# New to Forum - Confused and Anxious About How to Proceed with Lawncare



## BermudaNoob (May 6, 2019)

Hello Everyone,

New to forum. There's a wealth of information here. It's great and overwhelming to a novice like me.

The first two years we lived in our home, I did my own lawn care treatments using Scott's products. For a beginner, I thought it looked decent. It was a newly built house in a new subdivision and we did not have any neighbors on either side of us. My results were not due to any skill or knowledge on my part, purely a guessing game. Despite that I somehow managed to keep the weeds out and the yard green.

But I could not make the time to keep that up myself and always felt I was one misapplication away from disaster. And new neighbors were popping up and some were not as diligent in maintaining their yards. So I hired a local company to treat the yard and i just mowed it.

Our lawn had been serviced by a local company for the past 3 years. Last year they put too much fertilizer in areas twice. So I was planning on using a new service provider (TruGreen). But my neighbor told me he treats his own yard and it looks great. His is the first to green up in spring. So far all I've been able to get from him is that he applies his own pre emergent

So i'm considering treating my yard myself.
However i'm confused and anxious about how to proceed. Today is May 6, 2019 My yards currents status is;

I missed the spring pre-emergent application
I put down Scott's Bermuda Grass seed 3 weeks ago and it's starting to germinate
i'm starting to see some weeds.
There are brown patches all over
Their is moss growing on one side of the back yard
Tru Green is scheduled to come by Friday to put down pre emergent fertilizer.
i'm concerned their application may stunt the growth of the Bermuda seed.

I wonder if this will be too much for me (knowledge wise), perhaps I'll destroy my yard, and should I just go with Tru Green.

But I don't mind the work, I just don't know where to get started from where my yard is now. I've read and seen videos about Gordons Lawn liquid fertilizer and learning about spreaders (looking at the Chapin push 97900).

Just really looking for some solid guidance on where to go from here, given my yard's current condition.

Thanks for providing me the benefit of your knowledge and experience


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## ctrav (Aug 18, 2018)

Well you certainly found an awesome forum for lawn care (my humble opinion) so welcome...
Post a few pics as that always helps! If you have the time, energy, equipment and commitment then save your money and stay away from paid services (again my opinion). Yes its hard work but once you catch the bug the joy of DIY lawn care rocks!!


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## BermudaNoob (May 6, 2019)




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## BermudaNoob (May 6, 2019)

The bottom pictures are what the lawn looked like in the summers of 2015 and 2016


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## BermudaNoob (May 6, 2019)

Top 3 pictures are what the lawn looks like now. I forgot to mention that the yard will usually have spots this time of year and gradually gets all green during summer. But this year I'm seeing more and larger patches of brown. My neighbors yard is already green all over with no patches


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## ctrav (Aug 18, 2018)

Do you have in-ground irrigation? What is your watering schedule? What is your height of cut (HOC)? What have you put on the lawn thus far?


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## BermudaNoob (May 6, 2019)

ctrav said:


> Do you have in-ground irrigation? What is your watering schedule? What is your height of cut (HOC)? What have you put on the lawn thus far?
> [/quote
> 
> Two years ago I installed a Rain Bird 32eti DIY system. 3 heads are installed lengthwise in the middle of the front yard
> ...


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## BermudaNoob (May 6, 2019)

New Rain Bird 32eti will be installed on the south. Use water hose and nozzle to water north side, side with moss and bare spots.


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## ctrav (Aug 18, 2018)

BermudaNoob said:


> New Rain Bird 32eti will be installed on the south. Use water hose and nozzle to water north side, side with moss and bare spots.


How many times per week and how long? WATER


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## BermudaNoob (May 6, 2019)

I just purchased Gordon's® Liquid Lawn & Pasture Fertilizer 20-0-0 with Micronutrients and researching sprayers. Looking at the Chapin 97900. I'm considering applying it and telling Tru Green to cancel the planned Friday application ( pre-emergent fertilizer) and cancel my service. I would be a new customer, they've never treated my yard.

Sorry, had to rewrite post, it did not get saved.

The timer on the Rain Bird waters the front for 45 minutes on 3 days of the week


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## FlowRider (Apr 7, 2019)

The money you would have to pay for lawn service can instead be used to buy your equipment and pay for your lawn care products.

When you buy quality equipment you will own it for many years and instead of putting money in someone else's bank, you'll have it in yours.

You will take better care of your yard than some hack who comes to do it for you, especially when it gets hot and they don't want to work then.

The key thing to remember is lawn care is all about the process of incremental improvement. It takes time to get results, and you must think in terms of seasons and plan accordingly.

You may make a mistake or two - who doesn't? But that is how you learn what NOT to do, next time.

Read as much as you can about whatever you're planning to do, and educate your mind on "the process." Ask for help if you need it.

Lawn care is not an instant gratification activity. It takes time to produce results, and it takes some hard work sometimes. It also takes time to research and learn what to do to avoid what NOT to do....

It is a great hobby, a rewarding way to be outdoors and get fresh air and exercise, and get some warm sunshine on you while you make your home more beautiful and improve your property value.

I take pride in having a nice yard. And it keeps me active and strong.

And the money I save let's me buy great tools, and invest the work
I put into it by making my house worth more money.

Quality landscaping adds between 15 to 30 percent to a home's value.

Invest your time in making you more money someday in the future, not paying it to someone else to put in their bank.

Improve your real estate. Literally.... :thumbup:


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## BermudaNoob (May 6, 2019)

Thanks for encouragement FlowRider.

I love being in our yard also. I don't mind the work and I have the patience. I just don't want to be spinning my wheels and have little to show for it or at worst severely damage the lawn.

I think I've found a good resource here with TLF and plan to learn and apply as much as I can


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## BermudaNoob (May 6, 2019)

Have I provided enough information on my lawn's condition for anyone to provide me with guidance on how to proceed or point me to a resource that definitely worked for them for southern Bermuda lawns?


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## BermudaNoob (May 6, 2019)

Is it too late to apply a pre-emergent?
If not, what would you recommend?
Or should I apply the Gordons liquid fertilizer?

What should I do about the weeds I see now?
Should I apply a post emergent to them? If so, what do you recommend?
Anything I can do about the brown patches and moss?


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## ctrav (Aug 18, 2018)

Read this:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gzKaG4bzBqSalOquqSAIN5-XWblPjosG/view?usp=sharing

Then read it again and again! Have you had a soil test yet? From what I know (which is limited) try to water 1" of water per week at one time. If you can't do this then split the watering up into 2 days. Deep 1" watering is better than multiple short watering.


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## BermudaNoob (May 6, 2019)

Thanks!
Reading it now.

Will look into setting sprinklers to water to 1" once a week


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## FlowRider (Apr 7, 2019)

The "Bermuda Bible" is a great guide. I printed it out and read it often.

Bermuda loves nitrogen, and the Gordon's 20-0-0 liquid fertilizer is one of the fertilizers I prefer. I like it because it is so easy to apply, and you can spray it around ornamentals and trees to help fertilize them too!

The lawn service I fired used to charge $165 to fertilize flowerbeds. $165!! I laughed at them when they told me their price.

They charged $100 to spray my yard with Holganix. I could not tell that they had even done anything, even when I watched them spray it.

Altogether, I was dropping $3000 a year on lawn services, $250 a month. I had to because of injuries, but that spend rate is why they are gone and I do it myself now.

BermudaNoob, spray that Gordon's on your lawn - it will help it a lot.

Then follow the above guide, be patient, and you should do just fine.

I only wish I had found it earlier....


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## TN Hawkeye (May 7, 2018)

BermudaNoob said:


> Thanks!
> Reading it now.
> 
> Will look into setting sprinklers to water to 1" once a week


Be carefully watering the hill in the back all at once. Do some tests to see when you start to get run off. Putting water up there will do no good if Most of it runs to the bottom of the hill. You have a grass that repairs itself very well. Read and learn. You can do this. And then you can put on a pair of khakis and a long sleeve plaid shirt and stand in the yard proud of your work like they do in the Scotts commercials. :thumbup:


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

The one pic with the Japanese maple in it looks like insect damage from what I can see.

Keep in mind not all varieties of Bermuda come from seed (most don't) and you could be mixing in a different cultivar. My personal recommendation would be to encourage it to grow in and heal those areas.

1.) Get some Isoxaben for pre emergent
2.) Put down season appropriate fertilizer - the stuff the supply place sold me was 7-0-14. People here might disagree but I don't think there's a huge difference as long as you're putting something down. I like to do soil tests to see what it needs.
3.) Water and cut it - cut the grass based in its height not just "I always do it inn saturday"
4.) try and remember its a living thing - it WANTS to grow and fill in those empty areas.


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

also definitely pull soil samples where you have moss.

Moss means you have both a moisture and a pH problem there.


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## Desing (Apr 4, 2019)

I would save your money and cancel TruGreen. Basic lawn care is easy enough if you don't mind the time (just follow the bible).

I decided to use TruGreen the first year in our new construction which was a huge mistake. On multiple occasions I saw them come to fertilize/treat weeds on my whole yard and would leave after only treat 1/2 of it. They completely ignored my back yard, but kept saying they were treating my whole yard.


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## BadDad (Mar 13, 2019)

FYI the scotts halts crabgrass product is a preemergent... so if you applied proper rates in a proper manner you have already done preemergent.


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