# a_chan Common Bermuda Lawn Journal



## a_chan (May 4, 2020)

Starting a lawn journal on here w/ photos after my first season with the lawn. I'm assuming I have common bermuda given the way it grows, texture, and color.

Lawn by the #'s

1,100 sqft
starting HOC 1.25"
2 zones, 8 heads each
Hunter MP1000's on Hunter PRS30's throughout, Hunter PRS40 w/ check valves on last row near street

Photos of current state of the lawn


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## a_chan (May 4, 2020)

Goals for 2021

Bring HOC down to about 0.75"
Aerate and sand leveling around Feb/Mar
Clear out crabgrass, remaining kikuyu, and nutsedge (I'm sure this will be a multi-season issue)
Waypoint soil test (probably doing this in Nov/Dec this year)
Level out/fill the large hole (top of 2nd photo)
Start PGR program


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## dubyadubya87 (Mar 10, 2020)

I suggest starting a pre-em program to your goals. Unfortunately, I don't think your crabgrass will die off over the winter like it does in other parts of the country. But starting a pre-em program, yesterday, would be high on my list. Catch them before they come up.


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## a_chan (May 4, 2020)

dubyadubya87 said:


> I suggest starting a pre-em program to your goals. Unfortunately, I don't think your crabgrass will die off over the winter like it does in other parts of the country. But starting a pre-em program, yesterday, would be high on my list. Catch them before they come up.


I've got Isoxaben and Prodiamine on hold until temps lower just a tad more. It's still hovering around 86-93F out here in SoCal. Might be spraying those next week when temps go down to low 80s/high 70s.


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## a_chan (May 4, 2020)

Tank mixed Isoxaben (high rate, 0.5oz/m) and Prodiamine (high rate, 0.41oz/m) to apply for fall pre-em. Had to swap out one of the sprinkler nozzles to get better coverage on an awkward corner of my lawn.

Pulled up a couple of these and noticing that they're growing pretty aggressively. I'm pretty sure this is kikuyu as it doesn't look like torpedograss. On the fence about trying to spot spray this with Quinclorac in the next week or two.


Also tried fixing this huge (3' x 2') hole again this season, this time trying to dig up the sod in pieces and filling underneath with 50/50 dirt/sand mix to stabilize it. Not sure if I should just fill it with dirt/sand instead of digging it up to get it more level as this is the only real major trouble spot on the lawn in terms of leveling. It's about 4-5" deep compared to the surrounding area and probably my 3rd time trying to tackle fixing it.


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## a_chan (May 4, 2020)

Back at it for the 2021 season. Had a lot of personal things going on since October and apparently ran into a mole problem that festered.

Current state of the lawn as of today. Last mow was Saturday. Brown patch is from recovering area after a mole trap attempt.



Crater from last season looks better and is harder to tell in this bottom photo. Tempted to just dump dirt once I get the GM1000 running and compacting the dirt to level a bit. It has been 2 attempts so far to cut the sod which was way too much of a gamble for a hole of this size.


Soil test just received from Waypoint Memphis.


So far have not applied any nutrients due to waiting for the soil test. Put down 11.7 grams/M of Prodiamine, 14 grams/M Isoxaben for spring pre-em on 4/4. Noticed some Poa annua in the yard this spring as well from fall germination (will need to adjust timing later this year).

Season goals this year:

Get GM1000 full operational and HOC at 0.75"
HOPEFULLY catch the mole causing issues in the yard
Somewhat lawn related but redoing the beds/borders. Runs into the mole concern currently
Eliminate most of the dallisgrass remaining from the last two seasons
Start PGR program (expecting a newborn and not sure how much mowing I can get done next few months)
Fix most of the nutrient deficiencies outlined in the soil test. Most likely testing again next year.
Eliminate as much of the remaining Kikuyu. Will pick up repeated Quinclorac applications starting in a week.


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## a_chan (May 4, 2020)

Current state of lawn with major weeds I'm looking to tackle this season. Both of my reel mowers are out currently so I'm stuck using the Honda rotary for now given my time constraint for repairs. Hoping to spray Certainty and Celsius for most of these sometime this week, and biggest concern being the nutsedge. The 200-300sqft section of Kikuyu will probably be spot sprayed this upcoming week with Quinclorac to kill/suppress again for the season.

Looks like creeping woodsorrel here. Only a patch or two in the lawn currently.


One of about four dallisgrass "spots". Will try to hit with glypho as temperatures heat up just so the bermuda can recover over it.

The two main spots of nutsedge that have slightly taken over the lawn. I'm not sure if there are more optimal temperatures to apply the Certainty to tackle it but I figure warmer temps would benefit more.


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## a_chan (May 4, 2020)

Lawn has been neglected mostly due to child care. Managed to apply Prodiamine (11.7 grams) and Isoxaben (14 grams) 10/15/21 as well as 04/03/22. Noticed that there was almost no Poa Annua this year so I will most likely stick to this pre-m schedule for effectiveness.

Overview of current state of the lawn. Lots of dead material in the center and in need of an actual scalp. 


Dry spot that hasn't been getting as much water. Will need to diagnose the situation and hope that it can be fixed before the SoCal heat.

Still have quite the abundant nutsedge problem. Not sure that my 4yo Certainty will still be effective but this season will be a test since I have more time to apply as intended.

Dallisgrass that has been remaining since last year. I have just been hand pulling what I had time for with emphasis on seeds so it wouldn't spread more than what has already established.


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## a_chan (May 4, 2020)

Post first scalp after running a Sunjoe dethatcher at 0 with 2 passes and HRR at lowest setting.




This is after scalping with the GM1000 at 0.5". I didn't get a chance to clear the edge and will most likely do that today while putting down the sand. Looking to pick up mason sand from HD since that's my most convenient option. Estimating about 3 bags for a cubic yard to cover the entire lawn. Surprisingly took off more green than I expected with the GM.



The two dark green spots in the center and top are the two depressions that I will try to clear with a string trimmer before filling with some dirt I have and then leveling with sand after.


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## a_chan (May 4, 2020)

Managed 2 of the 3 bags of sand today to put down. Used sprinkler flags to portion out the lawn to try to dump piles evenly. Tried to knock down some of the piles with a 48" R&R leveling rake which was more difficult than I anticipated. Will be looking into a drag mat next year for the next leveling project.

Goals for tomorrow will be to have the last bag of sand put down and to use the rake on the entire lawn. Edges and the two craters in the lawn will need to be hit with string trimmer and filled with dirt prior to the last bag of sand. Not sure what amount of N I will be putting down as this will be the first application of the season (thinking around .75lb to get the lawn to recover). Also planning to start a PGR program and maintain height at around 0.75" this season.


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## a_chan (May 4, 2020)

Managed to find time to finish the edges and get in the first mow post leveling. Put down 2lbs Urea for roughly 1lb N two days ago and watered in. Starting at 0.75" and most likely will move up to 1" by end of the season. Will be mowing every 2-3 days until it's filled in a bit and can start PGR.

GM picked up some sand so fingers crossed that the spin grind will last the season given the size of the yard. I'm still seeing the mower dip into some of the deeper undulations with heavy sand so I will most likely need a fair amount of leveling passes to go.


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## a_chan (May 4, 2020)

Went for another mow two days ago and seeing a bit more green in some sections. I'll probably do a water audit and adjust this weekend due to watering restrictions in the area. Hoping to have most of the lawn green in the next month to apply PGR and also planning to put down some Anderson's Black Gypsum DG monthly to help with a bit of the runoff.


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