Another Bermuda Question

by Legacy post · 2016-05-11

Dexter – posted 04 September 2004 10:20

Hello All. I am new to Bermuda, so bear with me.

The growth of my Bermuda lawn is kind of lumpy and I am looking to resolve it, or at least prep for a resolution since the temps will be dropping relatively soon.

When I say lumpy growth, I mean the Bermuda all grows, but unevenly, or some patches grow better than others.

Some have told me that it is due to the clay soil we have here in the NC piedmont area.

I am guessing some fertilizer and watering will help? Should I aireate first? Exactly what fertilizer and how often should I water?

Many thanks – Dex

ted – posted 05 September 2004 20:06

fescue is the grass in north carolina.

Dexter – posted 06 September 2004 09:07

Not in my development

ted – posted 06 September 2004 18:34

refer to your north carolina university web site- too far north for bermuda- it’ll grow in the summer, but doesn’t stay green enough, long enough. i suppose you could overseed with rye for the cooler months of the year if you’re in love with the bermuda. you don’t want to use much in the way of nitrogen this time of year. fert. with something like a 6-24-24 or equivalent fertilizer. also do a soil test- you may be really short on ph, magnesium .etc. etc.

ted – posted 06 September 2004 18:36

i’m also really concerned when folks say they have clay soils- you can always test the soil as far as the texture goes with a reputable soil testing lab- not the local county extension agent. what happens sometime is that the builder scrapes all the topsoil off during the construction process, but actually the native soil could be pretty good.

Buck – posted 07 September 2004 09:47

Kind of womder what those who believe Bermuda does not work well in North Carolina think we use for tees and fairways on about 250 golf courses throughout the state. Here in Chapel Hill I have had 419 for about 10 years, maybe longer. Use to overseed in the winter, but frankly a nice stand of Bermuda that has gone dormant is really not that unattractive, and in the summer, when it really matters, my turf is thriving while the fescue others have is just hanging on in the heat. Bermuda works in NC and I would have nothing else.

As to your lumps. If they cannot be accounted as a result of uneven soil I’d be inclined to think you may have a problem with Mole Crickets. Or you may have applied Image earlier in the year to get rid of nutsedge and that will arrest the growth of Bermuda for a while.

Get the soil tested, do not hit it with N at this time of the year, look into Mole Crickets – this is the time of year for them. My turf is great when it counts, March through October, and not that bad looking throughout the winter months. It is a proven variety for groundskeepers, it will work for you; even in the Old North State.

Dexter – posted 07 September 2004 11:39

Thanks guys for the info.

While I was constructing the original post, I was also doing some general Googling for info. End result – I went down the road to my local Lowes and picked up some [URL=http://www.scotts.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=productGuide.productDetails&partnerId=99999&poeSiteId=10926&strCategoryId=23679&strProductId=101420&strAdditionalBrandId=&dsvs=D7867 A14-65BF-F00F-1B9E-0CCF40DA120E,x,x&CFID=4983453&CFTOKEN=72636313]SCOTTS Turf Builder Plus 2 Weed Control[/URL] with the premise that I had some random weeds, and I wanted to add some nutrients to the soil.

Before applying, I watered (per instructions, and weeded the lawn by hand.

I generally think the lumpiness is due to uneven grading by the developer and other poor quality topsoil. While I was weeding, I noticed quite a bit of rubble and trash rock just under the bed of Bermuda.

So, I may have blundered by applying the heavy Nitrogen based product (28-3-3), but we’ll see.

Dexter – posted 07 September 2004 11:40

Hmph

Here is the link:

http://www.scotts.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=productGuide.productDetails&partnerId=99999&poeSiteId=10926&strCategoryId=23679&strProductId=101420&strAdditionalBrandId=&dsvs=D7867A14-6 5BF-F00F-1B9E-0CCF40DA120E,x,x&CFID=4983453&CFTOKEN=72636313

DexNC – posted 07 September 2004 12:17

OK – enough of this no-edit stuff. New screen name