# Latitude 36 Bermuda - Bent Overseed Journal



## Dlmartin1984 (Jun 7, 2021)

I have started the process to convert about 600sq ft of area that goes from middle of front lawn to middle of the first tree. Removal of existing grass. Leveling out with multiple loads of top soil. Then a top layer of 50/50 loam/compost. Then sodding with Lat 36.

I have measured the sunlight the area gets and it's about 6ish hours throughout the day of direct sunlight. A mix of morning and evening. The tree is raised pretty high too. For the areas that don't thrive, I'll likely overseed with fescue in the future.

The rest of my lawn on the north side is a mix of Astro/common/Yukon. Currently cutting reel low. 7/8in. Working down to 1/2in in the coming weeks.

Sod set for Friday.





From the other side of the yard.


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## Dlmartin1984 (Jun 7, 2021)

Update. Laid the sod this afternoon. Hot AF.

The latitude sod is incredible. Going to roll it again tomorrow.


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## rjw0283 (May 11, 2020)

Latitude 36 is a good looking grass. You think the Latitude will fair better under the tree than the other grasses?

If I re-sodded Lat36 would be up there on the list of potential grasses.


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## Dlmartin1984 (Jun 7, 2021)

rjw0283 said:


> Latitude 36 is a good looking grass. You think the Latitude will fair better under the tree than the other grasses?
> 
> If I re-sodded Lat36 would be up there on the list of potential grasses.


I think in the highest shade areas it will struggle. Fescue worked well under the highest shade in my yard. However, this area does get 4-6 hrs of sun at any given time through the year. Obviously more when the leaves are gone.


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## Dlmartin1984 (Jun 7, 2021)

Before shot was taken in April.

Before



After leveling and Sod


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## Dlmartin1984 (Jun 7, 2021)

For a closer look of Lat 36 compared to Yukon. I always liked to see an up close of the blades and differences.


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## Dlmartin1984 (Jun 7, 2021)

Sod is still green. Watering for about 15-20min early. And then again late afternoon.


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## Dlmartin1984 (Jun 7, 2021)

One week in. Mowed with Rotary mower on 6/23 and all went well. It's already taken hold. I I've been seriously considering ripping up the remainder of the yard to the East and replacing it with the Latitude 36. It's probably 1200sq ft or so.

I wonder when it's safe to topdress and level out?


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## Colonel K0rn (Jul 4, 2017)

I'd figure it would be fine to go crazy with the sand right now.


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## rjw0283 (May 11, 2020)

Dlmartin1984 said:


> One week in. Mowed with Rotary mower on 6/23 and all went well. It's already taken hold. I I've been seriously considering ripping up the remainder of the yard to the East and replacing it with the Latitude 36. It's probably 1200sq ft or so.


Rip it up! Rip it up! Rip it up! :lol:


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## Dlmartin1984 (Jun 7, 2021)

Rain over the weekend and all week ahead.

Was able to mow east side of front. That's about 3/4in. Leveling needed as you can see the indentions from the tree removal and roots starting to decay.



West side front hasn't been mowed since Friday. Applied fungicide and bifen again hoping to resolve the browning next to the new sod.



Scalped the new sod in a few places. After this week of rain, looking to level/topdress East and west sides and new sod.


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## Dlmartin1984 (Jun 7, 2021)

5 days of rain this week. Totaling about 5 inches.

Guessing that the applications of bifen and fungicide are likely gone. Will reapply bifen again today.

We have about a week of no rain in the forecast, so plan to get some sand to level sod and a few other spots.

Was able to get one mow in on 6/30 but he to raise HOC. Now for sure sitting over an inch.

Going to try and mow today.









Other side of yard thickening up big time.


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## Dlmartin1984 (Jun 7, 2021)

Post mow. Had to cut 3x in different directions. It was thick and tall.


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## Dlmartin1984 (Jun 7, 2021)

Mowed again on 7/4 in the AM.

This week I'll be getting a truckload of sand in and hitting new sod, as well as a few spots in the front that need it.


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## Dlmartin1984 (Jun 7, 2021)

Added sand.


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## Dlmartin1984 (Jun 7, 2021)

Continued growth through the sand. The sod is already easier to cut without scalping. Just need to get the area between new sod and old to grow in.

Definitely still showing signs of bugs and disease. I have some Propiconazole on it's way. Odd. Never had these issues before.


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## Dlmartin1984 (Jun 7, 2021)

Brought in some sandy loam to continue the never ending level work. Though, it downpours 3in in an hour and some is washed away for sure. Also took the proplugger to a portion next to the walkway that seemed to be pretty compacted. Sprayed Propiconazole and Bifen app again after the rains. With a week of no rain in the forecast, hoping for some improvements.

7/18


The lighter area in the middle used to be a tree, which was removed upon buying the house. It's been 5 years. But the areas around the tree always seem to fall lower no matter how much leveling work I do.


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## Keepin It Reel (Feb 20, 2019)

I also have a spot in the middle of my front yard where a tree was removed thats much lighter than the rest. It was cut down last year and the stump ground but the existing roots beneath the surface are decomposing and all the microbial activity robs the area of nitrogen. I was told too apply added urea to that area to improve the color...worth a shot.


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## Dlmartin1984 (Jun 7, 2021)

Keepin It Reel said:


> I also have a spot in the middle of my front yard where a tree was removed thats much lighter than the rest. It was cut down last year and the stump ground but the existing roots beneath the surface are decomposing and all the microbial activity robs the area of nitrogen. I was told too apply added urea to that area to improve the color...worth a shot.


Yea I have heard that too. I try to add a little extra in that area. It was a small tree, mostly dead too, but man it's had a lasting impact.


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## Dlmartin1984 (Jun 7, 2021)

Mowed down to 5/8 today. Some scalping on the edges, where the grass level is still much higher than the driveway/sidewalk.

Pulled the trigger on a sunjoe dethatcher/scarifier. Should be in today and planning on the scarified and some more sand early next week.

A week ahead of 99° days.





This side showing some stress from the MSMA app on a few crabgrass spots. The leveling spots are starting to fill in.


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## Dlmartin1984 (Jun 7, 2021)

Sunjoe scarifier came in. I scarified at .5 and it pulled up a good amount of thatch and debris. 
I then used the rotary mower to pick up everything. Then mowed at 3/4 with the reel mower.

Using that Sunjoe was really fun. Crazy how much stuff comes up. Can't wait to see the results in a few weeks.


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## Dlmartin1984 (Jun 7, 2021)

It's been a few weeks in which I leveled a few low areas again. Went on vacation for a week and working the HOC back down. Low areas are getting closer to being filled in.

Backlapped this morning and Mowed at 1/2in. Using the sunjoe scarifier a few weeks back did wonders for the turf quality.

Lat36 sod is performing very well under 4-5hrs max of sunlight.

I'm thinking the fescue part of the yard, in which I normally overseed in spring and fall, will overseed this fall with Kentucky bluegrass.


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## Dlmartin1984 (Jun 7, 2021)

New reel installed on McLane. I wouldn't recommend that job to anyone. I like to think I'm pretty mechanically inclined, and this was an absolute beast. Be prepared to replace every single part from sprocket all the way into the reel.

However, it's cutting so good. Had to adjust one side cutting lower than the other, but otherwise all good. I think a greens mower is in my foreseeable future.


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## Dlmartin1984 (Jun 7, 2021)

After a summer of constantly adding sand/topsoil/sandy loam to try and level out spots, I would say I got very close to level. With half of the front lawn being common/Yukon and potentially others, I've decided next spring to just resod the entire thing with Lat36. It's just significantly better than the rest of my yard. 
That being said, I'm gonna play around with different things over the next few months. I've never over-seeded Bermuda with this mix before, but we did have a 1500sq ft A1/A4 bent green when I was growing up. So I have some experience and recollection in maintaining it. If it doesn't come together, still plan to re-sod either way in May.

Had the Bermuda looking pretty solid on 9/2.

9/2/21



On 9/9, I decided to scarify in both directions at the 10 mark on the sunjoe. I then dropped down about 10 yards of sand. Moved it around everywhere and further leveled where needed. Rolled everything over 3x.

9/9/21



On 9/13, I brought in another 5 yards of sand and 5 yards of peat moss mix that a local place has. Mixed it together and spread it everywhere. Rolled. I also sprayed the entire area with Propiconazole to start preventative measures and also hopefully slow Bermuda growth down. Also, hit with bifen.

9/13/21





On 9/14, I opened up the canopy a bit, then spread out the following…

- 5lbs Of L93 Bent
- 5lbs of Creeping Bluegrass
- 19-25-5 quick release at 4lbs per 1000sq ft.

Rolled entire yard over 3 times. Water is set to 4min every hour from 8am-5pm. Temps have been in high 80s, overnights into low 60s. No rain forecast for a while.

9/14/21



Today, 9/20, I sprayed propiconazole again over entire area. I'm seeing heavy germination really everywhere. I rolled over it once. 
I added 17-3-17 at 4lbs. 
The Bermuda has really stopped growing, which is great. Temps after today look to be high 70s/low 80s for foreseeable timeframe. 
Moved to less frequent watering. In addition to 3-4 times on system, once a day I go out and hand water based on what I see.

9/20/21


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## Dlmartin1984 (Jun 7, 2021)

Rolled and cut at about 3/8in. Didn't catch clippings. Some scalp spots in the cut, but not a lot. Scalped alongside edge going on and coming off.

Seeded again with L93, .5lb per K. Rolled. Added 10-10-10 at about .5lb per K. Will add light top dress with sand early this week.

Bermuda has essentially stopped growing. Temps have been 80s/50s-60s.


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## Dlmartin1984 (Jun 7, 2021)

In the last week I have top dressed and mowed again. After the mowing, I addressed a few more leveling issues with sand.

9/30/2021


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## Dlmartin1984 (Jun 7, 2021)

10/4- put down .75lb N of 10-20-10. Topdressed lightly again.

Still working to get coverage in a few areas.

10/10- Mowed today at 3/8in. Rolled after.


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## Sbcgenii (May 13, 2018)

Looking forward to seeing how the bentgrass does for you. I have a bentmuda experiment going on too. It's looking great.


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## Dlmartin1984 (Jun 7, 2021)

Sbcgenii said:


> Looking forward to seeing how the bentgrass does for you. I have a bentmuda experiment going on too. It's looking great.


So far so good. Haven't updated it a bit. But here are most recent pics. I'm cutting at the lowest setting on my McLane 25in. I gather it to be just a touch under 3/8in.

From 10/19.


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## Sbcgenii (May 13, 2018)

How is the bentgrass doing?


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## Dlmartin1984 (Jun 7, 2021)

Sbcgenii said:


> How is the bentgrass doing?


It's doing really well. I'll try to take a picture after mowing tomorrow. It needs it. I continue to proactively spray fungicide every 14 days.

We got our first freeze last night down to 28°. Bermuda should fall off, what's remaining at least.


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## Dlmartin1984 (Jun 7, 2021)

Cut yesterday. Everything looks good. I have a few spots of powdery mildew where the water runs off. Will spray this week and again in 7 days.


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## Sbcgenii (May 13, 2018)

It's been a couple weeks how is the bent doing? What height are you cutting it at now?


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## Dlmartin1984 (Jun 7, 2021)

Sbcgenii said:


> It's been a couple weeks how is the bent doing? What height are you cutting it at now?


Still really good. We have had a number of nights under 32°, down into the 20s. I applied a fungicide cocktail on the powdery mildew spots and it seem to do its job. Hitting again this week.

I am still maintaining at around 1/4in. But mowing frequency is really only once a week.

This upcoming week is supposed to be warmer. 60s during the day all week. So I'd guess some extra growth will occur.

I have shut down my sprinkler system for the winter. So really relying on rain to water at this point.

I am still planning to pull everything up sometime in March/April, add some much needed drainage and resod the entire area with latitude 36 or Tahoma.


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## Dlmartin1984 (Jun 7, 2021)

Haven't had to mow since first of December.

Still rotating fungicides.


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## Dlmartin1984 (Jun 7, 2021)

Hanging in there. Just coming off of 8-10in of snow. 
Haven't hit with fungicide since December.

Some yellowing, I presume is the bluegrass. 
In mid December when the deep freeze days hit, the Bermuda finally went to sleep. Haven't mowed since December sometime.

Hitting with Prodiamine in the coming weeks, so we will see how it impacts the bent/bluegrass.

Interested to see how it does as things start to warm up. It has been nice to see green every day this winter.


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## Dlmartin1984 (Jun 7, 2021)

Still plotting along. Temps warming. Took it down to somewhere between 1/8th and 1/16th with new toro.


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## jasonbraswell (Aug 18, 2019)

Nice green up! We are still doing the tan dance.


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## CenlaLowell (Apr 21, 2017)

Dlmartin1984 said:


> For a closer look of Lat 36 compared to Yukon. I always liked to see an up close of the blades and differences.


They look VERY similar


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## Dlmartin1984 (Jun 7, 2021)

CenlaLowell said:


> Dlmartin1984 said:
> 
> 
> > For a closer look of Lat 36 compared to Yukon. I always liked to see an up close of the blades and differences.
> ...


Picture doesn't show it guess. Lat 36 has a much thinner blade than Yukon and does much better under a bit of shade. Maybe subjective, but Lat 36 is so soft to walk on.


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## Dlmartin1984 (Jun 7, 2021)

Bent/bluegrass project is hanging tough. Poa issues starting to resolve. Rotating fungicide every 10 days or so. We got about 8 inches of rain in a 72hr window last week but it drains pretty quickly. Bermuda is starting to come back and can see it in a few spots creeping up. 90°s next week. Tnex starts in a couple weeks.

During a downpour


24hrs later and 3 days since mowing.


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## Dlmartin1984 (Jun 7, 2021)

Memorial Day double cut.


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## Dlmartin1984 (Jun 7, 2021)

A month later and the bent mix has basically been over taken by the Bermuda which was underneath. 3 weeks straight of 95°+ and no rain did the trick.

I also picked up some dollar spot which was aggressive. Rotated propicanzole, myclobutanil and Chlorothalonil. Took a couple weeks but that cleaned it up.



To address the continued drainage issues and puddling during monsoons, I installed 4 channel drains along the concrete/grass edges and routed them through the yard to cutouts in the existing curb. Also brought in enough sandy loam to level a run off area and a few other small spots throughout the yard.


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## Dlmartin1984 (Jun 7, 2021)

Back to Bermuda across the board. 1/3 yukon. 1/3 lat36. 1/3 tiftuf.

New sod in 2/3 of yard over the course of the summer in an effort to raise everything up. Lots of sandy loam, sand, peat. Drains are in place.

Lat36 did well under the tree for a year. I just couldn't get any more than the original pallet I got in early summer. 
Had to settle for tif tuf. Which was more expensive by a lot. After having experiences with 419, lat36 and now tif tuf (got the stamped document and everything making it officially certified), I have to say 419 has a finer blade and is more pleasing to the eye. Lat36 crushes both. Yukon doesn't look like either and actually not like Bermuda in comparison. But judge yourself. All pics taken at same distance and same time of day with no filter.

Lat36



Yukon



Tiftuf


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