bermuda coming out of dormancy…what to do?

johnf1434 – posted 22 March 2005 07:07

I seeded bermuda late last summer and it came in really good. I overseeded the bermuda with annual rye and that has done great. I put down some crabgrass preventer about two weeks ago. This will be the first full season with the bermuda and I want to do it right. My questions are:

1. Should I overseed at all? I have some spots that are completely bare and I was thinking to overseed those areas at least.

2. What kind of fertilizer program should I be on? I have the general schedule that comes from Scotts.

Thanks in advance for your help. This forum has really been great and I appreciate everyone expertise.

John

tommy – posted 22 March 2005 07:48

You won’t be able to seed now because the crabgrass preventer will prevent any kind of seed from germinating. You can plug or sod the bare spots if you want. If you sod, make sure its a bermuda the closely matches what you have already.(leaf size) The Scotts maint. schedule is pretty good, but their fertilizers are heavy in chemicals, so occasionally use an organic fertilizer instead of ‘turf builder’.

johnf1434 – posted 07 April 2005 06:53

You mentioned organic fertilizer. i’d like to use organic as much as possible. Do you have any resources where I can find the what, when, and how of organic fertilizers? Also I have alot of annual rye grass right now and it is pretty thick. I know the hot weather will get rid of it, but is there anything I can do to help that process along. i have been cutting it pretty short in order to give the bermuda a chance to come out of dormancy. Thanks for the help.

ted – posted 07 April 2005 08:48

just stick with the regular fertilizers-you need to hammer it with nitrogen and see how the lawn develops- you can always seed it later when it’s warmer.

tommy – posted 07 April 2005 13:04

A full service nursery will usually carry organic fertilizers. Its hard to recommend brands , because fertilizer brands vary depending on what part of the country your in. Also, make sure you don’t over do it with organic fertilizers! If your soil is fairly good, you may only need an organic once a year. If your soil is poor(non-top soil type), you can go twice a year. Excessive use of organics can cause too much bacteria in the soil- which then ties up other beneficial nutrients.

tommy – posted 07 April 2005 16:46

Ooops……i meant soil fungus….not bacteria! Excessive soil fungus brought on by too much humus content in organic fertilizers. Humus however, is very good to apply on poor soils or sand. As for the ryegrass……continue mowing short-and water to favor the bermuda over the rye. (infrequent deep watering) A constant wet soil at the surface- will keep the ryegrass going all spring!