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PostPosted: Wed Sep 22, 2004 3:03 pm 
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Please, any ideas, in DFW I planted some bermuda seed ,of course the wrong kind (unhulled and hybrid turf type ,numex sahara,that grows low) that is starting to come up with about 80 % coverage. I need to try and get it to root deep before it goes dormant , it's dark green about 1/4 inch high , been watering it 3x a day for 9 days , should I start restricting the water now or just mist the top a couple of times a day ,maybe a dusting of manure ,do you think it stands much of a chance of surviving the winter

THE REST OF THE STORY, I planted bermuda cause I didn't realize how much St Aug turf was going to cost , it's along the curb between the sidewalk ,thinking the heat from the pavement would keep the soil warm it would grow fast ,after sweating out the whether it would sprout realizing after planting that it was unhulled, and that the CMG that I put down after I cleared the crabgrass would inhibit it from germination , luckly though it's coming up, had a mountain of crabgrass 3x3x2

Thanks for reading my longwinded post


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PostPosted: Thu Sep 23, 2004 8:39 am 
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First of all, welcome to the Dirt Doctor forum. You're going to learn a lot about organic methods for your lawn in a very short time. It seems you have a couple of the main points and are missing a couple others. Not to worry. Your new bermuda will do just fine assuming it is not in the shade.

Manure is generally not for use in the garden. Yes there are some specialty applications, but turf is NEVER one of them. The best use for manure is as an ingredient in compost. Once the manure has composted, it will smell incredibly good, like forest floor after a rainstorm. So if you buy any manure product, or even a compost product for that matter, if it doesn't smell like a forest floor after a rainstorm, then let it compost a little longer. It soon will be perfect for your use.

One of the biggest problems for people trying organic materials for the first time is over application of the stuff. I can't rememer how many times as I've grown old that I've seen organic materials piled up on people's lawns. Most recently was this summer. When properly applied, organic materials are invisible unless you are really looking for it. So keep that in mind if you ever do decide to apply compost. Actually an appication of compost right now would be a great idea for your new bermdua. The application rate is 1 cubic yard per 1,000 square feet. Since you probably don't have a full 1,000 square feet, I go to Google to find the application rate for 100 square feet. Here's the Google return

(1 (cubic yard)) per (1 000 (square feet)) = 2.7 (cubic feet) per (100 (square feet))

So if you have 100 square feet to dust with compost, you would use 2.7 cubic feet of compost. Usually the box stores sell compost by the cubic foot. Be sure you get as pure a compost as you can get. A lot of the folks sell compost with lots of sand mixed in. Sand should lower the price considerably! Up in Dallas, Living Earth Technologies (LETCO) sells great compost. I can get it at Lowes down here in SA.

Yes you need to start to back off on the watering. If you think you have 80% of your seed germinated, now you need to concentrate on deepening the roots. Watch your grass very carefully. Let it go to a very slight wilt, it might change color first. Then water for as long as you can water up to an hour, unless you get runoff. If you get runoff, then stop. Then let the grass go as long as possible until you see it wilt again. Then try again to water for an hour. What you're doing by following this technique is getting water down deep in the soil. The roots will sense the moisture and start diving down deep to get that water. Don't worry if the surface of the soil gets hard, even very hard. As long as the grass looks good, don't water. Ideally you'll get to the point where you never have to water because when it rains the soil will absorb so much water that the grass will last until the next rainstorm.

Your best defense against crabgrass is a dense, full coverage turf. If you seeded enough, you should be okay. The bermuda will definitely survive over the winter assuming no disease. One thing you might consider is to let the grass grow up as long as possible and overseed with an annual rye grass for the winter. The rye will keep your soil active for the winter and keep a cover going until the bermuda revives after dormancy. This will help keep the crabgrass down. Anything to shade the soil surface helps keep crabgrass down.

One more thing about bermuda, especially Sahara. It likes to be mowed lower than 1 inch high. Bermuda will take on a horizontal growth habit and be extremely soft to walk on. If you already have St Augustine in the rest of your yard, please remember to lower your mower deck all the way to the bottom for the bermuda and raise it all the way to the top setting for the St Aug. This high setting will keep your St Aug dense and keep the weeds out of it. If you mow the bermuda high you will get a leggy, thin turf that looks brown after you mow and feels spikey to walk barefoot on. Ouch! Mow it low and you'll be amazed at how nice it looks and feels.

Okay, beyond that check out the FAQ at the top of this forum. Copy the text to your hard drive and read it every day to absorb my pearls of wisdom :roll: . If you have any questions about what's in there, just write your question on the back of a $50 bill and mail it to me :shock: :lol: 8) (was he kidding?)

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PostPosted: Thu Sep 23, 2004 5:15 pm 
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Mr Dchall, thanks for all the tips on applications of water and compost, thats a great tip to watch for over doing the dosages of organics , when I was spreading the CMG I couldn't get out of my mind yellow cake uranium , spreading it with a silly smile on my face


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PostPosted: Mon Sep 27, 2004 1:35 am 
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Yeah, organic materials go on heavier than chemicals, but not that much heavier.

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