Help with new Bermuda lawn
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- Posts: 13
- Joined: May 31st, 2017, 10:41 pm
- Location: Raleigh
- Grass Type: Berumda
- Lawn Size: Not Specified
- Level: Not Specified
Help with new Bermuda lawn
Hello folks - I have a relatively new Bermuda lawn. The house is a new construction in NC. The dormant sod was laid in late December 2016. The yard is around 7000 sq ft spread over the back, 2 sides and front. I don't have an irrigation system in place - just been using a bunch of impact sprinklers to keep the lawn irrigated. The backyard and frontyard have a slope (see images below). The builder told us to not apply any herbicide/fertilizer till the grass was emergent - which didn't happen till almost mid April and even then there were patches that had low quantities of emergent strands. By that time the lawn had a weed problem. Reading through these forums - I got some Celsius and I did a single application as per label recommendations. That helped and lot and bought the weeds under control. Few weeks after the post-emergent weed killer I got some fertilizer (Lesco 28-0-3) and applied that as per instructions on the bag. It has been a month since that and it has helped green up the lawn along the front and the back. But the side is where the growth is still not consistent and I have quite a few patches with low quantities of active grass. Overall some patches of sod are growing well and others are not. Of the patches that are still more brown then green, I've tried to look for grubs, but didn't find any - they are well rooted. Of the patches that are totally dead, I've seen a few tiny black beetles - not sure if that is a sign of grubs. I haven't seen any under the dead sod. The builder says that those may just be patches that did not take root at all. Would appreciate any advice on what I should do. I've attached some pics to help provide a visual of what I'm talking about.
Front
..more images below
Front
..more images below
- Dchall_San_Antonio
- Posts: 3341
- Joined: December 17th, 2008, 1:53 am
- Location: San Antonio, Texas
- Grass Type: St Augustine
- Lawn Size: 5000-10000
- Level: Advanced
Re: Help with new Bermuda lawn
What is your watering schedule? How often and for how long do you water?
Is there much shade on the sides of the house?
Is there much shade on the sides of the house?
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- Posts: 13
- Joined: May 31st, 2017, 10:41 pm
- Location: Raleigh
- Grass Type: Berumda
- Lawn Size: Not Specified
- Level: Not Specified
Re: Help with new Bermuda lawn
Been watering once a week for about 30-40 mins. The side I'm having the issues with (pics in the previous post) is north facing and gets full sun all day long. The other side (pic below) has shade most of the day, but the grass is growing find there. Both the front and back have direct sun most of the day.
South facing side
South facing side
- Dchall_San_Antonio
- Posts: 3341
- Joined: December 17th, 2008, 1:53 am
- Location: San Antonio, Texas
- Grass Type: St Augustine
- Lawn Size: 5000-10000
- Level: Advanced
Re: Help with new Bermuda lawn
With temps in the 80s I would be watering once every 2 weeks. If that does not seem frequent enough for you, then up the watering time to enough hours to get a full inch of water.
Watering: Deep and infrequent is the mantra for watering. This is for all turf grass all over the place. Deep means 1 inch all at one time. Put some cat food or tuna cans around the yard, and time how long it takes your sprinkler(s) to fill all the cans. Memorize that time. That will be the time you water from now on. My hose, sprinkler and water pressure takes 8 full hours to fill the cans. Your time will likely be less. I like gentle watering. As for watering frequency, that depends on the daytime air temperature. With temps in the 90s, deep water once per week. With temps in the 80s, deep water once every 2 weeks. With temps in the 70s, deep water once every 3 weeks. With temps below 70, deep water once a month. Note that you have to keep up with quickly changing temps in the spring and fall. This deep and infrequent schedule works in Phoenix and in Vermont, so it should work for you. The reason for deep and infrequent is to grow deeper, more drought resistant roots and to allow the soil to dry completely at the surface for several days before watering again. If it rains, reset your calendar to account for the rainfall.
Watering: Deep and infrequent is the mantra for watering. This is for all turf grass all over the place. Deep means 1 inch all at one time. Put some cat food or tuna cans around the yard, and time how long it takes your sprinkler(s) to fill all the cans. Memorize that time. That will be the time you water from now on. My hose, sprinkler and water pressure takes 8 full hours to fill the cans. Your time will likely be less. I like gentle watering. As for watering frequency, that depends on the daytime air temperature. With temps in the 90s, deep water once per week. With temps in the 80s, deep water once every 2 weeks. With temps in the 70s, deep water once every 3 weeks. With temps below 70, deep water once a month. Note that you have to keep up with quickly changing temps in the spring and fall. This deep and infrequent schedule works in Phoenix and in Vermont, so it should work for you. The reason for deep and infrequent is to grow deeper, more drought resistant roots and to allow the soil to dry completely at the surface for several days before watering again. If it rains, reset your calendar to account for the rainfall.
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