always wet now in the mornings because of the dew, so I suppose, watering early in the morning and at night isn't necessary? Is once midday and once early in the evening with the sprinkler system sufficient?

#4 I believe my current grass is not common bermuda, but a variety instead (more dense and thinner and finer looking blades). Is it possible to identify it? Here are two more closer pictures:

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Where do you live?

You grass is not dormant, not even close. It will go dormant after your first frost. With that said if you are going to over seed do it now, don't wait any longer.

I use 10-15 lbs per 1000 sqft but i tend to overdue it. 8-10lbs seems more common.... You will want to water often enough to keep the seeds moist until germination. At your temps maybe at 8:00,12:00 and 3:00. I am doing mine 9 times a day for 2mins but our temps are still near 100F

I believe he is in Turkey. He said...

"I live in Turkey, the climate of the area that I live in, is mediterranean climate. We have drought and hot summers here and mild and wet winters. In terms of USDA zones my area is 9b."

^^ Yes, I live in coastal part of Turkey. I thought my Bermuda was about to go dormant because it does not really grow anymore and the yellow/brown areas have started increasing...

Anyway, I will try and see how will overseeding work for me and how the bermuda grass will look like next summer. I just hate having a brown lawn for half the year, and this is one of the main reasons that I regret having bermuda grass (the other reason is the invasiveness of this grass and that it ruins my other plants). Having read that it is almost impossible to kill and replace the bermuda grass (I have read numerous threads about it on this site), I believe my only other option is replacing it with St Augustine grass, not mowing it short and hope that it shades and kills it. I will try that next year if I don't like the results of my overseeding this year... But there is one important factor for this as well. Will St Augustine go dormant in a typically USDA zone 9b climate? I don't want to replace my lawn with another one that will also be brown half the year.

Btw, can anyone identify the variety of my bermuda from the pictures?

Golf courses overseed because they HAVE to. And they can get away with it because they have the money to pay for resodding, major chemical applications, and rejuvenation. Remember, you will be watering and fertilizing during a time of year that is not beneficial (actually, harmful) to your valuable permanent grass. This creates ideal conditions for many root and foliar diseases, insect infestation, weakening of the permanent grass, and subsequent weed invasion.

It is well-known that ryegrass competes with Bermuda (and other permanent warm-season grasses) for water, oxygen, dissolved nutrients, space above and below ground, etc. Most turf grass specialists and other crop scientists believe that ryegrass exudes allelopathic chemicals that affect the bermuda negatively.

I am going to have to try this overseeding with rye grass this year since I have already bought the seeds. However, having read the above posts from many experienced members here, I have realized that this doesn't seem like a good idea in the long term as I have understood my bermuda will keep getting weaker and weaker each year.

I planned this as a permanent solution (I would overseed every year to have a green lawn most throughout the year), because I hate the bermuda grass and regret buying it. I would replace it today without hesitation if there was a way to get rid of it completely.

As far as I learned in this forum, killing bermuda is an uphill battle and it is almost impossible to completely get rid of it. What do you guys suggest then? Using a chemical to kill it and then reseeding with St Augustine next spring and then keeping it long so that it shades and takes over bermuda? This seems like the best option according to lots of members here. What do you think?