# Bermuda Yukon



## cousineau18 (May 28, 2019)

So I am pretty seasoned when it comes to lawn care, on new grass that is already established. I signed up for a decent job to do my backyard and seed this spring with Yukon Bermuda from Hancock. I live in Richmond, VA in the transition zone.

I'll explain what I did from start to finish and below that you will see the questions I have:

1) Aerated the hell out of the original clay surface, probably did a quadruple pass as I didn't want to till and bring up new weed seed heads.
2) Added about 18 yards of top soil/ compost blend on top and leveled it as best as possible with a 3 ft aluminum garden rake.
3) Spread 2.9# of seed per X1000 sq ft (I have a 5,570 SQ FT Back Yard)
4) Spread Gypsum to hopefully break down the clay a little.
5) Spread .85# of phosphorus by using a 10-24-12

I have been watering very frequently at 4-5 min a zone to keep things moist. To go in more detail I do 5 or 6 watering a day if the temp is above 90, and about 4-5 if below.

The reason you see all them ruts is we had a major downfall about 3 days after seeding which washed away quite a bit of top soil and seed.

So to my actual question, I am getting some great germination but from day 21 to day 28 approx, I am getting little to no growth and there are some areas that are turning brown (not heavy but just a slight brown shade to the base). I am at about 3 tillers for the new seed and obviously a bunch of sedge throughout.

1) At what point should I start cutting back the water by watering deeper and less frequent session
2) When is a good time to start adding some Milo to start driving growth strong?
3) If I want the HOC when I am fully established to be around 1.25", should I start cutting once I see the height of grass around 2"? Right now I believe I am at about 1.5"

TIA guys!!!

Mike


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## ksturfguy (Sep 25, 2018)

I'm not as experienced with warm season turf but I think your ready to switch to deeper watering. For me when I'm planting new grass I do the frequent watering for a week or 2 until I get most of the seed germinated and then switch. I would assume same for Bermuda.


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## cousineau18 (May 28, 2019)

That's what I was thinking to drive the roots deeper. Thanks. What do you think about fertilizing now with a 28-0-3?


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## Romangorilla (Jun 3, 2019)

Hey. So I'm kinda going through the same thing as you. I bought Princess 77 seed from Hancock seed company and I also in the process of a full reno. 
Like you I put down seed, lesco starter fert, and milo. 
I had great germination after about 4 days. 
It's just that the growth of the seed is incredibly slow and some sections are turning purple. 
I too was wondering about the amount of watering. I think I am also over-watering and "stunting" the growth.

My advice to you is, go ahead and throw down some milo. It wont harm anything.
Cut back to watering twice a day for a deep watering.

You can check out my thread for some additional guidance:
Princess 77 Bermuda Reno -Charlotte NC


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## jstephens (May 22, 2019)

Not a pro by any means but my previous home I seeded 15k of Yukon with no irrigation system. After germination I went to watering on a as needed by appearance rate. I'd say roughly 1-2" a week depending on weather. I didn't have near the germination rate you have bc of lack of sufficient water before germination but around the 10 week mark I had almost full coverage. I followed the Clemson university trials of 1# of N per k per week (I used 34-0-0) for weeks 2-10.


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## cousineau18 (May 28, 2019)

Romangorilla said:


> Hey. So I'm kinda going through the same thing as you. I bought Princess 77 seed from Hancock seed company and I also in the process of a full reno.
> Like you I put down seed, lesco starter fert, and milo.
> I had great germination after about 4 days.
> It's just that the growth of the seed is incredibly slow and some sections are turning purple.
> ...


Hey thanks for the response, I think watering twice a day is perfect, and will be throwing down some fert tonight. Going to check our your post now.

Thanks again.


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## cousineau18 (May 28, 2019)

jstephens said:


> Not a pro by any means but my previous home I seeded 15k of Yukon with no irrigation system. After germination I went to watering on a as needed by appearance rate. I'd say roughly 1-2" a week depending on weather. I didn't have near the germination rate you have bc of lack of sufficient water before germination but around the 10 week mark I had almost full coverage. I followed the Clemson university trials of 1# of N per k per week (I used 34-0-0) for weeks 2-10.


That is extremely heavy at a 1# a week. But I will give it a shot considering I am only assuming it worked for you and obviously worked for Clemson.


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## jstephens (May 22, 2019)

I'll try to find the research to copy a link. From what I remembered they did all the way up to 2# a week but saw the same results at 1#.


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## cousineau18 (May 28, 2019)

jstephens said:


> I'll try to find the research to copy a link. From what I remembered they did all the way up to 2# a week but saw the same results at 1#.


Please do, I just searched a bit on google and couldnt find it


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## jstephens (May 22, 2019)

Still looking for that particular research but a lot of updated stuff now is saying the 1# per week was only beneficial for 4 weeks and then lower rates (1/4-1/2# week)were just as effective after that. Maybe try the higher rates for a few weeks and depending on results adjust from there?

Here are a couple pics of my seeded Yukon after about 12 weeks.


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## cousineau18 (May 28, 2019)

jstephens said:


> Still looking for that particular research but a lot of updated stuff now is saying the 1# per week was only beneficial for 4 weeks and then lower rates (1/4-1/2# week)were just as effective after that. Maybe try the higher rates for a few weeks and depending on results adjust from there?
> 
> Here are a couple pics of my seeded Yukon after about 12 weeks.


Wow that looks amazing!!! How often were you mowing it and with a rotary or reel?
When did you stop the 1# per week


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## jstephens (May 22, 2019)

I was rotary mowing twice a week and it was probably 1.5". I stopped around week 10. I may have missed one app in that time span. The 1# could have been wasting some but it definitely didn't hurt anything, other than the wallet. With what I know now and if I had irrigation I'm sure it would have been 100 percent covered in that time frame. After 10 weeks I got tired of dragging hoses around the yard a few days a week on top of cutting and everything else. It was definitely a learning curve and you are well ahead of me with where you are after just one month.


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## cousineau18 (May 28, 2019)

Thanks for the response, glad to hear people are still having decent success without spending big money on a reel mower. I am going to go strong for the next 4 week lay down 1# N and start mowing this weekend every 3 days. And your last sentence really got me going as I wasnt so sure how well it looked after 28 days


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## jstephens (May 22, 2019)

Sounds good! Let me know how it looks after the 4 weeks.


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## ENC_Lawn (Sep 9, 2018)

@jstephens

Any update on the Clemson link?

Thanks


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## jstephens (May 22, 2019)

Still haven't found the one I was looking for but here is a good one from Texas A&M.

https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/plantanswers/turf/publications/fertiliz.html


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## Tellycoleman (May 10, 2017)

Yeah so you will need to put down more than just milo.
Milo is a safe choice but its not what your grass needs. You are looking to fill in. Is time to throw that milo into the ocean and get some 20-20-20 
Half pound every 2 weeks then switch to AMS 
1/2 pound every 2 weeks.


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## ctrav (Aug 18, 2018)

Tellycoleman said:


> Yeah so you will need to put down more than just milo.
> Milo is a safe choice but its not what your grass needs. You are looking to fill in. Is time to throw that milo into the ocean and get some 20-20-20
> Half pound every 2 weeks then switch to AMS
> 1/2 pound every 2 weeks.


Just out of curiosity why do you say triple 20? Please remind me what is AMS again?


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## cousineau18 (May 28, 2019)

Can someone chime in and give me some insight on this discoloration? Im reading up that it could be a PH issue but i added some fast acting lime at the time of seeding which should have brought it up to about 6.2 to 6.5.

Any ideas folks?


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## Spammage (Apr 30, 2017)

@cousineau18 look into Damping Off. From what I understand, Yukon is fairly susceptible.


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## Tellycoleman (May 10, 2017)

6.2 is fine with Bermuda.
Are you watering to much?

@ctrav you just need a balanced fert to start then switch to ammonium sulfate.
Are you bagging your clippings? If so you need to supplement more.

I wouldn't try to go low nitrogen during your first season. You need to push growth and roots. To survive your first winter. I am on my 3 rd season. Tried to do low nitrogen. Didn't turn out so well. Poor growth. Poor color. After just 2 applications of fert. The lawn looks awsome.


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## cousineau18 (May 28, 2019)

Tellycoleman said:


> 6.2 is fine with Bermuda.
> Are you watering to much?
> 
> @ctrav you just need a balanced fert to start then switch to ammonium sulfate.
> ...


That is what I am thinking is i am watering too much. I have completely shut off my Rachio as we are supposed to get a ton of rain in the next 6 to 7 days. I did just put down some more starter fertilizer at a rate of .72# of Phosphorus X 1000. I am going to hope that between the showers that the coloring will start to go away as I read in a couple of article online that a lack of Phosphorous can turn the leaves purplish so we'll see in about a week.

I am thinking I will start pushing regular 29-0-3 in about 2 weeks at a rate of .5 N every 2 weeks until the end of summer. I don't mind mowing it every 2 days as its only 5,400 SQ FT so it should take a solid 30 minutes to mow.

More to follow next weekend.


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## ctrav (Aug 18, 2018)

Tellycoleman said:


> 6.2 is fine with Bermuda.
> Are you watering to much?
> 
> @ctrav you just need a balanced fert to start then switch to ammonium sulfate.
> ...


PM sent so I don't clutter this thread with my questions...


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## cousineau18 (May 28, 2019)

So day 38 after mowing at 1.75" looks pretty decent. The bare spots are mainky the wash out that occurred two days after seeding but mowing at 1.5" from here on out with a rotary they will fill in quick. Yea its not a reel mower but gotta get it established before I can convince the ole lady to allow me to get a caltrimmer

Putting down some more fert at .5#P on Sunday which is 10 days after my second app which was.72#P i believe. I will be mowing often so with the right watering around the end of August i should have a picture perfect lawn minus the weeds as Yukon is delicate the first year!!!!


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## cousineau18 (May 28, 2019)

So here is Day 51 and its rocking along

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## jredwards4 (Jul 31, 2017)

Purple normally indicates a phosphorus deficiency. I've seen some of yukon that I planted this year shown this same color and it looked better after applying for phosphorus


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## cousineau18 (May 28, 2019)

jredwards4 said:


> Purple normally indicates a phosphorus deficiency. I've seen some of yukon that I planted this year shown this same color and it looked better after applying for phosphorus


Thanks!!!, yea I applied another .52# P the day after I posted and a majority of it has gone away (thank god). Mowing it every 2 days, I am still getting about 2 full bags of grass clippings (some are weeds obviously) but its going really strong and should be extremely full by the beginning of September.


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## jredwards4 (Jul 31, 2017)

Thats great! I seeded my front with la prima xd (yukon/royal bengal) may 1st and it's been a mixed result. Half the yard was prepped as it should be with bare ground and dirt/sand coverage. The other half was just fescue that was aerated to death. The prepped area is lush and boomong and the overseedd area probaby has 25% germination.

For my perspective the royal bengal is much more aggressive in growth.

I was planning for a multiyear transition but after seeing the difference I regret not prepping the whole yard.


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## cousineau18 (May 28, 2019)

jredwards4 said:


> Thats great! I seeded my front with la prima xd (yukon/royal bengal) may 1st and it's been a mixed result. Half the yard was prepped as it should be with bare ground and dirt/sand coverage. The other half was just fescue that was aerated to death. The prepped area is lush and boomong and the overseedd area probaby has 25% germination.
> 
> For my perspective the royal bengal is much more aggressive in growth.
> 
> I was planning for a multiyear transition but after seeing the difference I regret not prepping the whole yard.


Yea I was looking into the Prima XD, however it seems like the original blend changed and after some more research I decided to just stick with straight Yukon. We'll see how it plays out and how I am truly interested in the longer green period and faster green up compared to standard common bermuda.

You got a pic of your La Prima?


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## jredwards4 (Jul 31, 2017)




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## Tellycoleman (May 10, 2017)

Soooo
Why the pictures @jredwards4


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## jredwards4 (Jul 31, 2017)

Requested pics of LA prima


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## cousineau18 (May 28, 2019)

Here's a quick update to prove that mowing every 2 days and fertilizing a good .5#N a week for the entire summer will do wonders for new seed.

Thanks again for everyone's help on here to keep me in the right path because around day 60 I was a little worried but Carbon X has been great so far


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## raulmartinez323 (Jul 24, 2020)

Did you ever figure out your issue. I did a reno with great detail and also got my seed from hancook. I had the exact same results as you. My experience with bermuda is once its going and its in season it just takes off. Im almost 60 days after seeding and the performence has been so bad for bermuda that im considering smoking it off before the season is over. For expensive seed this didnt perform too well.


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