# Gathering My Own Bermuda Sprigs



## andymac7 (Oct 30, 2018)

Hey all!

If you can tell, it's only my second day as a member to this forum, so I'm probably a bit overly excited to be here. Lol.

However, I have a question about actually gathering your own bermuda sprigs. This seems easy enough, I know, either by just gathering runners that have invaded flower beds or just going at healthy patches with a rake. But is there a tried and true method you all have used to gather your own sprigs for replanting or spreading your bermuda? I've even considered buying some soil trays and growing them indoors with grow lights to create my own plugs . Would this even work now through the winter so I can have fresh bermuda to plug in the spring? I assume bermuda doesn't "need" to go dormant or have a certain chill period. Thoughts?

Thanks so much!

-Andy


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## Movingshrub (Jun 12, 2017)

Are you trying to take sprigs from the existing stand and make plugs?

Are you trying to harvest sprigs and plant into an area with nothing?

I could use some more info on the goal.

If you're trying to harvest a bunch, a dethatcher/verticutter can be used.


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## andymac7 (Oct 30, 2018)

Movingshrub said:


> Are you trying to take sprigs from the existing stand and make plugs?
> 
> Are you trying to harvest sprigs and plant into an area with nothing?
> 
> ...


Option 1. I'm trying to make plugs to be used to plant in the spring in weak areas or bare spots that may occur. Also, I just purchased a warm season grass herbicide that will be hopefully injuring or killing off cool season grasses, and I will be also plugging in those areas.


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## Bermuda_Newbie (Jun 15, 2018)

I think @Redtenchu did a video of how to do this on small scale. I don't know where to find it or how to link to it. Youtube?


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## andymac7 (Oct 30, 2018)

Bermuda_Newbie said:


> I think @Redtenchu did a video of how to do this on small scale. I don't know where to find it or how to link to it. Youtube?


Hmm, couldn't find it. I will keep looking.


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## Bermuda_Newbie (Jun 15, 2018)

I found it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtLu9OQPZbU&t=18s


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## andymac7 (Oct 30, 2018)

Bermuda_Newbie said:


> I found it.


Awesome! Thanks @Bermuda_Newbie

That's pretty much the process I was gonna use, except I was gonna take the sprigs inside and put them in a soil tray and dome. So now that I know the procedure, again, what about doing it the way I am? Can I try growing the bermuda through the winter with a grow light and putting it in a sunny window?


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## Bermuda_Newbie (Jun 15, 2018)

@andymac7

This last summer, I made some plugs using cut up sod and buried them in my fescue to try and convert it to bermuda. In doing so, I had some leftover pieces that were in the wheelbarrow I was using. When I say leftover pieces, it just looked like some dried bermuda strands. I didn't think it was still alive. We piled some of the fescue sod we removed on top. It was around 105 all week. A week later, the "dead" bermuda pieces had started sprouting underneath the fescue in the wheelbarrow. The stuff is incredible. It will grow anywhere.

I'm pretty sure you could grow them through the winter with a grow light but it might be easier to just wait until spring green up and then harvest a bunch of put them and put them straight in the ground. You could also look at doing what I did which is buy a couple of pieces of sod, cut it up and bury it with sand in your dead spots and watch it fill in.


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## Movingshrub (Jun 12, 2017)

Is inside your house going to be warm enough to drive bermuda growth?



Bermuda_Newbie said:


> I'm pretty sure you could grow them through the winter with a grow light but it might be easier to just wait until spring green up and then harvest a bunch of put them and put them straight in the ground. You could also look at doing what I did which is buy a couple of pieces of sod, cut it up and bury it with sand in your dead spots and watch it fill in.


I'm voting for this approach.

Whichever route you go, please document.


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## andymac7 (Oct 30, 2018)

Movingshrub said:


> Is inside your house going to be warm enough to drive bermuda growth?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


@Movingshrub It's quite possible that I'm looking for something to get me through winter.  I agree that pulling sprigs would be best upon green up next year. We keep our house below 70 at all times, so my guess is growing bermuda indoors would be a pretty slow process anyway.


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## andymac7 (Oct 30, 2018)

... even still, the video that @Bermuda_Newbie posted was very helpful in regards to sprigging yourself.


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## Movingshrub (Jun 12, 2017)

If you want to do something inside to get you through the winter, get some rye grass and grow yourself a little sod section inside, or hell, do a rye overseed on your entire yard.


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## Redtenchu (Jan 28, 2017)

It's not hard to grow Bermuda inside during the winter, keep a light on it 12-14 hours a day with some water and a little fertilizer. If you keep incandescent lights at the correct distance it will keep the temperature up So the Bermuda grows quickly.


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## andymac7 (Oct 30, 2018)

Movingshrub said:


> If you want to do something inside to get you through the winter, get some rye grass and grow yourself a little sod section inside, or hell, do a rye overseed on your entire yard.


I do like the way you think @Movingshrub Lol. 

Why do I feel like I could talk about growing grass all day? Haha! And for that matter, growing things in general. I have 4 palm trees in the ground outside in southern OH.  (but I know, different forum)


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## andymac7 (Oct 30, 2018)

Redtenchu said:


> It's not hard to grow Bermuda inside during the winter, keep a light on it 12-14 hours a day with some water and a little fertilizer. If you keep incandescent lights at the correct distance it will keep the temperature up So the Bermuda grows quickly.


This is very encouraging @Redtenchu! Yes, incandescents would warm things up nicely, thanks!


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## Tellycoleman (May 10, 2017)

Hello fellow Yukon 
Do you have any leftover seed? When was your yard seeded. Year 2 after seeding if a million times better than year 1 
Sprigs will work but will be slower to spread than if you had a handful of seeds grown indoors.
I plugged a large area this year using a pro plugger. Unless you have a greenhouse and plan on growing a huge amount it will probably be easier and faster to pro plug all weak areas. If you decide to use pgr next year I can give you good rates. Yukon is sensitive


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## andymac7 (Oct 30, 2018)

Tellycoleman said:


> Hello fellow Yukon
> Do you have any leftover seed? When was your yard seeded. Year 2 after seeding if a million times better than year 1
> Sprigs will work but will be slower to spread than if you had a handful of seeds grown indoors.
> I plugged a large area this year using a pro plugger. Unless you have a greenhouse and plan on growing a huge amount it will probably be easier and faster to pro plug all weak areas. If you decide to use pgr next year I can give you good rates. Yukon is sensitive


Hi @Tellycoleman. Nice to chat with someone who also grows Yukon! I also have a ProPlugger and have used it all year. It did help a lot to fill in winter kill areas from last years horrible cold. I'll keep using it for sure.

Unfortunately I do not have any seed left this year. I used it to overseed weak areas, and, I actually did try to sow it in jiffy pots indoors under grow lights. It did not work for me at all. I had a few weak sprouts of grass after about 2 months. I'm hoping the sprigs will do better for me, so we'll see.


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## andymac7 (Oct 30, 2018)

Whoops! Who put this here? :roll: (sheepish grin)



Yeah, so.. I couldn't resist. And yup the sprigs are looking pretty dormant at this point. I have misted them with a 20-10-10 fert and kept those 2 grow lights on them for a couple days. Soo, we'll see.


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## melliott2005 (Jul 8, 2018)

That is awesome. Please keep us updated.


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## Movingshrub (Jun 12, 2017)

You're going to need to keep them wet. Expect them to look dead in about a week or two. If they still look that way at week three, then you didn't keep them from drying out.


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## andymac7 (Oct 30, 2018)

Movingshrub said:


> You're going to need to keep them wet. Expect them to look dead in about a week or two. If they still look that way at week three, then you didn't keep them from drying out.


Thanks @Movingshrub. Yeah, I figured keeping them misted would be key. However, how much should I worry about mold with sprigs? Seems like I'm always fighting that when I try to grow from seed.


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## andymac7 (Oct 30, 2018)

I think we're in business!! 



Took this just now after misting, so I know it looks very wet. I'm watching closely for any signs of mold, and so far so good! I'm encouraged since it's not even been two weeks! I just ordered a heat mat that should be in any day, so I'm hoping for a boost from that as well.


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## Movingshrub (Jun 12, 2017)

Fun! Throw down some fast release N! Considering the size, you may want to dilute it into water and mist it on rather than tying to do a small amount of granular pellets.


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## andymac7 (Oct 30, 2018)

Movingshrub said:


> Fun! Throw down some fast release N! Considering the size, you may want to dilute it into water and mist it on rather than tying to do a small amount of granular pellets.


Thanks @Movingshrub!. I actually did put a little Miracid in my spray bottle. I chose it because it has high nitrogen. Do you think that will work?


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## Movingshrub (Jun 12, 2017)

I can't find the contents label online but I assume as long as there is an N source that is plant available, you should be good to go.


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

Miracid is 30-10-10 and most of the N is from Urea and the rest from Ammonium Phosphate and Potassium Nitrate. Good stuff for this purpose. Commercially, Peters makes a 30-10-10 and calls it a high N special.


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## andymac7 (Oct 30, 2018)

Greendoc said:


> Miracid is 30-10-10 and most of the N is from Urea and the rest from Ammonium Phosphate and Potassium Nitrate. Good stuff for this purpose. Commercially, Peters makes a 30-10-10 and calls it a high N special.


Kool @Greendoc, thanks! I also have had my heating pad underneath and things have really seemed to take off now! I will post a pic soon.


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## andymac7 (Oct 30, 2018)

Progress Report!

I'm happy with all the green, however, I have a little concern. Doesn't this look like an awful lot of vertical growth for bermuda? If so, could it be because my grow lights just aren't strong enough? I have hit it twice with the Miracid, and even trimmed it back a couple times also. So, it seems to be growing very quickly. And, I know it will probably be a while until I see runners, but I'd be interested in you'all's thoughts.


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## Movingshrub (Jun 12, 2017)

Nitrogen can drive vertical growth. I'd come up with a length/HOC, and start trimming it all back regularly. Are you leaving the grow light on 24h?


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## andymac7 (Oct 30, 2018)

Movingshrub said:


> Nitrogen can drive vertical growth. I'd come up with a length/HOC, and start trimming it all back regularly. Are you leaving the grow light on 24h?


Ahh ok. @Movingshrub. I thought N just pushed growth in general. Interesting. Yeah, I'm thinking I might try approx. 1.5" and keep it trimmed there. Is that too high? As a reminder, this is Yukon, so I've heard the seeded bermudas are more vertical in nature. And no, the grow lights are on about 14 hrs. I do keep the heating pad underneath on all the time however.


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