Bermudagrass quandry

chris 1705 – posted 07 May 2005 09:15

I can’t quite figure out if my front lawn – common bermudagrass – has died or is just slow. All around me, the lawns are green, but I have this big central brown area that looks pretty bad. There’s a scraggly bunch of growth, but it looks lousy.

I’ve taken good care – use corn gluten as a preemergent, ag molasses to encourage the good bugs, and an area formulated slow release organic fertilizer. So I don’t think it’s neglect.

A couple of years ago, ChemLawn screwed up and put a weed killer on my lawn by mistake. The guy who made the mistake should have been one block down the street. Anyhow, we raised caine and they came out and sprayed some sort of activated charcoal on our lawn – said that would fix the problem. But the next season, my lawn looked weak, and this spring – it looks pretty wasted.

Our landscaper, who put in a real nice hybrid bermuda in the back came out to look. He says it’s alive, just real slow. He also said just because we live in an area where there was one primary builder, I shouldn’t expect my turf to be the same as next door.

Has anyone else experieneced a lousy start to their bermudagrass? Any suggestions?

ted – posted 09 May 2005 09:32

corn gluten and molasses? that’s your problem. activated charcoal wouldn’t be able to correct a weed control misapplication- the damage would be too quick. fertlize the lawn correctly and you may have to resod the area.

chris 1705 – posted 09 May 2005 17:42

I read that at the appropriate time of the year (October and late March in the Dallas/Ft Worth area of North Texas), corn gluten is a natural weed control treatment. It has worked great the last few years, and I didn’t have to spray the nasty chemicals. The molasses was recommended as a way to improve the soil by energizing the good bacteria. I certainly don’t think natural stuff is harmful.

As I write this, I’ve observed a burst of activity, as the bermuda appears to be trying to fill in. The brown is showing green but it sure has been slow.

ted – posted 10 May 2005 13:42

it’s all fixed in two days with organics…..

Dchall_San_Antonio – posted 13 May 2005 21:19

For whatever reasons (the Texas weather last fall and winter), the turf is slow this year. You did good things and should get greening earlier than your chemical neighbors.