# Need Help with Bermuda Grass "Lawn" in Texas



## kjones1174 (Mar 24, 2021)

Hello, 
My lawn, if you can call it that, needs some serious help. I moved into a newly-built house south of Fort Worth, TX at the end of August last year. This is the first house I have lived in that I was responsible for maintaining the lawn, so I'm admittedly a newbie. As soon as I moved in, I had a sprinkler system installed and had the bare soil hydroseeded with a fescue/bermuda grass mixture by a local contractor who came highly recommended. I watered the lawn multiple times daily, as directed, and applied a 15-15-15 fertilizer after the first mow, which is what the contractor instructed. We did have heavy rains shortly after the lawn was sprayed which washed all the seed off the slopes/culverts. The remaining seed grew well until cold weather set in and the grass went dormant. 
I did not water throughout the winter. This was probably my first mistake. As the weather has gotten warmer lately, the grass is staying brown and weeds are continuing to take over (crabgrass and broadleaf weeds - e.g. thistle). So far this year I have:
- Applied Lesco pre-emergent with fertilizer on 3/6 after first mow (did not scalp);
- Sprayed Revive soil treatment on 3/16;
- Scalped the lawn on 3/17 (?);
- Watered 2-3 times a week.
As seen in photos 1-3, the front yard looks very spotty. The close up photo 3 shows there is some green bermuda coming in, but it doesn't seem very strong. The back yard, photos 4-6 is mostly crabgrass with little to no green bermuda grass. Is there hope here or do I need to start over?


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

I don't see much grass to revive to be honest. A lot of what I'm seeing (and I could be wrong) is Poa Annua and broadleaf weeds. Since you put down Pre-M, you'd have to go with sod vs seed, but thats a much better option anyway.


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## Live Oak (Sep 18, 2020)

With such a high weed to turf ratio (I also don't see much grass), it may just be easier to nuke everything with glypho and sod up with new Bermuda, if that's the type of grass you want.


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## rjw0283 (May 11, 2020)

I'm sure there was a reason for not sodding. It's expensive! If you have the money than do that. If not then wait a bit. 
A lot of weeds. But you can't tell how much Bermuda is in there since it's still waking up. I see a lot of dormant looking Bermuda. Kill the POA, kill the weeds. See how much Bermuda is in there as it wakes up, make it thrive and encourage spread. Or throw money at it and SOD!


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

$1-$2k in sod to add $10-$20k value to your home in this market


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## CenlaLowell (Apr 21, 2017)

No, no ,no, this is what I would do.

Mow at 1-1.5 inches
get some Celsius and Certainty
Get a pre emergent plan
Go to your local feed store and get 36-0-0

Mow, spray, and fertilizer for the ENTIRE season then up date pics. You will make a world of difference


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## kjones1174 (Mar 24, 2021)

rjw0283 said:


> I'm sure there was a reason for not sodding. It's expensive! If you have the money than do that. If not then wait a bit.
> A lot of weeds. But you can't tell how much Bermuda is in there since it's still waking up. I see a lot of dormant looking Bermuda. Kill the POA, kill the weeds. See how much Bermuda is in there as it wakes up, make it thrive and encourage spread. Or throw money at it and SOD!


Yes, i have about 15,000 SF of lawn so not cheap. But probably should have bit the bullet at the time. After speaking today with the contractor who sprayed it, he also thinks the grass is still dormant especially considering the extreme freeze we had 6 weeks ago. He recommended to re-fertilize and just wait for a while and thinks it will start filling in soon. If not, guess I'll have to fork over some $$$. Thanks for the recommendation!


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## kjones1174 (Mar 24, 2021)

SCGrassMan said:


> $1-$2k in sod to add $10-$20k value to your home in this market


I'll give $500 to anyone who finds somebody that will sod my lawn for $2k!


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## kjones1174 (Mar 24, 2021)

CenlaLowell said:


> No, no ,no, this is what I would do.
> 
> Mow at 1-1.5 inches
> get some Celsius and Certainty
> ...


With the lawn being so young and stressed, are the Celsius and Certainty products safe to use or is it kind of a "what-have-i-got-to-lose" approach?


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## CenlaLowell (Apr 21, 2017)

kjones1174 said:


> CenlaLowell said:
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> 
> > No, no ,no, this is what I would do.
> ...


Celsius and certainty will be fine just make SURE you follow label rates and directions.


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## Kicker (Apr 5, 2018)

With your home being new you might have some options with the builder as well.

I do find it odd that you said YOU had the BARE SOIL hydroseeded after you moved in. This would be the first I've ever heard of a new home builder in the DFW area not sodding the lawn (with bare minimum only the front).

If the home builder does in fact provide sod and for some reason your home didn't get it, I'd go to them immediately and have them rectify the situation.

If for some reason they don't provide sod (that's insane) I'd lean towards following @CenlaLowell's suggestions. Use the celsius and certainty for post-emergent solutions. Ammonium Sulfate (21-0-0) is a good option for nitrogen in our area as we tend to have higher pH soil.

Spray the post emergents, Spray/spread fertilizer, water at least twice a week (1/2 inch per session/per zone for 1 inch total per week), mow low and mow often. Reasses later on in the season. Give the bermuda time to show you what it's capable of.


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## ag_fishing (Feb 3, 2021)

This is exactly the same situation I'm in right now and will do something along the lines of what @CenlaLowell suggested and then see where I'm at after this season


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## girevik (Jan 8, 2021)

I can't add much to the discussion but as someone who lives in North Fort Worth I'm wishing you much success.

I picked up some Ammonium Sulfate 21-0-0 at Ewing's yesterday for $13 for 50#. For my rehab project last year I used both straight Urea and AS.... much preferred the AS.


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## turfman73 (May 1, 2018)

Gonna look rough for most of the season but its at least partially Bermuda so there is always hope. You should see a noticeable difference once temps stay in the 80's and higher.

I think @Cenlalowell laid out a good plan. While there is a lot of weeds, I would definitely stick to label rates for weed control. Put more focus on growing the Bermuda back in and it will take care of the weeds.


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## Philly_Gunner (Apr 23, 2019)

I'm also in south FTW, where are you?


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## girevik (Jan 8, 2021)

Me or the OP?

I'm in south Keller near 377 & North Tarrant.


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## Philly_Gunner (Apr 23, 2019)

girevik said:


> Me or the OP?
> 
> I'm in south Keller near 377 & North Tarrant.


OP


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## Tmank87 (Feb 13, 2019)

kjones1174 said:


> SCGrassMan said:
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> > $1-$2k in sod to add $10-$20k value to your home in this market
> ...


Then send them to Charlotte, I'd resod just because.


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

kjones1174 said:


> SCGrassMan said:
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> > $1-$2k in sod to add $10-$20k value to your home in this market
> ...


Do you think it's more than 10 pallets/4500 sq ft?


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## LoveMyLawn (Oct 14, 2019)

You should go with AMS as you N source since I know your Ph is over 7. American Plant Food Corp has a plant in Ft. Worth and a lot of feeds stores in your area stock their products. 50lb bag is $18-20


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## kjones1174 (Mar 24, 2021)

Philly_Gunner said:


> girevik said:
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> > Me or the OP?
> ...


I'm near Whiskey Flats, south of Benbrook.


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## kjones1174 (Mar 24, 2021)

SCGrassMan said:


> kjones1174 said:
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> > SCGrassMan said:
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Yes, I was figuring 31 pallets at $140/pallet - that doesn't include delivery, tax or installation.


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## Philly_Gunner (Apr 23, 2019)

kjones1174 said:


> Philly_Gunner said:
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> > girevik said:
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I live just south of you in Godley. If you ever need any help just shoot me a PM. I'd be happy to swing by. I'm not the most knowledgeable about lawns but I'd say I know more than the average Joe.


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## kjones1174 (Mar 24, 2021)

Philly_Gunner said:


> kjones1174 said:
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> > Philly_Gunner said:
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Might have to take you up on that. I'd be happy to pay for your services in Del Norte Tacos. :bandit:


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## Philly_Gunner (Apr 23, 2019)

kjones1174 said:


> Philly_Gunner said:
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Payment accepted!


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## cldrunner (May 14, 2019)

@kjones1174



> Yes, I was figuring 31 pallets at $140/pallet - that doesn't include delivery, tax or installation.


I think your calculation is about right. Most of the time if you get 8-10 pallets they waive the delivery. Usually the install would be about the the same price per pallet. If you had any interest in doing it yourself and find a teenager to help you could spread the install over a few weekends.

From the looks of the pictures I would look at at least doing a full glysophate kill over 2-3 applications and re sod. You will be very happy with the look of the new sod.

16K is a big yard. I would recommend some type of riding mower and a tow behind sprayer. If you only go the push route I would highly recommend a Toro TimeMaster 30 inch to cut down on your mow time.


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

kjones1174 said:


> SCGrassMan said:
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> > kjones1174 said:
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Yeah I guess I missed the "1" in front of 4,500 Sq Ft 😂

At 31 pallets you're gonna need a crew to put that out as well. In my area, any decent meth head worth his bath salts can be had for $125 a day. Get you about 12 guys and that sod and you're probably closer to 5-6k all in.

But you gotta have irrigation first!


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## quintafresnos (Mar 3, 2021)

The soil looks very poor to me. I'd be starting with black soil, manure, and peat before grass.


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## p1muserfan (Jul 7, 2019)

The soil is fine. I will echo what @CenlaLowell said. The only thing I would change from his plan is to buy a balanced fert, like a 15-5-10. This was my rehab project last summer. The first picture was June 3rd, the second was September 9th. I cut it twice a week, watered the days after cutting, and fertilized every month.


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## kjones1174 (Mar 24, 2021)

So I did the Celcius/Certainty treatment about 2.5 weeks ago and it is working well. As the weeds die, I'm getting a better idea of where i have grass and where the bare spots are. Some of the bare spots are pretty big and are going to take a while to fill in (i plan to use the pro plugger to help spread but it will still take some time).

My fertilizer plan is to apply 15-5-10 twice in May at 0.5 lb N/1000SF each time. Then I plan to switch to 28-0-0 for the rest of the summer using the same application rate.

Will applying fertilizer to the bare areas result in fungus growth since there is nothing there to 'eat' it? Do i need to be selective about where i spread the fertilizer and focus on the spots that have good growth?


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