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Latitude 36 Bermuda - Bent Overseed Journal

25K views 43 replies 7 participants last post by  Dlmartin1984 
#1 ·
I have started the process to convert about 600sq ft of area that goes from middle of front lawn to middle of the first tree. Removal of existing grass. Leveling out with multiple loads of top soil. Then a top layer of 50/50 loam/compost. Then sodding with Lat 36.

I have measured the sunlight the area gets and it's about 6ish hours throughout the day of direct sunlight. A mix of morning and evening. The tree is raised pretty high too. For the areas that don't thrive, I'll likely overseed with fescue in the future.

The rest of my lawn on the north side is a mix of Astro/common/Yukon. Currently cutting reel low. 7/8in. Working down to 1/2in in the coming weeks.

Sod set for Friday.





From the other side of the yard.

 
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#4 ·
rjw0283 said:
Latitude 36 is a good looking grass. You think the Latitude will fair better under the tree than the other grasses?

If I re-sodded Lat36 would be up there on the list of potential grasses.
I think in the highest shade areas it will struggle. Fescue worked well under the highest shade in my yard. However, this area does get 4-6 hrs of sun at any given time through the year. Obviously more when the leaves are gone.
 
#8 ·
One week in. Mowed with Rotary mower on 6/23 and all went well. It's already taken hold. I I've been seriously considering ripping up the remainder of the yard to the East and replacing it with the Latitude 36. It's probably 1200sq ft or so.

I wonder when it's safe to topdress and level out?



 
#11 ·
Rain over the weekend and all week ahead.

Was able to mow east side of front. That's about 3/4in. Leveling needed as you can see the indentions from the tree removal and roots starting to decay.



West side front hasn't been mowed since Friday. Applied fungicide and bifen again hoping to resolve the browning next to the new sod.



Scalped the new sod in a few places. After this week of rain, looking to level/topdress East and west sides and new sod.

 
#12 ·
5 days of rain this week. Totaling about 5 inches.

Guessing that the applications of bifen and fungicide are likely gone. Will reapply bifen again today.

We have about a week of no rain in the forecast, so plan to get some sand to level sod and a few other spots.

Was able to get one mow in on 6/30 but he to raise HOC. Now for sure sitting over an inch.

Going to try and mow today.









Other side of yard thickening up big time.



 
#16 ·
Continued growth through the sand. The sod is already easier to cut without scalping. Just need to get the area between new sod and old to grow in.

Definitely still showing signs of bugs and disease. I have some Propiconazole on it's way. Odd. Never had these issues before.







 
#17 ·
Brought in some sandy loam to continue the never ending level work. Though, it downpours 3in in an hour and some is washed away for sure. Also took the proplugger to a portion next to the walkway that seemed to be pretty compacted. Sprayed Propiconazole and Bifen app again after the rains. With a week of no rain in the forecast, hoping for some improvements.

7/18


The lighter area in the middle used to be a tree, which was removed upon buying the house. It's been 5 years. But the areas around the tree always seem to fall lower no matter how much leveling work I do.

 
#18 ·
I also have a spot in the middle of my front yard where a tree was removed thats much lighter than the rest. It was cut down last year and the stump ground but the existing roots beneath the surface are decomposing and all the microbial activity robs the area of nitrogen. I was told too apply added urea to that area to improve the color...worth a shot.
 
#19 ·
Keepin It Reel said:
I also have a spot in the middle of my front yard where a tree was removed thats much lighter than the rest. It was cut down last year and the stump ground but the existing roots beneath the surface are decomposing and all the microbial activity robs the area of nitrogen. I was told too apply added urea to that area to improve the color...worth a shot.
Yea I have heard that too. I try to add a little extra in that area. It was a small tree, mostly dead too, but man it's had a lasting impact.
 
#20 ·
Mowed down to 5/8 today. Some scalping on the edges, where the grass level is still much higher than the driveway/sidewalk.

Pulled the trigger on a sunjoe dethatcher/scarifier. Should be in today and planning on the scarified and some more sand early next week.

A week ahead of 99° days.





This side showing some stress from the MSMA app on a few crabgrass spots. The leveling spots are starting to fill in.

 
#21 ·
Sunjoe scarifier came in. I scarified at .5 and it pulled up a good amount of thatch and debris.
I then used the rotary mower to pick up everything. Then mowed at 3/4 with the reel mower.

Using that Sunjoe was really fun. Crazy how much stuff comes up. Can't wait to see the results in a few weeks.

 
#22 ·
It's been a few weeks in which I leveled a few low areas again. Went on vacation for a week and working the HOC back down. Low areas are getting closer to being filled in.

Backlapped this morning and Mowed at 1/2in. Using the sunjoe scarifier a few weeks back did wonders for the turf quality.

Lat36 sod is performing very well under 4-5hrs max of sunlight.

I'm thinking the fescue part of the yard, in which I normally overseed in spring and fall, will overseed this fall with Kentucky bluegrass.





 
#23 ·
New reel installed on McLane. I wouldn't recommend that job to anyone. I like to think I'm pretty mechanically inclined, and this was an absolute beast. Be prepared to replace every single part from sprocket all the way into the reel.

However, it's cutting so good. Had to adjust one side cutting lower than the other, but otherwise all good. I think a greens mower is in my foreseeable future.

 
#24 ·
After a summer of constantly adding sand/topsoil/sandy loam to try and level out spots, I would say I got very close to level. With half of the front lawn being common/Yukon and potentially others, I've decided next spring to just resod the entire thing with Lat36. It's just significantly better than the rest of my yard.
That being said, I'm gonna play around with different things over the next few months. I've never over-seeded Bermuda with this mix before, but we did have a 1500sq ft A1/A4 bent green when I was growing up. So I have some experience and recollection in maintaining it. If it doesn't come together, still plan to re-sod either way in May.

Had the Bermuda looking pretty solid on 9/2.

9/2/21



On 9/9, I decided to scarify in both directions at the 10 mark on the sunjoe. I then dropped down about 10 yards of sand. Moved it around everywhere and further leveled where needed. Rolled everything over 3x.

9/9/21



On 9/13, I brought in another 5 yards of sand and 5 yards of peat moss mix that a local place has. Mixed it together and spread it everywhere. Rolled. I also sprayed the entire area with Propiconazole to start preventative measures and also hopefully slow Bermuda growth down. Also, hit with bifen.

9/13/21





On 9/14, I opened up the canopy a bit, then spread out the following…

- 5lbs Of L93 Bent
- 5lbs of Creeping Bluegrass
- 19-25-5 quick release at 4lbs per 1000sq ft.

Rolled entire yard over 3 times. Water is set to 4min every hour from 8am-5pm. Temps have been in high 80s, overnights into low 60s. No rain forecast for a while.

9/14/21



Today, 9/20, I sprayed propiconazole again over entire area. I'm seeing heavy germination really everywhere. I rolled over it once.
I added 17-3-17 at 4lbs.
The Bermuda has really stopped growing, which is great. Temps after today look to be high 70s/low 80s for foreseeable timeframe.
Moved to less frequent watering. In addition to 3-4 times on system, once a day I go out and hand water based on what I see.

9/20/21

 
#25 ·
Rolled and cut at about 3/8in. Didn't catch clippings. Some scalp spots in the cut, but not a lot. Scalped alongside edge going on and coming off.

Seeded again with L93, .5lb per K. Rolled. Added 10-10-10 at about .5lb per K. Will add light top dress with sand early this week.

Bermuda has essentially stopped growing. Temps have been 80s/50s-60s.

 
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