Dee – posted 11 January 2005 10:54
Have bought 5 totally weed infested acres. Want to make it look as close to a nice lawn as can. Sod and plugs not realistic. What is best grass seed. If Bermuda, what variety? Best method to apply. What would water requirements be? Thanks.
ted – posted 11 January 2005 14:46
i think you have two choices- either leave it like it is-a lot of natural warm weather “grasses” in the area that sort of look like turfgrass, or seed it with bermuda. you could find bermuda seed at Lesco on I-45 North behind Pappasitos at Airtex Drive. you’re going to need alot of water! let’s face it- with the Dallisgrass and crabgrass you’ll be having- it doesn’t look a whole lot different than St. Augustine! you could probably piece together a “lawn” of sorts with these warm weather weeds. you’re talking about a major investment on 5 acres, but there again, you’ve already made a major investment…
Buck – posted 11 January 2005 15:59
If you are willing to sustain the on-going investment in fertilizer, preemergence, water, etc. you may be able to establish a decent bermuda hybrid through sprigging. Ted is from your area an is a lot closer to the whole situation than I. But, I put about 1.5 acres in bermuda 419 for not a hell of a lot of money. Roundup for sure, and then Roundup again. Soil test from your county ag agent. Apply the lime, fertilizer, whatever, and also consider some Dimension 0-0-7 preemergence. Then make about five trips in a one-ton pick up to your local turf farm and have them take the sod and run it through the sprigger. This is like a blender that just takes sod in and spits out sprigs all cut up. Dump the load on about an acre and spread it around uniformly; I used a disk and a chain behind a tractor and a couple of rakes. Don’t waste your time plugging or burying, the springs will figure out where they need to go deep. Water to about 2″ deep in the soil, keep it moist, and in about 30 days get your mower fired up because you will sure need it.
Have to admit that when I looked back at our yard at the end of the first day I thought “No way is this mess ever going to be a lawn.” Kind of looked like a corn field that had been tilled under. But, 419 is pretty aggressive and a month later I had enough coverage to begin striping it. Works in central North Carolina, don’t know whay it would not in Texas.
ted – posted 11 January 2005 18:57
yeah, she’s in a tough situation there. i definitely agree with the roundup, but again 5 acres is an awful lot of rounduping for a homeowner. i would have to go with the leaving the natural grass in place approach. i remember many times in houston when undeveloped areas of grassy weeds would form a halfway decent looking turf area. i might try the waiting until spring plan then fertilizing the warm weather grassy weeds, while using a herbicide on the broadleaf weeds. obviously the bermuda sodding or sprigging route is the best choice, but in Houston you have a bunch of problems with bermuda. the whole place is sort of a humid, soggy swamp. you’ll find it in The Woodlands, but only under highly maintained conditions. definitely don’t use lime. #1 you can’t find it, and #2 your ph levels are already off the chart.