# Burning Bermuda



## BadDad (Mar 13, 2019)

Long time lurker first time poster... I did a thing.

Dethatched manual raked and rotary mowed my brown carpet on some test strips since I have never used the greenworks dethatcher since I bought it on sale in winter. It looked ok, damp soil made it hard to pick it all up with rotatary so I got the weed dragon out and burned some in my small areas.

Gonna go burn for the main event the rest of the front with my hose running since apparently Bermuda burns like dry pine haha

Thanks for all the help, this board and its YouTube members helped a guy that bought his first house in the south after being raised on caring for lawns in SoCal... it's harder here haha


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Welcome to TLF! I often wish I had the courage to burn off my lawn. :lol:


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## lvlikeyv (Jan 26, 2019)

Yea, I'm a risk reward kind of guy myself. Seems like people have had good enough success with scalp and dethatch.
I feel like if my neighbors saw me doing this I'd have the fire department and police at my house within minutes. Lol
If it works, more power to you.


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## Art_Vandelay (Nov 20, 2018)

Laughing at the "Baddad" user name and the kid with a propane torch


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## TheTurfTamer (Aug 8, 2018)

Welcome!! Where in the TN Valley are you ?


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## BakerGreenLawnMaker (Mar 13, 2018)

Art_Vandelay said:


> Laughing at the "Baddad" user name and the kid with a propane torch


 :lol: :lol: me too!


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## BadDad (Mar 13, 2019)

Glad you guys got the forum name joke. I am in Madison thanks for the welcome.

I wouldn't recommend burning a couple inches of Bermuda... it goes and sound like pine needles, it was quick. But I only had a bit of it left in some wet clay, not a lot of fuel and barely burned as is. Prob not wise if your neighbor has the typical Alabama three inches of Bermuda some serious hose management would need to go on or their lawn will be black hehe.

I really wanted to do the rest of my front lawn just rotary mow and burn today but the wind is saying hard no at the moment.


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## dfw_pilot (Jan 28, 2017)

I really do think burning is the most efficient and effective way to do it. I live in the burbs where I just can't.


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## thatlawnguy (Aug 16, 2018)

You could always invite these guys over. :lol:

Warning for language if you have kids in the room.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keQr63oteVg&t=33

-tlg


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## Art_Vandelay (Nov 20, 2018)

That was 21 seconds of my life I'll never get back. Broooo


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## BadDad (Mar 13, 2019)

dfw_pilot said:


> I really do think burning is the most efficient and effective way to do it. I live in the burbs where I just can't.


I'm in the burbiest soccer mommiest city I have ever been in. I was super nervous just doing the small areas surrounded by brick and rock haha. I couldn't find any laws against it, and everyone has outside fire pits in Alabama. Hard to explain the burn, it's less than a candle little to no smoke and doesn't stay burning more than a blink of eye.

Super bummed the wind never stopped, maybe in two days I'll do the rest. I am sure I screwed my preemergent barrier up with the tools and flame.


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## Art_Vandelay (Nov 20, 2018)

BadDad said:


> dfw_pilot said:
> 
> 
> > I really do think burning is the most efficient and effective way to do it. I live in the burbs where I just can't.
> ...


Nah it won't hurt anything. The only thing I've seen is piling up a lot of thatch or leaves and burning that will lead to a dead spot for a while because of the prolonged heat. But it'll be back pretty quickly


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## Brackin4au (Jun 13, 2018)

BadDad said:


> dfw_pilot said:
> 
> 
> > I really do think burning is the most efficient and effective way to do it. I live in the burbs where I just can't.
> ...


Just FYI, I live in Madison as well, and I called the fire marshall last week to see if I needed a permit to burn mine, and he said it's not allowed in Madison city limits. Granted, I have seen others doing it, less than a mile from me. But the fire marshall said no. Do with that info whatever you want, just figured I would give you a heads up that you could get busted and fined.

I wish now I had just done it and hoped nobody called the fire dept on me. But now I'm pretty much black listed since he knows my name and general area that I live haha. So if I got caught I couldn't plead ignorance.


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## WDE46 (Mar 11, 2019)

So we've got three Madison people here I see.


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## BadDad (Mar 13, 2019)

WDE46 said:


> So we've got three Madison people here I see.


Crazy for a small city.


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## J_nick (Jan 28, 2017)

I could burn mine since I'm out of city limits as long as I called the fire department for a burn permit but don't have the cahonies to do it.


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## lambert (Sep 12, 2018)

Looks like he is pretty close to that Sentricon bait station.


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## LowCountryCharleston (Jun 21, 2018)

thatlawnguy said:


> You could always invite these guys over. :lol:
> 
> Warning for language if you have kids in the room.
> 
> ...


Haha that was fantastic. "Yo Bro Landscaping Company" LLC


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## jonthepain (May 5, 2018)

Ironically that will be the nicest lawn on the street when it greens up. Then they'll probably try to charge momma for the service yo


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## BadDad (Mar 13, 2019)

J_nick said:


> I could burn mine since I'm out of city limits as long as I called the fire department for a burn permit but don't have the cahonies to do it.


Want me to send my son over? 😂


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## BadDad (Mar 13, 2019)

lambert said:


> Looks like he is pretty close to that Sentricon bait station.


He is drawn to them like a moth to flame... I had to say stop melting the plastic on repeat.


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## BadDad (Mar 13, 2019)

The looks some people driving and walking by gave me said I was on to something right...

I mowed with rotary before, smoke was a bit much for a housing tract if I didn't.


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## SGrabs33 (Feb 13, 2017)

BadDad said:


> The looks some people driving and walking by gave me said I was on to something right...
> 
> I mowed with rotary before, smoke was a bit much for a housing tract if I didn't.


Nice! Do you have a close up? Does it mainly get just the leaves or the stems too?


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## BadDad (Mar 13, 2019)

SGrabs33 said:


> BadDad said:
> 
> 
> > The looks some people driving and walking by gave me said I was on to something right...
> ...




For me it burned all the way to the dry grass/thatch immediately touching the clay.

The areas I scalped, detached and burnt are down to dirt. What is left of the black disentegrated with touch or water


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## w0lfe (Mar 19, 2018)

I'm curious how fast it greens compared to the surrounding lawns


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## BadDad (Mar 13, 2019)

w0lfe said:


> I'm curious how fast it greens compared to the surrounding lawns


Yeah me too. So far all it's done is show the green winter weeds around the edge of concrete lol.


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## jonthepain (May 5, 2018)

Typically greens up earlier than non-burned bermudagrass


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## Tellycoleman (May 10, 2017)

Ware said:


> Welcome to TLF! I often wish I had the courage to burn off my lawn. :lol:


Ware I burnt my lawn last week. You can do it. I was nervous however it will be very boring for you. It was for me. If you maintained your lawn at or below 1/2 inch then the burn is very very slow. I simply put 6 five gallon buckets around my lawn and made a fire line then set it off. I didn't even cover my sprinklers with sand. With low Bermuda you don't even see the flame it just like water running over your yard. You Do want a little wind because it will be hard to burn sub 0.5 inch. 
Most places have fire ordinances and you must check with fire marshal before you burn. You have to have wind less than 12 mph, humidity below 60% and you must be present one hour after burn- and your burn must be completed before sunset. Those are the rules in Davidson -Rutherford-Wilson county in Tennessee. Other states may vary. 
Below is a picture of mine. I had to go back and finish the burn with a torch. 
Things I did wrong 
1) wore my good shoes
2) didn't video tape it

Advice
1) after your done and there is no rain in the forecast you Must get down about an inch of water. Why? Your wife will absolutely kill you over the ashy footprints you or the kids will put everywhere. 
2) must water in if you have pets. They will track it in. Dogs can get irritated noses and a bad cough from sniffing ashes. Leave a trail un burned if you have to take your pets out. 
3) the fire may not burn all the weeds immediately but the heat will render them toast in a few days. I will take pictures of my wild onions that survived the flame but died very quickly after
4) get ready I already have green up


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Looks good @Tellycoleman !


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## w0lfe (Mar 19, 2018)

Did you all burn before or after pre m has been put down? I would assume before, but I wonder if the heat would have any affect on an existing pre m barrier


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## BadDad (Mar 13, 2019)

I got green Bermuda in the first area I burned... unhealthy spot next to AC shaded by fence. Pretty quick.

The more experienced yard guy above is right... if you start with sub one inch of dormant Bermuda fuel it burns super slow super low key and takes for ever. I got impatient with my big chunk yesterday in front that is rotary mowed.... I had a few hundred feet of hose and a jet nozzle just Incase it wanted to spread to my neighbors yard.

I sprayed the fence and that stopped it from spreading to my back yard of weeds.


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## BadDad (Mar 13, 2019)

w0lfe said:


> Did you all burn before or after pre m has been put down? I would assume before, but I wonder if the heat would have any affect on an existing pre m barrier


I burnt and scalped and detached after and before a pre em app. I don't think I needed the post burn application but I wanted to be safe and had some left over of a diff type of pre em.


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## TheOneWhoKnocks (May 22, 2018)

I did about 6,000 square feet this morning in front and side yards. Raked and then watered after. It just looks like muddy grass now.


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## Tellycoleman (May 10, 2017)

w0lfe said:


> Did you all burn before or after pre m has been put down? I would assume before, but I wonder if the heat would have any affect on an existing pre m barrier


This is a question I asked Matt Martin in a Sunday Q&A about 3 weeks Ago. Even though there hasn't been any studies to prove it. From his own experience those lawns in Memphis that would burn after the pre-m treatment would have decreased efficacy. So they would have more weeds at the end of the summer than those who burned then put down pre-m. I guess fire at 1500 degrees F can deminish it's longevity. 
But hey use a split application. Problem solved


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## GeneIV (Apr 11, 2017)

BadDad said:


> WDE46 said:
> 
> 
> > So we've got three Madison people here I see.
> ...


It's even smaller...I live in the same subdivision as BadDad, and can confirm 100% he burned his front yard! Will be following the growth progress compared to mine. I will only be scalping my yard.

It even was even mentioned on our Nextdoor group. "It makes the grass come back greener cuz it burns out the thatch. An old southern trick!"


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## BadDad (Mar 13, 2019)

GeneIV said:


> BadDad said:
> 
> 
> > WDE46 said:
> ...


Hahaha hilarious... dude I started with a rough sad weed yard, hope you enjoyed the huge flag last summer scalped into it.

I'll be out there all season again learning how to landscape and trim bushes now that the Bermuda looks ok


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## Two9tene (May 27, 2018)

I have thought about doing this in the past after watching the fires off of the freeway green up days later. Didn't think this was a real "tool" people utilized to "scalp" the lawn!

[media]https://youtu.be/gCs_Xix9RGA[/media]


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

I'll just leave this here...

https://youtu.be/skxtFBm7YDw


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## dfw_pilot (Jan 28, 2017)

Ware said:


>


Ah, the next TLF giveaway item.


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## Two9tene (May 27, 2018)

Just watched @wardconnor 's latest vid on the tubes, and figured he might wanna see something to get his mind off of the snow! Lol


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## wardconnor (Mar 25, 2017)

oh man.. that thing is awesome. that would be so freaking fun to play with..

I was thinking about snowblowing all the snow away.


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## BadDad (Mar 13, 2019)

Elon Musk made a not a flame thrower


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## Brackin4au (Jun 13, 2018)

dfw_pilot said:


> Ware said:
> 
> 
> >
> ...


+1 :thumbup: :nod: :nod: :nod:


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## BadDad (Mar 13, 2019)

Green haze starting in my front lawn even with 3-4 nights of frost and freezing temps.

Back yard not "treated" has zero green Bermuda, can see some dallis or quack waking up tho


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## BadDad (Mar 13, 2019)

Forgot about this thread...Ok so it works, I beat up the lawn with preemergent, a detatcher I lowered into the dirt, hit with a later than I wanted post emergent, and The frost... it just wouldn't stop.

walked around neighborhood and the other yards (even ones that are taken care of and scalped/detached) can't compare in terms of green Bermuda.

One negative is while lawn was bare some poa moved in and apparently quack or Dallis grass loves to be burnt as well.

Another downside was the negative attention even other well taken care of lawn owners gave my house... I do the front for my family, I don't care if people think I'm the whacko but it reflects on the kids and boss lady. Even the lady who lets her dog shit in my lawn regularly had some stuff to say online and in person. Amazingly enough my immediate neighbors (also California transplants) thought I was doing good stuff and knew why.

Personal verdict. It works and it ain't debatable on how well it works... screw scalping and bagging for days on end. I will be burning my backyard next spring (not the dog run cuz the black paw tracks) and using the detacher and scalping front next year to avoid the negative Nancys worrying about my property in a neighborhood full of 3 feet tall weeds.

Green Bermuda mowing has already begun whenever the ground isn't soggy. Happy spring my lawn care dudes.


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## dfw_pilot (Jan 28, 2017)

Who cares what the neighbors think?


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## BadDad (Mar 13, 2019)

Not sure this does justice, already mowed, with bag full of green clippings.


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## BadDad (Mar 13, 2019)

dfw_pilot said:


> Who cares what the neighbors think?


We on same page, maybe it's me being mr nice guy and screwing myself.


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## dfw_pilot (Jan 28, 2017)

But was it Bermuda?

Baseball field set on fire so it would dry faster


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## TN Hawkeye (May 7, 2018)

dfw_pilot said:


> But was it Bermuda?
> 
> Baseball field set on fire so it would dry faster


WOW! Judging from the picture they weren't even burning the grass. They were burning the dirt. That's a special kind of stupid right there.


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

They poured gasoline on the dirt and then set that on fire. Stupid. Have they not heard of propane burners.


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## Two9tene (May 27, 2018)

dfw_pilot said:


> But was it Bermuda?
> 
> Baseball field set on fire so it would dry faster


EPA must have had a "field day" with this one, pun intended!


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