# When to burn?



## Uk0724 (May 1, 2019)

In the past I have burned the Bermuda mid/late March. The past 4 years it has been too windy or wet to burn in March. February has been one of the best months. Every year I tell myself I should have done it in February.

Is February too early?


----------



## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

I don't think so, I have started my scalping in February before. I wish I could burn my lawn off as it would make everything so much easier.


----------



## gooodawgs (Jul 10, 2020)

I'm always tempted to burn but then get too scared I'd burn down the neighborhood! One day...


----------



## StormTrooper86 (Feb 3, 2019)

I usually burn mine in February. That's when I start to see some green Bermuda popping up. Wind definitely needs to be under 5mph and don't forget to water down any wooden fencing that's on the property line.


----------



## Darth_V8r (Jul 18, 2019)

I always want to burn, but I don't want to deal with ticked off spouse at the yard being black for two months. if you're honestly worried about the fire spreading too fast, simply do a section at a time and soak the bordering areas. grass fires aren't that hot, so water barrier easily stops it.


----------



## Uk0724 (May 1, 2019)

Well I'm settled. Going to light a match to it President's Day weekend.

Not worried about the fire...worried about freeze damage if we get a cold snap.


----------



## Groundskeeper Willie (Feb 22, 2019)

I've seen this done on videos with tall bermuda. Seems like low cut bermuda would have trouble sustaining the spread of the fire. Anything used for this case besides just starting the fire at the windward edge of the lawn?


----------



## cglarsen (Dec 28, 2018)

Groundskeeper Willie said:


> I've seen this done on videos with tall bermuda. Seems like low cut bermuda would have trouble sustaining the spread of the fire. Anything used for this case besides just starting the fire at the windward edge of the lawn?


This with a small can of propane is very handy. 


Have your hoses setup in advance. :thumbup:


----------



## Brackin4au (Jun 13, 2018)

I plan to try my luck at burning it this year. Was planning on doing it mid-late February. Quick question though, do you put down Preemergent before or after? February is normally when I put a heavy dose of preM for the coming growing season...


----------



## UFG8RMIKE (Apr 21, 2019)

Where's the pics fellas?


----------



## blitz28179 (May 28, 2020)

Telly coleman posted this on another group about burning. Thought it was great read

"Pros - 1) You don't have to bag and scalp and have excessive wear and tear on your equipment and your back.
2) the black color after burning absorbs light and heat which will encourage early green up.
3) it is the best post emergent ever !!! Not only will it kill all the weeds in your yard. It will also burn all of the seeds in the surface or the ground.
Cons - 1)not allowed in many cities. 2) if your lawn is over 1 1/2 inches or 2 inches tall it can very quickly get out of control. Be careful 3) for about 3weeks you and your kids and your dog will track in charcoal in the house. So your wife will hate you if you have light carpet. 4) without using water to create fire breaks before you burn and not staying outside walking around for at least an hour afterwards could lead to restarts that could burn your house or property."


----------



## blitz28179 (May 28, 2020)

I got about 6 to 8 weeks more green time than I would usually get from not burning. and the Bermuda looks so good when it starts growing after a burn for the next six to eight weeks without hardly any mowing involved. Last spring was my first time doing this and I will definitely be doing it again. I actually used a harbor freight torch that hooks to a propane tank( I got it for $30 after coupon)
its adds alot of good stuff back to the soil(carbon). I know theres not much info out there but ive heard stories of how people a long time ago would burn alot for crops and other controlled burning techniques. Its been going on for decades


----------



## Brackin4au (Jun 13, 2018)

UFG8RMIKE said:


> Where's the pics fellas?


I'm hoping to burn mine in the next week or two. Got a cold snap in north Alabama last week that dumped ~4" of snow on my yard. Still hasn't melted yet. Thus coming week has temps in mid 50s though, so hopefully I can light it up soon...


----------



## Uk0724 (May 1, 2019)

I'm going to learn to post pics and will show you mine. I had on my calendar to do it Presidents Day, but we got 11 inches of snow. Hopefully in the next week to 10 days I can light it up.


----------



## UFG8RMIKE (Apr 21, 2019)

Accidental burn 1ac vacant lot, that ended up working out pretty well, lol. Apparently cogon grass is super flammable.


----------



## Brackin4au (Jun 13, 2018)

Lit mine up today.... worked pretty well. Various reactions in the neighborhood. One car came by 3 times and stopped in the street. Never said anything though. Several slow rolled by. And surprising there were a lot of people that drove past and never even acknowledged what was going on ha. Even had a guy walking down the sidewalk 3ft from the flames and never even questioned it ha. Oh well. Just glad I didn't burn anything down.. sitting here paranoid waiting for the rain we are supposed to get at midnight tonight haha. I wet it down pretty good. But. You know...









Excuse the empty flower beds.... tore everything out yesterday. Gonna start new this spring..


----------



## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

Nice @Brackin4au! All that free carbon going into the soil...


----------



## AUspicious (Apr 16, 2020)

@Brackin4au , I came close to lighting mine up today, but I didn't have the guts because the wind was gusting a little. And I'm a little nervous to do it without someone else there to help. Was it just you and a single garden hose? Any tips?


----------



## Brackin4au (Jun 13, 2018)

AUspicious said:


> @Brackin4au , I came close to lighting mine up today, but I didn't have the guts because the wind was gusting a little. And I'm a little nervous to do it without someone else there to help. Was it just you and a single garden hose? Any tips?


Yeah I sat in my garage for about 20 mins trying to decide if I was gonna go through with it haha. I had already burned the back, and it went smoothly, I was just a bit concerned with the potential kickback from the neighborhood. Which is strange Bc I normally embrace being the strange lawn guy haha. I just didn't want to piss off any close neighbors thinking I might have burned their house down haha.

But yes, it was just me and a hose. It went surprisingly smooth even though I did have a couple gusts now and then. Overall it was a fairly calm day though. It definitely can take off with a gust of wind though. In the backyard I got one gust that scooted the flames about 10ft at the blink of an eye ha.

As far as tips, I probably should've had one more person and hose just to be safe. But my plan of attack was I soaked down the grass along the property line, fence, anything that might catch fire that I did not want to catch fire. Then in the back, I just lit a spot and observed what would happen ha. It spread fairly quickly Bc even on calm days my back yard has a breezeway type effect Bc of the subdivision set up. After that, (and 20 mins sitting in the garage psyching myself up) I did the same to the front except this time, after soaking the property line, I lit the flame right there at the edge, on the side of the yard the light breeze was blowing toward... that way the flames had to progress their way across the yard against any gusts that came, instead of letting a gust push them toward unburned grass. Seemed to work a little safer that way, but much slower.

One bit of advice, be prepared for a mess if you walk around in it ha.


----------



## Darth_V8r (Jul 18, 2019)

All those neighbors wondering what the eff you were doing will be jealous when it greens up.


----------



## Kdaves12 (Aug 10, 2020)

blitz28179 said:


> Cons - 1)not allowed in many cities.


Odd question, but how do you find out whether or not it's permitted?


----------



## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

Kdaves12 said:


> blitz28179 said:
> 
> 
> > Cons - 1)not allowed in many cities.
> ...


I called my local fire department. That's who I call for burn permits here. Even if you don't have to call them, it's probably a good idea to let them know what you are doing in case one of your neighbors decides to call thinking the whole neighborhood is going up in flames.


----------



## Uk0724 (May 1, 2019)

Good stuff guys. If it stays dry the rest of this week, I'm lighting mine up this weekend.


----------



## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

@Uk0724 Take lots of pictures; bonus points for video.


----------



## LushTurf (May 28, 2020)

Finally getting around to and getting ready to commit my time to the yard. We've been doing some controlled burns around the family farm property. All has gone well so far, and I think we can handle sectioning off and control burn almost all of my 3+ acres. &#129310; And it would sure beat trying to scalp and bag all of it! But I'm wondering if I'm too late. Does Bermuda have to be completely dormant? I've noticed a tiny smidge of green up already after last week's several 70+ degree days.


----------



## Uk0724 (May 1, 2019)

LushTurf said:


> Finally getting around to and getting ready to commit my time to the yard. We've been doing some controlled burns around the family farm property. All has gone well so far, and I think we can handle sectioning off and control burn almost all of my 3+ acres. 🤞 And it would sure beat trying to scalp and bag all of it! But I'm wondering if I'm too late. Does Bermuda have to be completely dormant? I've noticed a tiny smidge of green up already after last week's several 70+ degree days.


Nope. Light it up. I've burned mine with a lot of green in it and it did fine. Burns a little slower and seems to smoke more but it was all good :thumbup:


----------



## Brackin4au (Jun 13, 2018)

Darth_V8r said:


> All those neighbors wondering what the eff you were doing will be jealous when it greens up.


----------



## Uk0724 (May 1, 2019)

Here we go!!


----------



## Uk0724 (May 1, 2019)




----------



## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

Wow! Nice job!!!


----------



## Brackin4au (Jun 13, 2018)




----------



## Kdaves12 (Aug 10, 2020)




----------



## blitz28179 (May 28, 2020)

I was thinking about this today, make sure you have no fertilizer on the ground when doing this? Wouldn't it be flammable?? Just curious


----------



## walk1355 (May 31, 2018)

Brackin4au said:


>


What did you use to light your fire? I wonder if it's legal in Madison.


----------



## Brackin4au (Jun 13, 2018)

walk1355 said:


> What did you use to light your fire? I wonder if it's legal in Madison.


I just bought a weed torch at Home Depot. Worked great.



As far as legality.... I took the ask forgiveness instead of permission route this time. Probably not the wisest, but I was going to burn my yard in Madison last year, and I called the fire dept to be courteous, and he said absolutely not haha. In the city limits, you are not allowed to burn your yard.

Now that I moved a few miles west, I'm technically in Athens city limits, but more-so in the county. So I just went for it. No trouble from anybody, so ended up okay haha.

Not trying to advise you to perform criminal acts, but I will say that I had minimal to no smoke burning grass that was .75". Your yard may not smoke at all... so. Do with that info what you wish ha.


----------



## walk1355 (May 31, 2018)

Brackin4au said:


> walk1355 said:
> 
> 
> > What did you use to light your fire? I wonder if it's legal in Madison.
> ...


Thanks. Where in the store are those? Lawn and garden or somewhere else?


----------



## bp2878 (Feb 13, 2019)

Are there any advantages to burning other than not having to deal with the scalping? I burned mine last year but that was after I killed everything off prepping for a renovation.


----------



## Brackin4au (Jun 13, 2018)

walk1355 said:


> Thanks. Where in the store are those? Lawn and garden or somewhere else?


It was not in lawn and garden. I can't remember exactly what section it was in. Seemed kinda unusual though. I just pulled it up on the app and went to the section it said. But I just looked and it says they don't have any in stock. There were only 2-3 when I got mine. I'm pretty sure it was on isle 10 bay 19 in the Madison store. Go look and see. The canisters are on the floor and the hooked wand was on the rack above them.


----------



## Brackin4au (Jun 13, 2018)

bp2878 said:


> Are there any advantages to burning other than not having to deal with the scalping? I burned mine last year but that was after I killed everything off prepping for a renovation.


Mainly just getting rid of as much brown as possible. I'm also hoping the black ground it leaves behind will warm up the soil sooner and green up faster.


----------



## Uk0724 (May 1, 2019)

walk1355 said:


> Brackin4au said:
> 
> 
> >
> ...


I just used a cigarette lighter. Nothing special.


----------



## Uk0724 (May 1, 2019)

bp2878 said:


> Are there any advantages to burning other than not having to deal with the scalping? I burned mine last year but that was after I killed everything off prepping for a renovation.


I simply burn so I dont have to scalp. My yard size would be virtually impossible to scalp and bag.

Some say the dark burn makes the soil warmer and causes a faster green up. I havent noticed an improvement in earlier green up.

If I could scalp I would. Honestly, I dont enjoy the mess after a burn.


----------



## Uk0724 (May 1, 2019)

blitz28179 said:


> I was thinking about this today, make sure you have no fertilizer on the ground when doing this? Wouldn't it be flammable?? Just curious


No. Not at all. :thumbup:


----------



## battleboro (Jan 3, 2021)

Here is an experiment documented on my journal (with pics and video).


----------



## Passat774 (Oct 9, 2018)

Thanks guys!!


----------



## Darth_V8r (Jul 18, 2019)

I have a dumb question on the burning topic... Does the fire also kill off fungal spores, or is it pretty much just going to get rid of thatch and non-germinated seeds?


----------



## MasterMech (Sep 24, 2017)

bp2878 said:


> Are there any advantages to burning other than not having to deal with the scalping? I burned mine last year but that was after I killed everything off prepping for a renovation.


Not hauling 20k worth of clippings is pretty dang attractive to me! But the backyard is the majority of that and a def no-go due to kids and dogs and the mess. Pluss, I'm 100% PRG right now.

Burning should also give a nutrient return to the soil that scalping and hauling/bagging would not.


----------

