# 2 acre 419 and Yukon lawn



## Aubuild (May 30, 2019)

Ok, I have been following from the shadows but have decided it is time to actually start a journal for myself. Long story short, I built a new home a little less than a year ago and have been trying to get the yard right ever since. My new property is on 3 acres and I have a little less than 80,000 sq/ft of lawn. Approximately 10,000' is sodded 419 Bermuda leaving around 70k that was hydroseeded with Yukon Bermuda. The sod/hydroseed was installed in August 2020. I will try to catch up with pictures and explanations of what has happened to this point.


----------



## ENC_Lawn (Sep 9, 2018)

Beautiful property!

Looking forward to following along!

The only thing I could add at this point "if you wanted to" would be to pick you a straight line of say 1,000 square feet.

And plug that straight line with Tifway 419 Bermuda into the Yukon.

You could do this over time at your own pace and this will help the Tifway 419 and the Yukon Bermuda Blend together better IMO.

I don't have Yukon.

I have Princess 77 Bermuda and Arden 15 Bermuda seeded with Tifway 419 as well.

You can tell a difference between the two cultivars. Especially when they are side by side.

If you mix them together it becomes harder to tell the difference.

Also if you mow them at a higher HOC that helps them blend together as well.

Again...beautiful home and property!!!


----------



## Aubuild (May 30, 2019)

Thanks @ENC_Lawn , I have been following your reno and am a fan. As far as plugging in the 419 to the Yukon, I probably should've done that, but as you will see in future pictures, I might be a little too far along. The Yukon is pretty much established at this point. My plan with this journal is to document the past year. I should've started from the beginning and hindsight, wish I would've. Anyway, as I get time, I'll update the progress.


----------



## ENC_Lawn (Sep 9, 2018)

Aubuild said:


> Thanks @ENC_Lawn , I have been following your reno and am a fan. As far as plugging in the 419 to the Yukon, I probably should've done that, but as you will see in future pictures, I might be a little too far along. The Yukon is pretty much established at this point. My plan with this journal is to document the past year. I should've started from the beginning and hindsight, wish I would've. Anyway, as I get time, I'll update the progress.


I understand...at 77,000 square feet...I don't blame ya a bit!

Look forward to following your progress! :thumbup:


----------



## Amoo316 (Jul 8, 2021)

Big Lawns, I'm in.


----------



## Aubuild (May 30, 2019)

Ok, a few more pictures and short write up to shed more light on what has happened to this point: When we built, obviously, I wanted to sod the whole thing but that was cost prohibitive. So, we decided to seed the majority and sod around the house and down the driveway. I started doing some research to try to find the best seed option to go with and ultimately decided on Yukon. Problem was, by the time I came to that conclusion, there was no Yukon seed to be found, (like anywhere), so we ended up going with some sort of blend and honestly I can't remember exactly which types of Bermuda were in this blend, but I looked up each one and was satisfied enough with each of them that I decided to pull the trigger (that and the fact by that time I didn't really have any other options). And, I should say that the three seed types were solid i.e. Yukon, Princess/Ardent 15 and something else... So, into the hydro seeder they went. My hydroseed guy was adamant on using faster germinating seed with the Yukon blend to give it a better chance of surviving an Alabama summer thunderstorm. He said that he had the best results from Brown Top Millet and without any reason for objection I agreed. Hind sight, it worked out well, but that Brown Top grows like CRAZY. I jokingly say that you can watch it grow. I bet it grows an inch or more a day. In the pictures below, you can see the first germination (after two days I think) of the Brown Top. (I'm sure most know, but the Brown Top will die off with cooler temperature, the big thing is keeping it from going to seed-head). Then, after what seemed like an eternity, tiny little Bermuda sprouts started coming up. The main concern I had was how to cut the Brown Top Millet in order to let the Bermuda get sunlight but not wanting to suck up any un-germinated Bermuda seeds. I'm not sure if that was a logical concern, but it seemed like one at the time. 
I feel like I should tell anyone reading this my watering schedule. Thanks from some help (surely from TLF) I decided that it is best to constantly keep the hydroseed moist, but not soaking wet. This can be challenging in Alabama in August. So, I set the irrigation to run for 3-4 minutes per zone. I ran them pretty much during all daylight hours. I have 20 zones so essentially after the last zone ended, it would wait about an hour, then start back at zone 1. The water company thought I had a leak, and their bill reflected that, but it worked well. I was honestly a little disappointed with the level of germination at first but there was enough Bermuda after the first month or so that I knew it was going to work. I say disappointed, but honestly, germination in and of itself is such a miracle, I'm amazed any of it germinated, so I guess I was more conflicted on what to call "success". 
I honestly did not fertilize much at all in the first few months. I definitely would fertilize more if I were to do it again. I simply didn't know what I was doing (not that I know now). Note: I didn't put down any topsoil either, just applied that hydroseed onto straight cut down Alabama clay. Thank goodness Bermuda is a weed. 
Luckily it had at least "established" a little before fall/winter.


----------



## Aubuild (May 30, 2019)

Flash forward to this spring. I actually started putting down some fert and weed treatment. I started in March with some Prodiamine (can't remember the amount). For me, with the amount of fertilizer I need, the expense can be problematic. I have found the best fertilizer value to be 46-0-0 Urea. I can put down 3 bags and it does the trick of about 1lb/thousand feet. I started doing this every month and the results have been fun to watch. I also put down about a pound of P and K at some point. 
So, I have to admit that I just got a soil test (I know, I should have done it before I started anything). The reason I waited is honestly because it was an inconvenience and I had a pretty good idea that with a striped pine forest It was going to be highly acidic and not much nutrients to speak of. The results are in and the assumption is correct, however I underestimated HOW acidic it is. The PH is 4.6. I haven't applied lime yet (I need to get creative on how to get it down). The pelletized lime is super expensive compared to the bulk. I'm thinking I can get the bulk but I'm not exactly sure the best way to put it out. I spoke with the owner of the fertilizer store and he said worst case, just throw it out with a shovel. So, unless I hear otherwise from someone, that's probably what I'll do. However, I know that my neighbors already think I'm crazy, I can't wait to see the looks on their faces as my buddy pulls me around in a trailer with me wildly throwing out powdered lime by the shovelful. Either way, this would save around $400, so I think I could deal with being the butt of whatever jokes they have... The pictures below are the front and back yard to show the progress of the growing season to date.


----------

