# Seeding 3000sqft Bermuda side yard.



## MrTophatJones (Apr 1, 2019)

Moved into house last July. The previous owner killed off about 3000sqft of Bermuda and replaced it with pine straw so that he wouldn't have to mow it. We're downhill from our neighbor and there is a fair bit of soil erosion as a result. We have a small area of Bermuda in the front (maybe 500 sqft) and another 2000sqft on the other side of the house. The exisiting front lawn will connect (barely) to the area I intend to seed. Will it look bad to have (presumably) different varieties of Bermuda in my lawn?

A local supplier has Maya Bermuda seed which seems to be a good option from the bit of reading I've done. I'm not wanting to do a total renovation of my lawn this year. If I attempted to renovate the existing lawn in 1-2 years would I get a match in texture/color from killing off the rest of the already existing lawn and reseeding with whatever Maya seed I can get my hands on then?

Regarding the current lawn, it's a bit thin and weedy. My father in-law advised us to put down weed and feed so I did that a couple weeks ago. I've been trying to read as much on rehabbing Bermuda as I can and maybe W&F wasn't the best option but there's nothing I can do about that now. I just scalped the lawn on Friday. Going forwards, I've ordered a Pre-E (Prodiamine 65 WDG) and bought Milorganite. I know I'm late to apply a Pre-E, but will it have any value if I apply it tomorrow when it arrives? It's supposed to rain Friday and through the weekend, which I think is enough time for it to set in the yard. Planning to apply the Milorganite in mid-April.

Thanks for any help. It's my first lawn and I'm a bit lost.


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## TN Hawkeye (May 7, 2018)

You should apply the prodiamine as close to rain as possible. It needs to wash into the soil. A day is ok but 3-4 days is a long time for it to sit before being watered in. As far as the timing, it is better to get some down late than none at all. You might still catch some of the late seeds. What rate are you planning to put down?


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Just a note - do not apply pre-e to any area you plan to seed.


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## Tellycoleman (May 10, 2017)

Ok this might get a little long. Ill try to keep it short. 
1) Before you do anything else you need to determine what you put down and how much. Weed and feed could already have Pre-emergent in it. If it does then you will have to wait a 2-3 months or more before you can seed. If you over applied pre-m its gonna be a long time before you can renovate. ( if you applied it in the area of renovation)maya
2) Do not put anymore pre-emergent down until you figure out step 1
3) I Am not sure what is the best choice for bermuda seed. What if last year you seeded in Riviera with the thought of a full renovation this year. Guess what the seed is no longer available this year. SOLD OUT.
4) Do you have Irrigation? Without it you need to stay on top of watering. With 2000 sq feet or less its possible. You will be challenged with Seeding on a hill. Geaorgia 3pm thunderstorms can wash away everything. Wish for no rain and all water supplied by you.

We need pictures. Do you have trees? How much existing grass do you have?
This can be complicated.


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## MrTophatJones (Apr 1, 2019)

Long is helpful to me, plus it's all consolidated into one place. The weed and feed was just stuff from the big box store, Vigoro's Weed and Feed with 2,4-D and Mecoprop. I didn't put any of it in the area where I intend to seed, that's all covered in pine straw. Before seeding, I plan on raking the pine straw away, tilling it, and raking it smooth to remove some of the low spots where water runs and has eroded the soil during heavy rains. I heard of a product called tackifier which helps hold the seed in place on slopes during rain. No irrigation in place, it's going to be a hose and an oscillating sprinkler most likely. I'll try to update with pictures tomorrow, it's getting dark now. There are no trees shading the area I plan on seeding, it gets full sun all day. All of the existing Bermuda gets full sun all day as well.


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## MrTophatJones (Apr 1, 2019)

Here are pictures of the area I'm planning to seed. Estimating it's about 3100 sqft of total area. Would tackifier help me deal with keeping the seed in place on the sloped areas until it germinates?

The Prodiamine arrived late today and I haven't had time to apply it yet- I measured my entire existing lawn and it's about 3300sqft. I think it's 1gal/1000sqft so 3.3 gallons. How much Prodiamine should I mix in?


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## Sbcgenii (May 13, 2018)

That's a lot of shade.


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## Spammage (Apr 30, 2017)

Sbcgenii said:


> That's a lot of shade.


This. That might be the reason it's pine straw now.


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## MrTophatJones (Apr 1, 2019)

I took it close to sundown. I am fairly certain the area gets about 8-10 hours of sun per day now and more mid summer, but can check on that tomorrow. If it's too shady I'm in a zone where I could wait until the fall and seed fescue instead, but I think it gets sufficient sunlight for Bermuda.


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## MrTophatJones (Apr 1, 2019)

Overcast day, but here's the same area receiving full sun today. I was wrong and it didn't hit full sun until about 11am, but stayed sunny until 5pm. During summer it probably gets about 1 more hour, so 6-7 hours full sun. That should be sufficient for Bermuda, correct? Super Sod near me has Maya Bermuda in stock and they say to put down 2lbs/1000sqft, so about 6lbs for the rougly 3000sqft of new lawn area. Is tackifier a good option for keeping the seed on the sloped area, or should I just throw it down and pray that it establishes itself before we get a heavy rain?

I haven't managed to get the Prodiamine down yet but I'm planning on just following a split app with .183oz x 1000sqft. I currently have 3.3k sqft, so ~.6oz of Prodiamine in 3.3gallons. That would be on the existing Bermuda only, not what I am intending to seed. How long after I seed can I apply Prodiamine? 2 months? Should I just wait until the fall app and hit everything with .46oz/1000sqft?

It's going to rain tomorrow and then we'll have a rain free weekend before more rain on Monday according to the forecast. Should I put the Prodiamine down on Sunday in the morning? I'm already pretty late, soil temps are at 60 as of today. There's already a bit of crabgrass in the yard.


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## high leverage (Jun 11, 2017)

I would guess the previous owner laid pine straw for a reason. Sell the house or camouflage any problems.

3000 sq. ft takes very little time to mow.

I would guess the Bermuda will be thin to bare in those areas.

I can wish in one hand and sh!t in the other which do think will fill up first?


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## MrTophatJones (Apr 1, 2019)

Are you saying 6-7 hours of full sun is insufficient or you just don't think it will grow there because the previous owner killed it for reasons other than his personal enjoyment of the property? I spoke with my neighbor who has lived here for 20 years and he said there used to be grass in the side yard. If 6-7 hours of full sun is insufficient for Bermuda establishment that is language I can understand. Otherwise, I will seek other advice besides weird proverbs about shitting in your hand.

If 6-7 hours isn't enough for Bermuda isn't receiving enough sunlight there I can probably head over to the cool season lawn forum and look into seeding TTTF in the fall instead. My adjacent neighbors both have TTTF. The neighbor I spoke with said his TTTF gets brown, patchy spots in the summer and that I should NOT seed TTTF-- though, it looks great now and all through winter. The neighborhood is a pretty even mix of Bermuda, Zoysia, and Fescue. In any case, the soil erosion on the hill due to lack of ground cover needs to be addressed.


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## high leverage (Jun 11, 2017)

MrTophatJones said:


> Are you saying 6-7 hours of full sun is insufficient or you just don't think it will grow there because the previous owner killed it for reasons other than his personal enjoyment of the property? I spoke with my neighbor who has lived here for 20 years and he said there used to be grass in the side yard. If 6-7 hours of full sun is insufficient for Bermuda establishment that is language I can understand. Otherwise, I will seek other advice besides weird proverbs about s--- in your hand.
> 
> If 6-7 hours isn't enough for Bermuda isn't receiving enough sunlight there I can probably head over to the cool season lawn forum and look into seeding TTTF in the fall instead. My adjacent neighbors both have TTTF. The neighbor I spoke with said his TTTF gets brown, patchy spots in the summer and that I should NOT seed TTTF-- though, it looks great now and all through winter. The neighborhood is a pretty even mix of Bermuda, Zoysia, and Fescue. In any case, the soil erosion on the hill due to lack of ground cover needs to be addressed.


Neighbor says use to be 20 years ago when the trees and other vegetation wasn't so mature.

6-7 hours won't give you the quality of turf most member on this site would be satisfied with.

No where near enough light to approach a reel mower height


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## TN Hawkeye (May 7, 2018)

high leverage said:


> MrTophatJones said:
> 
> 
> > Are you saying 6-7 hours of full sun is insufficient or you just don't think it will grow there because the previous owner killed it for reasons other than his personal enjoyment of the property? I spoke with my neighbor who has lived here for 20 years and he said there used to be grass in the side yard. If 6-7 hours of full sun is insufficient for Bermuda establishment that is language I can understand. Otherwise, I will seek other advice besides weird proverbs about s--- in your hand.
> ...


With the pine straw being there for who knows how many years, does he need to worry about the ph of the soil? Isn't pine straw very acidic? Perhaps a soil test on the area would be a good idea before any seed goes down.


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## Spammage (Apr 30, 2017)

If you are getting that much sunlight, you could consider seeding zoysia. I have zoysia thriving in less sunlight than that at 3/4".


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## J_nick (Jan 28, 2017)

Parts of my backyard only get 5-6 hours of sunlight in the summer and the Bermuda grows good. It's not nearly as thick as the front yard that gets noon to dark sunlight but I haven't had any trouble with it thinning out.

It's actually kinda nice that it doesn't get as thick. It's easier to take care of throughout the year since it doesn't get as puffy as the front yard.

One day I'll cut down the trees that block the morning sun so it can get more light but that's more work than I want to do right now.


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## MrTophatJones (Apr 1, 2019)

I decided to go with Princess 77 in the end, our circle drive area (~500sqft) germinated over the weekend. The side yard has not been seeded yet, and we don't have in ground irrigation. We're going out of town for a week the second week of July. Should I just wait until I get back to seed the sideyard, or is about 4 weeks enough time to get it established and not needing daily attention? Front yard took 5 days for germination; seeded last Monday night and saw first signs when I woke up Saturday morning.


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## MrTophatJones (Apr 1, 2019)

Here it is about 10 days after germination. Some bare spots where seed got washed away due to heavy rain.


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## MrTophatJones (Apr 1, 2019)

Encountered a setback yesterday. AT&T has been threatening to dig up my yard for about 3 months to install fiber. I had been trying to wait them out but it seemed like they were never coming so I went ahead and seeded. There's a couple 3'x3'~ holes they dug 5' deep to install their lines. Most of the topsoil and seedlings were buried, clay replaced on top. Existing sodded grass also looking pretty rough. AT&T couldn't pay me to use their services at this point.


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## MrTophatJones (Apr 1, 2019)

Thickening up pretty well about 2.5 weeks after germination. A couple bare spots especially where AT&T dug, but hopefully it starts to spread soon. When should I put down pre-emergent? The weeds are pretty minimal, I've just been hand pulling what I see. I applied .125lb of N last Friday to the 500sqft, will continue at that rate weekly for the remainder of the growing season I think. I'm considering getting the edging pavers level with the ground and dug a couple in. Not sure if I like the look of it, but I think it will make mowing easier and do a better job of keeping the grass out of the bed.


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## TN Hawkeye (May 7, 2018)

MrTophatJones said:


> Thickening up pretty well about 2.5 weeks after germination. A couple bare spots especially where AT&T dug, but hopefully it starts to spread soon. When should I put down pre-emergent? The weeds are pretty minimal, I've just been hand pulling what I see. I applied .125lb of N last Friday to the 500sqft, will continue at that rate weekly for the remainder of the growing season I think. I'm considering getting the edging pavers level with the ground and dug a couple in. Not sure if I like the look of it, but I think it will make mowing easier and do a better job of keeping the grass out of the bed.


Once that fills in it will look amazing. Can't wait to see updates.


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## MrTophatJones (Apr 1, 2019)

Early morning shot. This is about 1.5 months after seeding. Filling in nicely, transplanted some stolons into the bare patches left by AT&T. I probably need to pick up a pro plugger if I want to see some real progress in those areas.


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## ktgrok (May 25, 2019)

My understanding is that pre emergent can prevent spreading/rooting of stolons so I'm trying to not do it until bare spots are filled in. If someone knows otherwise I'd love to find out!


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## MrTophatJones (Apr 1, 2019)

I wish I had just done the whole side yard in one go, but it was a lot of hard work to grade it, especially the hills; it is still very far from perfect by the way. I didn't have enough time to do it all at once and just wanted to get more seed down. I have about 1000sqft that germinated 2 days ago and some that I've already mowed 3 times. I think the last part that I seeded has just enough time to get fully established prior to going dormant in probably mid October.


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