Bare spots in Tiff 419 yard

jasonbrant – posted 08 March 2004 08:26

I was wondering if anyone had any ideas about filling some small bare spots in my Tiff 419 yard. I purchase a new home about 7 months ago and the new sod was laid done before the ground was properly leveled. In an attempt to correct the bumps throughout the yard the landscape contracter threw done more top soil. In many places the grass came through however in many it didn’t. They assure me that it will come in but I am getting tried of waiting. The only thing that is coming through are weeds.

I don’t know of any Tiff 419 seed however does anyone know of something comparable seed that I could plant in the bare patches to help my yard along?

Thanks for your time,Jason

tommy – posted 08 March 2004 17:54

Where do you live, how deeply was the grass buried? I have seen 419 do some amazing things….its very fast spreading- and has extremely vigorous rhizomes. If your weather has not warmed up however, it won’t fill in! When your weather does warm up permanently- fertilize the yard….keep the soil moist…and don’t be suprised if it fills in rather quickly! If you decide to seed- ‘Princess’ bermuda is very similar to 419.

dm – posted 10 March 2004 06:16

Not sure where you live, but in general don’t expect any progress on the patches until May.

Once the existing turf is 50% green, apply fertilizer and you might also topdress the bare spots with a very thin mixture of topsoil and river sand.

Tifway is very agressive and should fill in those spots quickly once the weather is hot.

jasonbrant – posted 10 March 2004 10:10

I live in San Antonio, TX. So you don’t think I need to put down any seed. I was just concerned with the weed growth in the bare spots.

Thanks,

dm – posted 10 March 2004 15:15

I would NEVER consider applying bermuda seed to a Tifway 419 lawn. Common bermuda is inferior to 419 and could become visibly different in spots.

Don’t worry about your bare spots. If you topdress the areas they should fill in nicely by June. Just make sure the lawn gets plenty of Nitrogen fertilizer at the rate of 1lb per 1,0000 sq ft.

Dchall_San_Antonio – posted 15 March 2004 09:01

Make a note of your contractor’s name and be sure to NOT recommend him to anyone wanting a nice yard! He got the sodding process bass ackwards and should be discouraged in every way from repeating, or at least profiting from his ignorant mistake.

You might be screwed for a long time. I’m not sure why but a neighbor’s Tiff lawn was completely ruined by topdressing with compost. It was beautiful at first but after the top dressing it went immediately to weak and very weedy for a full 18 months. In the mean time the house sold (at a discount) and the new owners tried to recover the lawn. Finally they dug out the Tiff/weeds and replaced it with St Augustine, which is now beautiful. This project was in Alamo Heights, for what that’s worth to you.

For you the best thing to do would be to buy some flats of good looking 419 and sod the bare spots.