# Recommended Fertilizer for 'Common' Bermuda Seed?



## Twister (Jun 21, 2019)

Hello all! Greetings from the windy place known as Oklahoma!

I apologize for my curtness in my very first TLF post but it is 12:50AM Saturday and in 8 hours I need to be outside trying to finish re-seeding a bare area of my Bermuda lawn before weather rolls in around 2PM this afternoon (Saturday).

Question: _Does anyone have a fertilizer brand they'd recommend to help jumpstart common Bermuda from seed?_ I have an area slightly less than 300 sq ft (previously common Bermuda) that has become mostly bare dirt primarily due to poor irrigation practices on that part of my lawn for almost a year. I added screened topsoil to the area yesterday to replace what was lost due to water erosion. Then today I roughed up/scarified the area and laid down the Bermuda seed by hand. And then I realized I had to forgot to research any fertilizers! :roll: To make matters worse I confess I do not have a current soil sample.

I did a search on the forum here and found the 'Bermuda Bible' recommends a generic 2:1 ratio of Nitrogen to Potassium but does anyone have a specific brand/level that would be available via Lowe's or Wal-Mart? (Sorry, that's all my town has for lawn products.) If I don't get any good recommendations I will use either "Scott's Turf Builder Starter" (21-22-4) or "Sta-Green Lawn Starter" (18-24-6).

After I get this project done tomorrow I intend to post pix of this challenging project on a slope. My wife thinks I am crazy but I vow to come off conqueror. :nod:

Many thanks in advance!


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## ktgrok (May 25, 2019)

it is my understanding that it is better to wait to apply fertilizer until after germination, at least. That the seed has no way to absorb or utilize the nutrients, so chances are a decent amount will be washed away in the rain before the grass is mature enough to need it. The bag of Scott's Starter fertilizer says to apply two weeks after, planting seed, others say "after germination" which for Bermuda is 7-14 days, and my local University Turf program says 30 days after planting.


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## Batsonbe (May 9, 2019)

I'm putting down 10-10-10 hopefully planting in the next week. @Greendoc. I think he stated a 1-1 ratio is ideal. I can't recall if it wasn't, I apologize if not.


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## Twister (Jun 21, 2019)

ktgrok said:


> it is my understanding that it is better to wait to apply fertilizer until after germination, at least. That the seed has no way to absorb or utilize the nutrients, so chances are a decent amount will be washed away in the rain before the grass is mature enough to need it. The bag of Scott's Starter fertilizer says to apply two weeks after, planting seed, others say "after germination" which for Bermuda is 7-14 days, and my local University Turf program says 30 days after planting.


I just checked the bag of "Scott's Turf Builder Starter" and it says to apply the fertilizer "before" watering new seed for the first time. What you say about waiting makes sense but that's what the Scott's bag says. A nation-wide grass seed company based in my town (Johnston Seed) is where I bought the Bermuda from and the seed bag instructions say to also apply fertilizer at the time of planting the seed. ???

Thx to ktgrok & Batsonbe for replying. Anyone else care to give a recommendation?


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## ktgrok (May 25, 2019)

What state are you in? I know Florida has different regulations about fertilizer ad the Scott's bag is different here due to that, maybe that is why the difference?


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## Twister (Jun 21, 2019)

Ok, just got back from a quick trip to Johnston Seed, which I didn't expect to be open today (Saturday). As far as "when" to apply the fertilizer, the company tech rep said applying fertilizer at the time of planting the seed is kind of worthless because, as 'ktgrok' said above, the seed cannot be benefitted from the nutrients in the fertilizer until the seed germinates. 10-14 days after seeding is when he recommended applying fertilizer to newly seeded areas. He even said that applying fertilizer at the time of planting seed might actually cause weeds to thrive even more in the seeded area because while Bermuda grass seed, until germination, cannot be benefitted by nitrogen, weeds are extremely adept at using nitrogen. Why was it written on their (Johnston Seed) bag of Bermuda seed to apply fertilizer when prepping the soil for seeds? A simple mistake, he said; no one involved with writing the instruction label talked to him about what it should say.

Last, type of fertilizer: *13-13-13* is what Johnston Seed recommended for seeding Bermuda.

I hope this helps others on here.


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## Twister (Jun 21, 2019)

ktgrok said:


> What state are you in? I know Florida has different regulations about fertilizer ad the Scott's bag is different here due to that, maybe that is why the difference?


Oklahoma. Difference on the bag: I guess it's possible?


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## WDE46 (Mar 11, 2019)

Seeding is really not a great choice. Plug it. Also your timing is terrible. You don't seed right before torrential downpours. You want as long as possible without heavy rain after you seed. It gets washed away otherwise. Bermuda takes weeks to germinate. I've seeded an area with zoysia as an experiment and it's a lot of effort. A LOT of effort. For a small area.


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## ktgrok (May 25, 2019)

Thank you! That clarification is helpful. And yes, the bag for Florida is different I know for sure. That must be one of the differences. We have really strict laws about fertilization here. Red tide and everything. Also, my Bermuda it was starting to germinate in five days. At seven days most of it has germinated. And we've had tons of rain. As long as you don't have a steep slope you should be OK.I put down straw over some of it and Pete Moss over others of it and it made no real difference that I can tell.


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## Twister (Jun 21, 2019)

WDE46 said:


> Seeding is really not a great choice. Plug it. Also your timing is terrible. You don't seed right before torrential downpours. You want as long as possible without heavy rain after you seed. It gets washed away otherwise. Bermuda takes weeks to germinate. I've seeded an area with zoysia as an experiment and it's a lot of effort. A LOT of effort. For a small area.


Yes, I know my timing is certainly not optimal. But I've been needing to reseed this area for almost a year and I just can't wait any longer. Since the area is on a slight incline I did a lot of research on "erosion control blankets" and, because I have 'some' grass left in the area, I decided on using a jute mat. The jute mat, held in place with a lot of 6" staples, should hold the soil in place during rains while also allowing some sun to keep the existing Bermuda alive. At least that's the theory. Any soil and/or seed I lose means I'll just have to attack it again. I'm fairly confident that even though I am surely to lose some seed and soil I will be further ahead than what I was before starting to restore this area. (And, on a hopeful note, the weather keeps looking like the rains will be less today!  )


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## WDE46 (Mar 11, 2019)

Sounds like plugs are an even better choice then. Much less effort and more of a sure thing.


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## SWB (Sep 22, 2018)

I just purchased 200lb of Yukon seed from Hancock. Their recommendation is a a slow release starter before watering. Maybe they're thinking is to give the fert a head start breaking down so it's available when the seed does germinate. When I did my first renovation 10 years ago I put down starter fert immediately after seeding per the guys at Lesco/Site One. Seemed to work well then.


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## ktgrok (May 25, 2019)

Twister said:


> Ok, just got back from a quick trip to Johnston Seed, which I didn't expect to be open today (Saturday). As far as "when" to apply the fertilizer, the company tech rep said applying fertilizer at the time of planting the seed is kind of worthless because, as 'ktgrok' said above, the seed cannot be benefitted from the nutrients in the fertilizer until the seed germinates. 10-14 days after seeding is when he recommended applying fertilizer to newly seeded areas. He even said that applying fertilizer at the time of planting seed might actually cause weeds to thrive even more in the seeded area because while Bermuda grass seed, until germination, cannot be benefitted by nitrogen, weeds are extremely adept at using nitrogen. Why was it written on their (Johnston Seed) bag of Bermuda seed to apply fertilizer when prepping the soil for seeds? A simple mistake, he said; no one involved with writing the instruction label talked to him about what it should say.
> 
> Last, type of fertilizer: *13-13-13* is what Johnston Seed recommended for seeding Bermuda.
> 
> I hope this helps others on here.


Did he suggest how much fertilizer to apply? I have10-10-10 and am thinking 1/2 pound of N per 1k but not sure


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

10-10-10 may be applied at 0.25 lb N per 1000 sq ft. 
More is not better unless you are dealing with a heavy clay soil that absorbs and locks up a large portion of what is applied.


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## ktgrok (May 25, 2019)

Greendoc said:


> 10-10-10 may be applied at 0.25 lb N per 1000 sq ft.
> More is not better unless you are dealing with a heavy clay soil that absorbs and locks up a large portion of what is applied.


Awesome - I remember you gave me advice but couldn't figure out in which thread, lol. Thank you for jumping in. And agreed, more is not better. I'm guessing that with my sandy florida "soil" I'm better off with smaller applications more frequently, especially given our heavy rains? So maybe .25lb N and then again in 2 weeks or so? I got a fast release formula on your suggestion.


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

@ktgrokThat is how I would do it


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