Lawn overseeder

Bermuda, St. Augustine, Zoysia, Centipede, Bahia, Paspalum, etc
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Bradleyt
Posts: 5
Joined: March 26th, 2019, 8:59 pm
Location: san antonio, tx
Grass Type: bermuda
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Lawn overseeder

Post by Bradleyt » March 26th, 2019, 9:35 pm

Anyone have any feedback on benefits of using a lawn over-seeder and if one can do without using it to get good soil to seed contact? I can't seem to find one here in San Antonio to rent. I have over 4k square feet to seed so using sod is way out of my budget.
Thanks!

Bradleyt
Posts: 5
Joined: March 26th, 2019, 8:59 pm
Location: san antonio, tx
Grass Type: bermuda
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: Lawn overseeder

Post by Bradleyt » March 27th, 2019, 7:15 am

I also meant to include a slit seeder in my original post.

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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: Lawn overseeder

Post by Dchall_San_Antonio » March 27th, 2019, 10:31 am

I have an idea that is not out of your budget and will result in a high class bermuda turf. It is called sprigging. You have to do a little work, but the cost is very minimal. There are several steps which I will list here, but search this forum for sprigging and read up on the deets.
  1. 1. DO NOT ROTOTILL. Rototilling creates a bumpy surface no matter how smooth you can make the surface afterwards.
  2. Kill everything, twice.
  3. Level the soil perfectly using a drag and sand to get it perfectly smooth. Try Keller Materials (northeast of town) or Stone and Soil Depot (west side of town) for sand.
  4. For every 1,000 square feet you need to cover, buy two pieces of the best bermuda you can afford at Milberger's Nursery (Bulverde Road inside loop 1604). Cost should be under $5 per 1,000 square feet for Tifway 419 or Celebration.
  5. Wash all the soil off the bottom of the sod.
  6. Chop the remaining grass and roots with a machete (lots of fun stuff here)
  7. Scatter the chopped sprigs around the yard evenly.
  8. Cover with a very light coat of sand keeping it as even as you can and not creating more mounds of sand.
  9. Water several times per day for 5 to 15 minutes. The soil should never get soggy. The sprigs will not all come out, but enough will to cover and give you a great lawn for dirt cheap. Once you get about 80% germination, you can back off on watering frequency and water a little longer ultimately going for deep and infrequent watering as discussed relentlessly on this forum.
Sprigging is what golf courses do, but they buy their sprigs (expensive). You can get the same results for much less.

Going back to your specific question, it doesn't matter with bermuda. No matter how even or uneven the seed goes down, you WILL have a full bermuda lawn (except in the shade). Please wait until the soil warms up to do any bermuda seeding. You can buy the seed now, but for best results, wait until June after the soil gets much warmer. Douglass King Seed has the best seed in town, but if you're just getting any old bermuda seed then anyplace is fine. You get what you pay for with seed. The better seed will have fewer weed seeds contaminating it, but lets be honest, usually bermuda is the contaminant in other types of seed. Any seed should be fine. NOTE: you should follow steps 1-3 above to prep for seed and use the same approach for watering in step 9.

Bradleyt
Posts: 5
Joined: March 26th, 2019, 8:59 pm
Location: san antonio, tx
Grass Type: bermuda
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: Lawn overseeder

Post by Bradleyt » March 27th, 2019, 12:19 pm

Thank you Dchall_San_Antonio!!! Do you by chance do consulting work on the side? ;)

Bradleyt
Posts: 5
Joined: March 26th, 2019, 8:59 pm
Location: san antonio, tx
Grass Type: bermuda
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: Lawn overseeder

Post by Bradleyt » March 27th, 2019, 9:16 pm

Dchall_San_Antonio wrote:
March 27th, 2019, 10:31 am
I have an idea that is not out of your budget and will result in a high class bermuda turf. It is called sprigging. You have to do a little work, but the cost is very minimal. There are several steps which I will list here, but search this forum for sprigging and read up on the deets.
  1. 1. DO NOT ROTOTILL. Rototilling creates a bumpy surface no matter how smooth you can make the surface afterwards.
  2. Kill everything, twice.
  3. Level the soil perfectly using a drag and sand to get it perfectly smooth. Try Keller Materials (northeast of town) or Stone and Soil Depot (west side of town) for sand.
  4. For every 1,000 square feet you need to cover, buy two pieces of the best bermuda you can afford at Milberger's Nursery (Bulverde Road inside loop 1604). Cost should be under $5 per 1,000 square feet for Tifway 419 or Celebration.
  5. Wash all the soil off the bottom of the sod.
  6. Chop the remaining grass and roots with a machete (lots of fun stuff here)
  7. Scatter the chopped sprigs around the yard evenly.
  8. Cover with a very light coat of sand keeping it as even as you can and not creating more mounds of sand.
  9. Water several times per day for 5 to 15 minutes. The soil should never get soggy. The sprigs will not all come out, but enough will to cover and give you a great lawn for dirt cheap. Once you get about 80% germination, you can back off on watering frequency and water a little longer ultimately going for deep and infrequent watering as discussed relentlessly on this forum.
Sprigging is what golf courses do, but they buy their sprigs (expensive). You can get the same results for much less.

Going back to your specific question, it doesn't matter with bermuda. No matter how even or uneven the seed goes down, you WILL have a full bermuda lawn (except in the shade). Please wait until the soil warms up to do any bermuda seeding. You can buy the seed now, but for best results, wait until June after the soil gets much warmer. Douglass King Seed has the best seed in town, but if ,mnbyou're just getting any old bermuda seed then anyplace is fine. You get what you pay for with seed. The better seed will have fewer weed seeds contaminating it, but lets be honest, usually bermuda is the contaminant in other types of seed. Any seed should be fine. NOTE: you should follow steps 1-3 above to prep for seed and use the same approach for watering in step 9.

Really good post with lots of good information. A few questions:

1. I don't have a machete. Whats the best way of chopping it down and how finely? Is there a video that shows this?

2. What kind of sand? I have clay type of soil so any issues with putting sand over it? Does bermuda do just as good with sand on top of clay soil? How much sand do you use to cover the stolons?

3. Weather has been warm and highs have been in the high 70s with lows in the 60s. Still too early?

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